YOKOHAMA (Japan), May 28: The 17th World Cup kicks off on Friday in Seoul, with 32 teams hoping to lift the trophy after the final in the Japanese port city of Yokohama on June 30.

Here are some other numbers to set the scene for the tournament, the first in Asia and the first to be co-hosted — by South Korea and Japan:

40,000,000,000 — global TV audience at 1998 World Cup in France

37,400,000 — total of special 80 yen Japanese stamps issued

3,200,000 — number of tickets for the tournament

2,000,000 — origami cranes to be scattered at final game

443,000 — overseas visitors expected by Japan

420,000 — South Korean police officers being deployed

72,370 — capacity at the Yokohama stadium

30,000 — distance of kilometres covered by England’s Trevor Sinclair in 11 days after flying home and then returning

7,700 — maximum number of Japanese police per game

6,000 — red and white origami cranes sent to England captain Beckham by Osaka Supporters Club

1,072 — hooligans banned from leaving Britain

736 — players registered, 23 per team

634 — capacity of a ferry hired in case Japan needs to send hooligans to Tokyo from Sapporo

349 — convicted British criminals whose profiles have been passed to the Japanese police

72 — referees and linesmen officiating

64 — games in the tournament

20 — stadiums staging the matches

10 — Maradona’s shirt, which Argentina wanted to retire; FIFA refused.

4 — number of first-time qualifiers for finals: Senegal, Ecuador, China, Slovenia

3 — UK hooligans refused entry by S Korea, Japan

2 — number of times the trophy has been stolen.

1 — World Cups won by a team not from the host nation’s continent (Brazil won in Sweden 1958)

0 — games won in past finals by S Korea and Japan; number of opening games lost by host country; number of women referees—Reuters