Soccer Fever: Learning About the World Cup in Brazil
Every four years the world’s obsession with soccer descends upon a single country for a month-long global championship, the World Cup.
This year’s tournament promises an extra measure of intensity because of its location: Brazil. Few countries can claim its level of passion for the game or its expertise, with a record five wins. And few nations pose such daunting geographical and logistical challenges, with matches being held across three time zones and a variety of climates, from the steamy Amazon rain forest to the subtropical highlands.
In this lesson we explore both the World Cup, which kicks off next month, and the complex nation that is hosting it. Students will learn that mounting a major international tournament is about much more than the game, with a myriad preparations and political issues to be managed before the first ball is kicked.
Ways to Teach About the 2014 World Cup
Brazil in the Spotlight
Suppose you were planning a visit to the World Cup in Brazil. What would you expect to see and hear? Work in pairs or groups to fill out a K/W/L chart with what you know (or think you know) about Brazil and with questions you have about the country.
Then, take a tour of the world’s fifth most populous nation with the stories below, starting with a road trip across South America’s midsection with travel writer Monte Reel. Read about how the country’s economic boom has fizzled in recent years, the impact of immigrants in São Paulo and Brazil’s interesting tradition of long names.
When you’re done, select one story that interests you most and use it to finish your K/W/L chart, or to report to your class about what it reveals about this immense country of 200 million people.
- Traveling From Ocean to Ocean Across South America
- Grand Visions Fizzle in Brazil
- Brazil Tracks From Boom to Rust (video)
- Immigrants Stir New Life Into São Paulo’s Gritty Old Center
- Does Brazil Have the Answer?
- His Friends Know Him as Petroswickonicovick
World Cup Fever
Why is soccer so popular around the world? Could it ever become the dominant sport in the United States?
Read the stories below to get an idea of the passion that soccer inspires among its fans around the world including in Brazil, which many people consider the center of the soccer universe. Then, find out how the sport is faring among its American fans, more of whombought tickets to the World Cup in Brazil than citizens of any other nation outside the host country.
If you had the job of encouraging enthusiasm for the World Cup among people your own age in the country where you live, how would you do it? Keep an eye on how “World Cup” fever manifests among the people you know or in your town or neighborhood this year. How much do you think it will grow between now and the 2018 World Cup in Russia? Why?
- Pickup Soccer in Brazil Has an Allure All Its Own
- The World Cup in an Album
- U.S. Fans Snap Up World Cup Tickets
- To Those With Nothing, Soccer Is Everything
- Soccer Courses Through a City’s Veins
- In Iran, Soccer and Politics Often Blend Together
- Raucous Scene Grips Afghan Capital: Soccer Euphoria
Will the Ball Float or Fly?
Every World Cup gets its own brand-new soccer ball, along with a host of questions. Will this one fly straight, or wobble and soar as it approaches the goal?
Draw a poster that illustrates some of the aerodynamic properties of this year’s ball, or the notorious 2010 version that players described as “dreadful,” “shameful” and “the worst I’ve ever played with.” Then decide if having a new ball for each tournament is part of the romance of the World Cup, or just a marketing gimmick that interferes with the competition?
- The Evolution of the World Cup Ball
- World Cup Ball Is Already in Goalkeepers’ Heads
- Brazuca: The World Cup Ball
- Brazuca: Secrets of the New World Cup Ball
Frequent Fliers and Playing Conditions
Will some teams have an advantage because they travel less during the tournament or because they have been scheduled to play in cities with a more moderate climate?
Let each student randomly choose a team from the 32 nations competing in Brazil and use Google Maps to calculate the total distance their team will travel during the first three games of the “group stage.” Then read the stories below to familiarize yourself with the stadiums being used around Brazil and the climate conditions players might encounter. Assign each team a difficulty score of 1 (easy) to 3 (very hard) for each stadium, based on theaverage temperature and humidity conditions expected in June. Discuss your results as a class, and vote on which teams face the most and least significant travel challenges.
