The Football Worldcup is claimed to have a significant impact on the global economy, one of the reasons why so many countries are keen on hosting this event. Others are looking at the relationship between GDP and performance of teams at the Football Worldcup, which is well worth mapping. Here is a map that shows the participating countries of the 2010 Football Worldcup resized according to their Gross Domestic Product. In addition, all countries are coloured in different shadings of green – the darker green, the further the respective national team has proceeded in this year’s tournament. Obviously, economic wealth alone can’t buy success:

(click map for a larger view)

The previous map is of course missing out all other countries of the world. To complete the picture, the following map shows the same economic data (GDP), this time for the whole world, with the 32 nations participating in the 2010 Worldcup being coloured white, and those who missed out in black. The winners so far are marked with yellow stars (the number of stars indicating the numbers of trophys that a team has won at FIFA Worldcup tournaments):

(click map for a larger view)

Even if there may be links between economic wealth and success in football, this alone can hardly be the whole explanation for a team’s fortune. Interesting nevertheless to see, how the football world compares beyond the borders of the game.

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