2010 World Cup: All eyes on South Africa

Teams representing 32 nations have gathered in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World CupTM, the quadrennial football (aka soccer) tournament celebrating the world’s most popular game, which begins Friday, June 11, and concludes in a month, with the championship match on Sunday, July 11.

This World Cup has special significance as it will be the first time the event has been held in Africa, where the game has been growing by leaps and bounds – besides host nation South Africa, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon and Algeria will each be competing.

According to FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the sport’s governing body, the World Cup is the most-widely viewed sporting event in the world, with fans everywhere following their teams with rapt attention.

On YouTube, there will be many ways to feel World Cup fever. Here are some channels to subscribe to:

- ESPN will have extensive coverage of the event, including match highlights, and have put together a set of 32 videos profiling each of the national teams:

- Univision will be uploading Spanish-language video around the event, with special coverage of the Mexican national team.

- The U.S. team will face England in one of the Cup’s most-anticipated matches on Saturday, June 12. Get behind-the-scenes footage of each team on their respective channels: U.S.A., England.

- Coca-Cola is celebrating the tradition of the post-goal dance, giving people a chance to submit their original moves to the “Longest Celebration.” Submit here.

- Visa is creating an epic video of fans around the world screaming “GOOOAAALLL!” in the style of the iconic soccer announcer Andrés Cantor. Submit your video here.

- Last but certainly not least, Portugal striker extraordinaire (and international heartthrob) Cristiano Ronaldo has joined the YouTube community, with videos like this:

Olé olé olé!