It takes place once every four years, 32 countries, 352 players, 150 staff and millions of fans. This is the World Cup, thirty-two nations will come together to support their country, tears will be shed, hearts will be broken and spirits will be lifted as the nations battle for the trophy. The World Cup is truly the largest sporting event in the world, not only due to the fact that it has the largest number of spectators, but also due to the amount of money invested in hosting match stadiums, purchasing tickets and of merchandise. According to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association AKA FIFA, the 2010 World Cup hosted in South Africa had domestic television coverage of the competition exceeding 3.2 billion! This is 46.4% of the world population; This is an increase of 8% compared to the number of spectators recorded during the 2006 FIFA World Cup hosted in Germany (FIFA). The only sporting events that can compete are the Super Bowl, which averages around 100 million viewers, or the Olympics with a total of 4.2 billion views which exceeds the viewership of the World Cup, however, this counts all 42 events all at once. In comparison, the World Cup, which hosts only one sport, soccer, gets 3.2 billion compared to the Olympics which has 42 times the number of events as the World Cup, INCLUDING FOOTBALL. Press, Associate. "FIFA: Cup Final At least 1 billion Saw." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, July 11, 2011. Web. May 5, 2014There are many decisive factors that can confirm that the World Cup is indeed the largest sporting event in the world. Every time the World Cup is held, a huge amount of money is invested. Three billion have at......middle of paper......d 730 million viewers. (Scott Roxborough)It's double the UEFA! Now, where do you think these viewers are coming from? Do football fans emerge from the shadows to witness this event? No, people from all over the world come together to witness this great event. After all, it is the largest sporting event in the world. Works CitedRoy, Adam. “Matador Network.” Matador Network. Np, June 10, 2010. Web. March 10, 2014. Peters, Jerrad. "World Football". Bleacher Report. Np, November 11, 2013. Web. March 10, 2014. Mashhood, Farzad. "The World Cup shows that sport can unite nations." Daily Bruin. Np, May 3, 2010. Web. March 10, 2014. Baer, ​​David F. “Argentina.” Bleacher Report. Np, June 12, 2010. Web. March 10, 2014. Roxborough, Scott and Benjamin Jones. “The World Cup final attracts 700 million viewers.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 13 July 2010. Web. 10 March. 2014.