You know BootsnAll as the one-stop indie travel guide, with a large (and growing) family of destination guides for cities and countries all over the world. But did you know that BootsnAll is also the force behind the largest English-language World Cup blog in the world? The company’s founders met with the love of soccer – or football, as the rest of the world calls it – in common, and that has continued to grow over the years.

In 2006, several BootsnAll staff members went to Germany for the last World Cup, attending many of the games and experiencing the fan fests first-hand. This year, two of my BootsnAll colleagues will be headed to South Africa for the duration of the tournament, and they’re both counting down the days. Kick-off for the first games is on 11 June, so there’s not much counting down left.

Partly because of BootsnAll’s love of footy, and partly because the World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, we thought we’d take a moment to share some of the great posts they’ve been putting up on the World Cup Blog during the lead-up to the tournament. Whether you’re watching the games at home or need to find a bar wherever you are that has a TV, it’s great fun to get involved in the World Cup – even if you’re not a huge fan of soccer. And, if by chance you’re going to South Africa, we’ve got some information to help you make that happen, too. We are, after all, a travel website.

So wherever you are in the world this June and July, we hope you have fun watching the 2010 World Cup – and may the best team win.

World Cup Articles

• How to Say “World Cup” in 36 Languages – A great start to your World Cup education, especially if you’ll be traveling into any of the countries with teams competing in the tournament, is how to say “World Cup” in the local lingo.
• World Cup Host Countries: 1930-2010 – This is a virtual tour of the 15 countries that have hosted World Cup tournaments in the past, including memorable moments from each year.
• World Cup 2010 Team Nicknames – Now that you know how to say “World Cup” in 36 different languages, the next step is to find out what the national teams are called in their home countries.
• World Cup 2010 National Anthems – The World Cup Blog folks are compiling a list of all the national anthems for the countries participating in the tournament, so if you don’t see the country you’re cheering for yet, stay tuned.
• World Cup 2010 Wall Chart – There are two printable World Cup wall charts linked on this post, both of which are great tools to help you keep track of the tournament as it goes on.
• World Cup Team Histories – Looking to find out how far the various countries have gone in World Cups of the past? This is where those histories are being listed. (And it’s another table of contents that’s not quite done yet.)
• World Cup Moments – This post is a collection of some of the most memorable moments of World Cups from the past, many of which include video clips.
• World Cup Legends – This is another series that’s a work in progress, so if you have suggestions for other legendary players that should be included, be sure to let them know.
• World Cup Jerseys – Whether you’re in South Africa, traveling the world, or cheering from your living room, it’s always nice to get decked out properly in your team’s kit. All the jerseys for the teams participating in the 2010 World Cup are available in the World Cup Blog Store.
• World Cup Blog on Twitter – If you’re on Twitter and you want to follow along with tournament updates from the World Cup Blog, this is the account you want to follow.
• World Cup Blog on Facebook – Prefer Facebook to Twitter? Then become a fan of the World Cup Blog and The Offside over on Facebook for all the site updates.
• Best Places to See Soccer Games in the World – If you can’t be in South Africa this summer but you’re still interested in seeing soccer games when you travel, here are some of the best places to go to watch the beautiful game.
• Biggest Soccer Rivalries in the World – There are some pretty legendary soccer rivalries among the countries participating in the World Cup, but there are equally huge rivalries between football clubs in various cities around the world. It’s the latter is what’s covered in this article.

World Cup Travel Articles

• FIFA World Cup Soccer South Africa 2010 – This article has information about each of the cities hosting World Cup games, the stadiums themselves, the airports you’d use for each destination, how to get from place to place, where to stay when you’re there, and even a few non-soccer things to do in South Africa if you’re staying beyond the World Cup.
• 2010 World Cup Travel Deals – If you’re traveling from the US, here are some tips to find travel deals to South Africa for the World Cup.
• World Cup Travel Deals from Europe – These tips to find travel deals are for those of you who are going to South Africa from Europe.
• World Cup Travel Deals from Australia – Coming from Australia to cheer on the Socceroos? Then these are the travel tips you’ll need.
• World Cup Travel Deals from New Zealand – Getting to South Africa from New Zealand is a little tougher, but it can absolutely be done, and here are some of the tips you’ll need to do it.

photo by fernandesgr