Germany and its host cities for the World Cup 2006. Find Hotels and Accommodation options in Germany with Socceria.com
Germany is Europe's most populated nation and ranks among the leading economic powers in the world, despite the high costs of reunification.
Situated at the heart of Europe, Germany covers a land mass of 350.000 square kilometres, borders on nine neighbouring countries, and is home to around 82 million people, 7.3 million of whom are of foreign origin and have become an integral part of German society.
In 1949, in the aftermath of the second World War, the Allies divided Germany into two autonomous nations. The western part, the German Federal Republic (Bundesrepublik Deutschland), operated a free market system and soon joined the European Union and NATO. The German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), the eastern part of the country, followed socialist ideals and was a member of the Warsaw Pact.
In 1990, a peaceful revolution led to the reunification of the two parts. Since then, the Brandenburg Gate in Germany's ancient (and now modern) capital city Berlin has become a symbol of peace and freedom.
If Germans love sport, they truly adore football, both as players and fans in the stands. The German Football Association or Deutsche Fußball Bund (DFB), founded in 1900, has more than 6 million members belonging to close on 27,000 clubs, with every fifth member younger than 14. Meanwhile, the Bundesliga, the elite professional league, attracts an average of ten million spectators every season.
The draw for the FIFA Football World Cup will be made in Leipzig in December 2005. As the Socceroos have now qualified for the World Cup in Germany 2006 we all look forward to the event!
The 2006 FIFA World Cup Opening Match takes place on 9 June 2006 at the new stadium in München. The group games are divided among the 12 FIFA World Cup host cities between 9 and 23 June, the second phase of the tournament begins with the Round of 16 on 24 June, and the Final is on 9 July 2006 at the Berlin Olympic stadium.
The other host cities are Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Kaiserlautern, Leipzig, Nürnberg and Stuttgart.
Each host city will stage a minimum of five matches, including four group matches each. The Round of 16 takes place in Dortmund, Hannover, Kaiserslautern, Köln, Leipzig, München, Nürnberg and Stuttgart.
Host cities for the quarter-finals are Berlin, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen and Hamburg, with the semi-finals in Dortmund and München and the third place play-off in Stuttgart.
No nations have been seeded at this stage, where the 32 finals participants will play and when will not be decided until the final draw in December 2005. This also applies to the host nation Germany. Kick-off times will also be finalised in December 2005. Each stadium will host at least two group stage games involving top seeded teams.
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