The 19th World Cup, which begins tomorrow (June 11) in South Africa, is the first World Cup to be held on the African continent. The month-long tournament will bring teams from 32 countries (and non-countries) from around the world. In anticipation of the World Cup and in a second milestone for Africa, South Africa has constructed the continent's first high-speed rail line, connecting O.R. Tambo Airport with Johannesburg.
Discover which 29 World Cup teams should not exist and take my Africa Geography Quiz. Follow the World Cup on the About.com World Soccer GuideSite.
Comments
With respect to teams playing in the World Cup that represent countries that tecnically are not countries: being nit-picking, Puerto Rico is not exactly a territory of the United States – it has not entered into union with the USA in some fashion as defined by the Territorial Clause of the US Constitution, Article 4. Rather, it is a Commonwealth that entered into compact agreement in 1952 with the USA. Its residents are citizens of the USA, but do not vote for national offices. Neither do they pay federal income taxes on income earned in PR, since they were a war prize, taken under our control in 1898 during the Spanish American War.