June 10, 2006

With the passion for football sweeping the world, a number of websites have come up which are providing all kinds of information to enthusiasts about the ongoing World Cup.

Teams from only 32 countries are battling it out for top honours in 12 German cities from June 9. But even people from the countries not taking part in the tournament are joining in the general mood.

In addition to the conventional media channels, this time the web is playing a significant role in bringing the World Cup to a global audience. As an official sponsor of the World Cup, Yahoo! will be running the FIFA website and will be the only portal with access to official content from the tournament.

The ESPN Soccernet’s dedicated World Cup website is expecting an audience of 1 million from across Europe during the event. Sky has invested £250,000 in its World Cup website and is expecting upwards of 10 million visitors.

The AOL’s members-only sports portal does not top the charts in terms of traffic but the range and depth of its activities keeps its punters involved. AOL Sport is pulling out all the stops to create specific content around the games. Interactive boards, match reports and chatrooms have created an online space that’s like a radio talk show, allowing fans to catch up on news and interact with fellow fans.

MSN has launched localised World Cup sites across the region — in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. Six international football players Ronaldinho (Brazil), Michael Owen (England), Claude Makelele (France), Kevin Kuranyi (Germany), Xabi Alonso (Spain) and Edgar Davids (Netherlands) have signed up to publish exclusive blogs and webcasts.

Advertiser packages include sponsored player diaries, branded MSN Messenger items and streaming video content. Many famous international sponsors have signed up for the package.

“MSN is responding to market demand,” said Gina Hertel, head of trade marketing for MSN Asia-Pacific, Greater China, Latin America and Canada. MSN’s rival Yahoo!, of course, is an official sponsor of the World Cup and hosts the official site.

How has the demand been generated? Football fans across the globe are searching for information about World Cup that has given surge to all search engines’ usage, according to a new research study.

Software packages like Inet-TV Version 2.1 are available, offering over 800 channels from all over the world, including local, regional and international broadcasts. Live match updates, news, statistics and much more are also available on the cellphone .

Scores of other sites have sprung up which are selling tickets, hotel rooms and offering FIFA Word Cup merchandise in addition to reporting about every goal, foul, booking or other incidents on the stadiums right from the practice matches.

There are also World Cup quizzes, polls, football phrases and jokes, comment sections and options to rate favourite teams as well as players on websites to engage Internet users interactively. There are betting sites too.

“The hype this time is of an entirely different order. It is in cyber space,” says Abid Jamal, a student of business and information technology at the University of the Punjab.

The best joint for online reporters and geeky fans is an apartment in Berlin that will serve as a meeting point for bloggers, vloggers and podcasters from all over Europe who are congregating to cover the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Reviewers have describes their weblog as “a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of football fans around the big event”.

“We have a 220-square-metre flat with an awesome patio on the rooftop in the centre of Berlin. Our blogger team will blog live for 30 days from the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. We will have the time of our life and the best is: anybody who’s interested is invited!”

Given competition from the Internet, all TV channels are doing more this time. According to Initiative, a London-based company that buys media space for advertisers, the Cup’s 64 matches will attract a cumulative live TV audience of more than five billion. That and similar marketing claims have led to the creation of The FIFA World Cup Fan Park in Dubai, where game lovers will be able to watch thrilling World Cup football with oscillating emotions in the only venue of its kind situated away from stadiums in Germany.

“The World Cup Fan Park gives spectators a true stadium experience with a giant 140m screen, grandstand seating, stadium food and football-themed games and activities for the whole family. Each of the 64 matches will be broadcast live at the venue, which occupies much of Shaikh Rashid Hall at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

“The Fan Park will reverberate with cheers and chanting from up to 3,000 people, including 1,500 in stadium seats, 500 in the VIP balcony and 1,000 on the indoor football pitch that will double up as a seating area during matches,” reads a report.

Reports have it that during the World Cup, big screens have been erected in street corners and other public places in many countries across the globe. Cafes and restaurants are expecting their sale to shoot up. Those who are not on flights to Germany are already planning to assemble at various joints and be part of the mega-tournament.

The writer is a football enthusiast and a freelance contributor

— S.A.J. Shirazi

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