Football World Cup Stats Warmer

Author: Dennis Delany

Page 1 of 2

2

r: Katie Jones.

1

Ask the class what they know about the football World Cup. You can either

ask students to volunteer what they know in open class, or put them in groups

to pool their knowledge, then ask one student in each group to report back

(this technique is recommended for ‘reticent’ classes).

2

Display or dictate these numbers, ideally with images to promote discussion.

32

1930

94,000

6.175

90

11

64

8

10

0

700,000,000+

3,000,000

19

5

3,000,000,000

3

Tell the class that these numbers represent statistics about the World Cup.

They have to guess what the numbers mean. Show some examples, pointing

out the use of the relative pronoun (that, who, where) if necessary.

Examples:

0 – the number of times the World Cup has been held in Africa until now

1930 – the year the first World Cup was held

Alternative Procedure

If the class finds it too difficult to guess the significance of the numbers on their own, or

if they are only able to guess some of them, the teacher can dictate some or all of the

answers at random, and then ask the students to work out (in pairs or groups – to

promote discussion) which numbers correspond to which facts.

© Pearson Education 2010

PHOTOCOPIABLE

Football World Cup Stats Warmer

Author: Dennis Delany

Page 2 of 2

2

r: Katie Jones.

© Pearson Education 2010

PHOTOCOPIABLE

Answer Key:

32 – the number of countries that will take part in the 2010 World Cup

11 – the number of players in a team who can play on the field at any one time

10 – the number of stadiums (stadia) where the matches will be played in South Africa 2010

19 – the number of times the World Cup has been held, including South Africa 2010

5 – the number of times that Brazil has won the World Cup

8 – the number of groups in the first round (four teams in each group)

90 – the number of minutes of normal time in a football match

64 – the number of matches that will be played

3,000,000 – the number of tickets available

700,000,000 + – the number of people who it is estimated will watch the World Cup on TV

3,000,000,000 – estimated cost of staging the World Cup (in US dollars)

94,000 – the capacity of Soccer City Stadium, where the final will be held
(www.soccercity2010.co.za)

6.175 – weight of the World Cup trophy in kilograms
(www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/worldcup/trophies.html)

0 – the number of times the World Cup has been played in the African continent until now

1930 – the year the first World Cup was held

4

For extra practice, give the class three minutes to memorise the information,

then students test each other, this time framing the information as a question.

Example:

‘How many tickets will be available?’ or ‘Can you remember/tell

me/do you know how many tickets will be available?’