With a record five world titles to its name and the distinction of being the only country to have played in all 19 previous editions of the tournament, host nation Brazil will be looking forward to holding the one-month long 20th edition of this elite event. In the 19 FIFA World Cups so far, six host countries have been crowned champions: Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), England (1966), Germany FR (1974), Argentina (1978) and France (1998), much to the delight of their home fans. Meanwhile, Brazil (1950) and Sweden (1958) both finished as runners-up. Chile (1962), Italy (1990) and Germany (2006) all finished in third place. To this day, 76 national sides have taken part in at least one FIFA World Cup. Brazil is the only country to have been present at every edition, followed by Germany and Italy – both of whom have taken part in 17 out of a possible 19 final tournaments. As a symbol of peace, Brazil and the world football governing body, FIFA, will dedicate a special moment prior to the kick-off of today's opening match that will feature the host nation Brazil take on Croatia in the opener of group A. Following the pre-match protocol and the coin toss, players and officials will meet around the centre circle, with one team on each side. Three children, each carrying a dove, will come on to the pitch and move to the middle of the centre circle, where they will release the three doves into the sky. The symbol of peace will mark the official opening of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. The huge global excitement is reflected by the unprecedented number of ticket requests, with more than 3 million tickets sold a week before the kick-off, including more than 2.2 million directly via FIFA.com to the general public. “For every fan, it is a dream to be able to experience live a FIFA World Cup in the country of the only five-time world champions. Never before have we sold so many tickets directly to the general public and this was important to us. The opening match and the final were even oversubscribed ten times. The long queues of people who turned up at the ticketing centres early yesterday morning to buy World Cup tickets shows the high level of interest that Brazilians and international fans have in the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. Overall, 60% of the tickets were bought by Brazilians and 40% by fans from the rest of the world. After hosts Brazil (1,363,179), the USA leads the international pack with 196,838 tickets, followed by Argentina (61,021), Germany (58,778), England (57,917), Colombia (54,477), Australia (52,289), Chile (38,638), France (34,865) and Mexico (33,694). There are a few tickets left for just 27 of the 64 matches: the opening match, semi-finals and final are sold out. However, fans still on the lookout for tickets should keep checking www.FIFA.com/tickets, as potential resales or unpaid purchases mean that some tickets may go back on offer to the general public. FIFA is bearing the entire operational costs for staging the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ amounting to about two billion USD, with half of this figure (one billion USD) being directly invested in the Brazilian economy through the hiring of local services. This latter figure covers the entire Local Organising Committee budget, team travel and lodging, TV production costs, ticketing operations, accommodation, the IT solution and the overall competitions management, i.e. the entire organisation of the matches, plus refereeing and the marketing operations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ will also serve as a benchmark in the development of a new strategy in the fight against doping, with the introduction of player biological profiling, including blood and urine samples for the first time at a FIFA World Cup™. Every single player will be tested prior to the competition in addition to the routine anti-doping tests taken during the competition. Read more details in the interview with FIFA's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jiri Dvorak, and Martial Saugy, the director of the laboratory in Lausanne in charge of the doping analysis for the tournament, on FIFA.com. The 20th FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil promises to be a celebration of friendship and passion for the beautiful game. Recent incidents of racism have emphasised the need for concrete action to tackle this scourge of the game head on. The FIFA World Cup™, which will be viewed all over the world, is the ideal platform from which to signal a clear rejection of any form of discrimination. “As the most popular sport in the world, football is a powerful tool to spread the message that racism has no place in sport, or in society at large. FIFA's ‘Say No to Racism' campaign is our commitment to drive racism from the game and to set an example of equality for all to society,” said FIFA President Blatter. Six of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ stadiums have already been inaugurated and were used during the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, namely those in Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Fortaleza, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Among their number is the legendary Maracanã in Rio, where the final will be played in 2014. Six other FIFA World Cup venues are being completed in Cuiabá, Curitiba, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre and Brazil's largest city, São Paulo, with the latter's Arena de São Paulo set to stage the opening match involving the hosts on 12 June. The host cities are located across the country's five regions, with each scheduled to stage at least four games at Brazil 2014. As the organisers promise, the participating teams, members of the media and fans travelling to Brazil will all discover an abundance of flavours, sounds and customs in one of the most culturally diverse nations on the planet. All of the host cities will give supporters the chance to experience the joy and hospitality that Brazil has to offer at the FIFA Fan Fests™. Located at symbolic venues in the 12 cities that will stage games in the FIFA World Cup, they will be open from the first day of tournament to the last, ensuring that Brazilians and visitors alike are “All in one Rhythm,” to use the words of the official slogan of Brazil 2014. It is expected that the 2014 FIFA World Cup will leave more than just new stadiums for future generations: it will leave a legacy. For the first time in many young people's lives, they will be able to witness up close an event of this magnitude featuring a plethora of top players. The Mascot The Brazilian three-banded armadillo belongs to one of only two species with the ability to roll up into an almost impenetrable ball. BRAZIL FACTS Official language: Portuguese Area: 8,514,877 km2 (3,287,597 square miles) Population: 193,946,886 (IBGE, 2012) Capital: Brasília (2,648,532) Administrative: 26 states plus the Federal District divisions Most populous city: São Paulo (11,376,685) National days: 7 September (Independence Day), 15 November (Proclamation of the Republic) FIFA World Cup facts & figures (figures not including the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil) - Founded in 1930 - Brazil won five times - 76 participating teams - 19 competitions - 76 teams - 8 champions - 772 matches - 2208 goals - 6598 players - 16 hosts - Over 34 million spectators - No 1 - biggest single sports event - Germany's Lothar Matthäus played in 25 matches
