The Beautiful Game has arrived and Canada's name will be heard by Millions around the world from Scotland, to Chile, to Japan, to the US, to Spain...

FIFA's U-20 World Cup of Soccer has begun. This event is being called the largest sporting event in Canada's history. As of July 3d, more than one million tickets have been sold. No other host country has ever sold more tickets, except for Mexico in 1983 and there is a possibility for Canada to break that record. The games are being televised by many broadcasters around the world, including Galavision, Fox Sports en Español and ESPNU in the United States, La Sexta in Spain and Televisa in Mexico. A FIFA press release last year indicated that organizers expect as many as 750 million viewers for this edition of the U-20 Cup. Looking at media in Mexico and Spain, for example, I can tell you that Mexico and Spain's first matches were front page news (in addition to TV exposure). This is very good for awareness of Canada, especially given the fact that the matches are being broadcast live so people can do away with their perception that Canada is cold and the people reserved. The matches are a lot of fun and the fans are rowdy. How's that for countering the image in some circles that Canada is boring. Far from it. While the tourney is being played in six cities, it is not so much the names of the cities that get the most exposure, but rather the name Canada, so the exposure is good for all from coast to coast. I am following the championship closely and commenting on my Blog de Canadá, a blog about Canada for the Hispanic world. Canada en Español websites have had information about the tournament since early this year and traffic is increasing quite a bit this month because people are finding the sites when they search for information about the U-20. There are seven Hispanic teams playing: Spain, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Mexico. The chances that a Hispanic team will reach the top four is therefore high. The USA is also doing quite well so far (tied against Korea and defeated Poland 6 - 1. If the US and Mexico reach the top four the television audience will be record breaking (I am crossing my fingers).

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

Jaime