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<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Book Antiqua; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 14pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=4 face="Book Antiqua">
<DIV><FONT size=4>Dear friends and colleagues,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Even those of us who have spent a </FONT><FONT size=4>lifetime avoiding sport, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>as spectator or participant, can hardly be unaware that
the</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>football World Cup is imminent. (Or soccer, if you
insist.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>As I'm sure you know, this is the first final to which
</FONT><FONT size=4>both </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Korean states have won through. North Korea is back
for</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>the first time since England 1966, memorably recalled in
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><EM>The Game of their Lives: </EM>the first
in </FONT><FONT size=4>Dan Gordon and Nick </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Bonner's remarkable trio of movies made in and about
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>North Korea. <A href="http://www.verymuchso.co.uk/">http://www.verymuchso.co.uk/</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>As the article below brings home, what this means is
that</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>at least for a few weeks literally hundreds of millions
of</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>people, in every corner of the planet and from every walk
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>of life, who normally never think about Korea, will do
so.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>The numbers cited below are remarkable. Who knew?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>(One can almost forgive that cruel
"unglamorous"...)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Of course, Korea has been much in the media
already</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>of late. Let's hope football makes for better
news.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Go Korea!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Best wishes</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Aidan FC</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>Aidan
Foster-Carter<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB>Honorary Senior Research
Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University, UK</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB> </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB>E</SPAN></EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-style: italic" lang=EN-GB>: <A title=mailto:afostercarter@aol.com href="mailto:afostercarter@aol.com">afostercarter@aol.com</A><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><A title=mailto:afostercarter@yahoo.com href="mailto:afostercarter@yahoo.com">afostercarter@yahoo.com</A><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria">W</SPAN></EM>: <A title=http://www.aidanfc.net/ href="http://www.aidanfc.net/">www.aidanfc.net</A><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3>Flat 1, <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>40 Magdalen Road, <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Exeter, <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Devon, <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>EX2 4TE, <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>England, <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>UK<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB>T:</SPAN></EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB> (+44, no 0)<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>07970 741307 (mobile);<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">01392 257753 (home)<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB>Skype</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria; COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB>: <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Aidan.Foster.Carter <EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Cambria">Twitter:</SPAN></EM> <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>fcaidan<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>___________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/3e02bc2c-6a86-11df-b282-00144feab49a.html">http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/3e02bc2c-6a86-11df-b282-00144feab49a.html</A> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=ft-story-header>
<H1>The cup’s changing line-up of mankind</H1>
<P>By Simon Kuper</P>
<P>Published: May 28 2010 20:43 | </P></DIV>
<DIV class=ft-story-body>
<DIV id=floating-target class=clearfix>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>You wouldn’t have thought many people would have watched
Togo vs South Korea at the World Cup of 2006. These were unglamorous teams,
meeting in the first round. <STRONG>Nonetheless, the game’s average live global
TV audience was 109m viewers.</STRONG> That was more than saw last year’s Super
Bowl of American football, or Champions League final, or probably any
non-sporting TV programme. And the 109m doesn’t include hordes who watched
outside their homes, in bars or on big screens.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>Next month’s tournament could be the most watched media
event in history, competing only with the Beijing Olympics, says Kevin Alavy,
director at Initiative, futures sport + entertainment, a research agency.
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>Mr Alavy gave me some insight into some of the data he has
gathered on world cups. The agency has collected reliable TV data from 55
countries, as opposed to the inflated figures trumpeted by the sports events
themselves. Initiative’s numbers capture something of the World Cup’s
uniqueness. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>The context is that almost all TV programmes are losing
viewers. When most people only had a couple of channels, whole nations would
sink into the sofa at the same time for favourite programmes. Now with hundreds
of channels plus DVD and the internet, that hardly happens. Audiences keep
splintering. The generic sports programme around the world loses about 5 per
cent of its viewers each year. Only a handful of big sports events are keeping
their audiences: the Olympics, Super Bowl, Champions League final and big
international football tournaments. And the World Cup does better than just hold
on, says Mr Alavy: “We’re expecting this year’s World Cup to be more viewed than
ever before.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>While other programmes become ever more niche, almost
every demographic now watches the World Cup. That sets the tournament apart from
even the biggest club matches. Togo-Korea drew 10 times more global live viewers
at home than any game in England’s Premier League. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>Even young people watch the tournament: a third of the
audience is aged 16 to 34. Mr Alavy notes: “Many sports events, such as golf and
cycling, have a horrible time trying to appeal to young viewers.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>Women watch. In 2006 they made up 41 per cent of the World
Cup’s audience. In some countries, like Venezuela, most viewers were female. The
notion of “world cup widows” has become outdated, says Mr Alavy. “Now there must
be world cup widowers.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>Upmarket viewers watch. In 2002 they were still
fractionally less interested than the average person, but by 2006 were 6 per
cent more likely to watch than the average. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>No longer is the phrase “World Cup” a misnomer. Until 1990
the tournament should have been called the European-Latin American duopoly. Now,
though, the cup penetrates almost the whole world.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>Mr Alavy says the three most populous countries, China,
India and the US, are still in <SPAN>Initiative</SPAN>’s bottom five for average
viewing of the cup. If these countries continue to switch on, then one day Togo
vs South Korea might truly stop the world.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>For now, the tournament’s keenest viewers are the Croats,
Dutch and Norwegians. The UK, says Mr Alavy, never makes the top 10 of average
viewers. The amplified British tabloid noise is not reflected in the
population’s behaviour. Many Britons prefer to consume international football in
the form of sex scandals. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>Yet the World Cup may still be the most communal
experience the country gets. The tournament provides some of the national glue
once supplied by churches or royal weddings. And the shared experience seems to
make lonely people happier. The Greek epidemiologists Eleni Petridou, Fotis
Papadapoulos and Nick Dessypris have shown that in most European countries the
suicide rate falls during big tournaments. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Cambria>The World Cup briefly turns a nation into a family, and it
also creates something approximating the universal family of man. Initiative
expects this World Cup to draw 5 per cent more viewers than the last one. If
that applies to the final, then 670m people, or a tenth of mankind, might see at
least part of the game live.</FONT></P>
<P><A class=bodystrong href="mailto:simonkuper-ft@hotmail.com"><STRONG><FONT color=#003399 face=Cambria>simonkuper-ft@hotmail.com</FONT></STRONG></A></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>