2014 FIFA World Cup

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international men's football tournament that is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. It will be the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the previous being in 1950. Brazil was elected unchallenged as host nation in 2007 after the international football federation, FIFA, decreed that the tournament would be staged in South America for the first time since 1978 in Argentina, and the fifth time overall. The national teams of 31 countries advanced through qualification competitions that began in June 2011 to participate with the host nation Brazil in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches are to be played in twelve cities across Brazil in either new or redeveloped stadiums, with the tournament beginning with a group stage. For the first time at a World Cup Finals, the matches will use goal-line technology. With the host country, all world champion teams since the first World Cup in 1930 (Uruguay, Italy, Germany, England, Argentina, France and Spain) have qualified for this competition. Spain is the defending champion, having defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in the 2010 World Cup final to win its first World title. The previous four World Cups staged in South America were all won by South American teams. Qualified teams The following 32 teams, shown with October 2013 rankings used for seeding in the draw, qualified for the final tournament. Prize money Each participating team will receive at least US$8 million. The World Champions will receive $35 million, while the losing finalists will receive $25 million. Teams that lose in the round of 16 will receive $9 million, and the quarter-finalists receive $14 million. The clubs in which the players are playing for at the time of their World Cup departure will receive $70 million as a compensation for insurance costs and expenses, which will be distributed through their national associations. Overall, FIFA will allocate $576 million, a new record, and an increase from the $420 million allocated in South Africa. Venues Eighteen locations were presented as potential World Cup host cities: Belém, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Goiânia, Maceió, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup