Revenge of the Birds
The World Cup is Earth’s finest sports tournament. Every four years, the men’s tournament is enacted, while the women also play every four years, but are sandwiched on a two-year interval. This means that every two years, a World Cup is played.
It is an important tournament because it pits countries around the globe against each other in the sport of football.
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The 2026 men’s World Cup is being played in North and Central America this time around, beginning June 11.
There are 12 groups with four clubs in each group. Teams play each other in their group with points given for wins and tie games (labeled “draws”), and zero points for a loss. At the end of the group stage, the top two clubs from each group advance.
Exhibition games, commonly called “friendlies,” have been going on since last year. These give each World Cup participant tune-up games, commonly called “matches.”
Normally, one country will host the World Cup. This time around, three countries will host games: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The American host cities are Seattle, New York, San Francisco, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Dallas, and Philadelphia. Two Canadian cities will host contests: Vancouver and Toronto. In Mexico, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City will showcase their cities.
All of the U.S. stadiums are NFL venues, while the Canadian arenas are CFL stadiums. The governing bodies of the game of soccer worldwide require natural grass, and the field has to be completely flat without a crown, which is a feature that many football fields install in order for the turf to drain properly.
Around the world, the sport of soccer is called “football.” Why? What is the reason?
The answer? Soccer has always been called football. Always. It is the first. It is the game from which all of the other games that have “football” in their title were derived. “Soccer” is not that game’s real name. Its real name is football.
The word “soccer” came later.
The Romans invented soccer as a method to keep their soldiers in shape. The rules would differ from region to region, which made it difficult to host tournaments or play against other nations. Finally, as the world became less violent and countries began to take shape, the English put down on paper standardized rules they titled “Association Football.” It is what the world still follows.
Today, the worldwide organizing group that governs the sport is named the “Federation Internationale de Football Association,” commonly known as “FIFA.” It oversees competition globally, which governs all soccer leagues and laws, tournaments, and events.
Football (soccer) came first. At different intervals, other sports began to form. All of these games became an offshoot of football (soccer), with some different rules, terminology, field markings, and equipment. But they all began with football (soccer).
It’s like a man named Sam Jones who has a son who he names Joe Jones. Then, his son is named Brandon...
