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Articles on World Cup 2014

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Nike is only ‘unofficially’ present at the World Cup, which is officially sponsored by Adidas, through its sponsored teams such as Australia. EPA/Armando Babani

Nike, Adidas and the World Cup’s marketing war

The football World Cup currently underway in Brazil is not only a battle between two teams on the pitch and 32 nations overall, but also a battle off the field. Although eight different companies provide…
Protestors bust the Belo Monte Dam. Atossa Soltani/Amazon Watch/Spectral Q

It’s not just the World Cup Brazilians are protesting about

The World Cup has highlighted Brazil’s dissatisfaction with the mega-development involved in building the tournament’s infrastructure. But the football stadiums are just the latest in a long line of Brazilian…
Is Scottish victimhood fuelling the yes campaign? Carl Court/PA

Scotland Decides ’14: are Scots too sensitive?

Mix the Scots and sport and you’re bound to end up with trouble. Just ask William Hague, who gaffed this week that Team GB would break a leg at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – forgetting that…
Phil Neville told to stick to his day job. Martin Rickett/PA

#WorldCup: tweeting football fans change nature of the game

Experiencing live football has never been so easy. And the enjoyment of following the action can now only be complete for many of us if we tune in to the global chorus of opinion that takes place on Twitter…
Coca Cola is a major sponsor of the World Cup, but non-sponsors are capitalising on the tournament too. George/Flickr

Brands are big winners in the ‘first social media World Cup’

The 2014 World Cup has already seen a significant volume of Twitter conversation across a number of (English language) keywords, including #joinin, #worldcup, #Brazil2014 and #worldcup2014, as well as…
Running on their diets. Mike Egerton/PA

Chocolate milk, porridge and other World Cup diet secrets

You are what you eat. And in sports like football this is particularly true. Consuming the right or wrong foods and drinks can be the difference between winning and losing a match. It’s easy to think that…
If you would like to see a large number of desperately poor people enjoy the joy of a World Cup victory, you should cheer for Nigeria. EPA/Rungroj Yongrit

Stuck for a World Cup team? Shoot for the happiness dividend

Let’s be realistic. Australia is the lowest ranked of the 32 teams in the World Cup, and despite a very creditable performance in its first match against Chile, its chances of making it out of the group…
FIFA’s chief medical officer is adamant there’s no doping in football … but experience says otherwise. Gabriel Corbacho Bermejo/Flickr

Doping in football – does it make the game any less beautiful?

It is often said that football is the beautiful game, resistant to the kinds of doping seen in cycling, baseball or less beautiful games of the same name. Much like Australia’s confidence before its “blackest…
Chile’s Alexis Sanchez fell victim to a goal disallowed by an offside call in the 2010 World Cup. So what are the nuts and bolts of the rule? EPA/Sergey Dolzhenko

Explainer: the offside rule

The offside rule is perhaps one of the most controversial rules ever applied to football. We only need to look to Mexico vs Cameroon on day two of the 2014 World Cup. Thank god for the 61st minute goal…
Economic modelling predicts that Germany is the most likely country to qualify for the semi-finals at the 2014 World Cup. EPA/Andreas Gebert

An economic crisis may make you stronger – in football

Forget Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Mario Balotelli. What will make your country more (or less) likely to succeed in the World Cup is its rate of economic growth. At this point, I expect European…
Even if you’re not this enamoured with football, here’s some insight into the players’ minds. Moazzam Brohi/Flickr

Mind games: a World Cup guide for armchair psychologists

Fan or foe, chances are over the next four weeks you’ll catch at least parts of World Cup matches, whether through bleary eyes in the wee hours or snippets on the evening news. If you’re unfamiliar with…

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