- 2014 FIFA World Cup: Where are the 12 host stadiums in Brazil?
- U.S. Faces Difficult Path in World Cup
- The Numbers That Show The Inequity Of The FIFA 2014 World Cup Draw
How Are Players, Teams and Fans Preparing for the Tournament?
There is practicing, especially for the players still trying to make the team. And someone’s got to make sure theteam uniforms are ready too. Over in England, players are visiting apsychologist and worrying about their first match in Manaus, a city in the middle of the Amazon rain forest.
But what can the fans do to get ready? Book a room if you’re planning to visit Brazil. Learn this year’s World Cup song and watch ESPN’s video documentary on the U.S. team. Study team profilesand worry about the opening matches. And of course, you need to check the schedule of matches.
Imagine you are attending Brazil’s World Cup or are a travel agent arranging for someone else to go. Create a month-long itinerary that captures the best of the World Cup and the host country, Brazil. Which cities could you visit? What matches would you see? What preparations would you make to get to know Brazil and celebrate World Cup fever?
Is Brazil Ready?
Updated | There are often fears when a large, populous country mounts an international gathering like the World Cup. There have been construction problems, including the deaths of some workers, protests over the expense and disruption of building new stadiums, and concerns about the social and environmental impacts of preparing for such an immense sports event.
Read the stories below, listing the problems you encounter. Then make a prediction on whether Brazil can pull it all together in time. Or, borrow an idea we detailed in 2007, ahead of the Beijing Olympics. In that lesson plan students were invited to do a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of China’s preparedness, a method easily applied to Brazil and the World Cup.
- Building a World Cup Stadium in the Amazon
- Fear and Backsliding in Rio
- Shepherd of the City’s Rebirth, Rio’s Mayor Feels the Strains, Too
- Brazil Sends In Armed Forces to Assist in Policing Poor Area
- World Cup Fever Heats Up Slowly in Brazil
- Exploring the Social and Environmental Challenges as Brazil Prepares for Two Sports Spectacles
- To Prepare for the World Cup, a Host City Could Use Extra Time
- Brazil Is Tired of Being Scolded
What Else Gets Brazilians Fired Up?
For much of the last year, Brazilians of all ages have been protesting. Watch the videos and read the stories below, keeping track of the issues you hear about.
Do you think people will disrupt the tournament with protests, or set aside their concerns to watch the soccer and root for their team?
- Brazilian Students Dig for Corruption (video)
- Protests Bridge Brazil’s Social Gaps (video)
- Brazil’s Protest Chant: ‘Vem Pra Rua’ (video)
- Brazil’s Seeds of Protest (video)
- Brazil’s Latest Clash With Its Urban Youth Takes Place at the Mall
- Police Clash With Squatters in Rio de Janeiro Slum
- Brazilian Anti-World Cup Protests Hit São Paulo and Rio
Women Play, Too
It won’t be long until women get their turn, with the 2015 Women’s World Cup scheduled to kick off in Canada next year.
Read about the 2012 success of the U.S. Olympic team in London. Then follow some of the players who hope to make the team next summer or in future years. Does women’s soccer seem to face different challenges than the men’s version? What would you suggest to help the women’s soccer reach its full potential?
- FIFA Women’s World Cup
- Committing to Play for a College, Then Starting 9th Grade
- Women’s Soccer League Tries to Connect and Survive
- Unhappiness With Direction of U.S. Women’s Team Led to Coach’s Dismissal
- United States Wins Women’s Soccer Gold
A Game with History
Think baseball fans obsess over those historic games and obscure details? You should see soccer fans do it. They squabble over who scored the best goals, and someone at the Guardian newspaper in England actually gets paid to recreate them using Legos.
Read about New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey’s memoriesof eight World Cups, and join fans worldwide in remembering one of the game’s great players. Then, research your own soccer story from the game’s past, sharing a little-known drama or famous episode with classmates.
Finally, ask yourself: Is sports’ history different from other types of history?
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