subject: World Cup Soccer: The Fifa Executive Committee Decisions [print this page] World Cup Soccer 2006 is the eighteenth edition of the FIFA World Cup taking place from June 9 to July 9, 2006 in Germany, which was chosen in June 2000 to organize the event.
From December 2003 to November 2005, the national teams in 198 countries participate in a qualifying stage, in order to designate the 31 teams to take part in the final tournament along with Germany, qualifies automatically as host nation .
The competition was won by Italy, who beat France in the final on penalties. This is the fourth title of world champion Italian team, after those obtained in 1934, 1938 and 1982. Germany took third place ahead of Portugal. Brazil, world champion and favorite title of the event, is eliminated at the quarter-final stage by France. In sporting terms, the tournament was marked by a return to domination by large European and South American : while the previous World Cup in 2002 saw teams from Asia, North America and Africa go quite far in the competition (to the quarter and semifinals), all quarter-finalists of the 2006 are European or South American, and all former winners of the competition are present except Uruguay quarter-finals.
The 2006 tournament is followed worldwide and its media coverage confirms that the Football World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world next to the Olympic Games . The sale of broadcast rights and sponsorship contribute to the economic success of the athletic competition. World Cup 2006 is also a huge popular success in Germany, where it is known Sommermarchen (fairytale summer), and it also gives a very positive image of the country abroad.
After the designation of the host country in 2000, a German organizing committee is created to prepare for the holding of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Twelve stages are built or renovated for the event. In 2005 the organization of the Confederation Cup 2005 in Germany is, apart from the sporting aspect, also preparing for the World Cup which takes place a year later.
The willingness of the German Football Federation, or Deutscher Fuayball-Bund (DFB) to host the World Cup in Germany dates back to November 1992. At that time, the federation and its president Egidius Braun begin promotion in the country of such application. In late 1996, Franz Beckenbauer agrees to become ambassador to the German bid. It takes the presidency in 1998 bid committee and in that capacity that he sends to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, 26 November 1998, the official declaration of intentions of the German federation for organizing the World Cup 2006 .
Alongside the DFB, four other federations claim to organize the event. These federations of South Africa, England, Brazil and Morocco . Federations of Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria, initially applying to host the tournament, withdrew from the bidding process so as not to dilute the African candidatures .
On July 6, 2000, the FIFA executive committee meets in Zurich to designate the host of the 2006 World Cup. Brazil withdrew three days before the vote . For the first time, it takes more than one ballot to designate the host country. Morocco and England were eliminated in the first and second round respectively . Germany, who finished first in each round is finally chosen at the expense of South Africa in the third round of balloting by twelve votes against eleven and one abstention.
