The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international football tournament.

This football tournament will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. It is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July in South Africa.

Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup:

Egypt

Libya

Tunisia

Morocco

South Africa

Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the requirements & terms laid down in the official List of Requirements.

South Africa won the rights to host the tournament with 14 votes, while Morocco has the remaining 10.

Zakumi, the mascot of 2010 FIFA World Cup

ZakumI is born on the 16th of June in 1994 (Age 15), an anthropomorphised leopard with green hair presented on 22 September 2008.

His name comes from "ZA", the international abbreviation for South Africa, and "kumi" which stands for "ten" in various African Languages.

The Mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's playing strip ---yellow & green.

Zakumi's official motto is "Zakumi's game is Fair Play." The motto was seen in the digital advertisement boards during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and it will also appear at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Jabulani, the official game ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The match ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, manufactured by Adidas, will be named the Jabulani, which means "bringing joy to everyone" in isiZulu.

isiZulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers. Language of about 95% of the population living in South Africa, isiZulu is also known as their 'official language'.

Eleven seems to be a magic number, plays a prominent role in the new technologically advanced ball: it is the eleventh World Cup match ball made by the German sports equipment maker; it features elevent colours, one for each player on the pitch; and there are elevent official languages in South Africa, one of which is Zulu. The event will also start on the eleventh day of June and end on the eleventh day of July.

The balls are made in China, using latex bladder made in India, thermoplastic polyurethane-elastomer from Taiwan, ethylene vinyl acetate, isotropic polyester/cotton fabric, glue and ink from China