Ok, so maybe you have finally come down with the glorious illness that is World Cup Fever. You have been captured by the beautiful game, the international spirit, the larger-than-life players or simply the passionate fans. And now, you want in. But it's over today. What do you do?
Start planning for World Cup 2018 in Russia, of course!
No, it is not too early to start planning. After all, depending on how many things on this list you have to accomplish, you might have a lot to do:
- Learn more about soccer/football (<---- as the rest of the world calls it) so you won't be so confused next time about what being offside means anyway.
- Study Russian history and/or language to make the most of your experience.
- Save money. After all, international flights and hotels during a worldwide sporting event are not inexpensive.
- Watch the qualification process
There are many exciting games that will take place between now and the next World Cup. The whole process of qualifying takes close to a couple years and will begin in 2016. This page helps explain how the 32 teams are chosen for the tournament. Actually, only 31 teams have to qualify, because the host country is automatically in.
For a little more official information about the sport and especially the 2018 event, stay up to date here on FIFA'S official page for Russia 2018. Keeping up with the news of qualifying will be important if you only want to travel if your country has qualified. Many people will only want to go and root for their home team, but many people will travel no matter who is playing. After all, only 32 teams in the whole world qualify and it takes 4 years to get another chance!
If you decide you want to go, or you're just interested in researching the host cities, you can read more about each of them here. Eleven different cities from the north, south and central areas of Russia will host the world and the games. The spectacle promises to be as fascinating as ever!
Brazil and World Cup 2014 certainly have entertained and inspired the world! All kinds of viewing records were broken this summer. While Russia 2018 has big shoes to fill, I am certain that the new host country will rise to the challenge and the honor!
Now I need to go see if Germany or Argentina will be the World Champions for 2014....