El Mundial habla español / The World Cup speaks Spanish / 5 minutes of Spanish + Podcast

 

Presidenta de México junto a Gabriela Cuevas la organizadora del evento

Audio

Hi! How are you?

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on where you are or what time you’re listening.

Welcome to podcast 269. Thanks for joining us. So… what are we going to talk about today?

Today we’re going to talk about a topic that brings together countries, emotions, languages, and generations: the World Cup.

Are we going to talk about the World Cup? Soccer? The World Cup?

Yes, time is passing, and it starts in 15 days, but… we’re not going to argue about whether one team is better than another,

and we’re not going to fight over a penalty kick either.

We’re going to talk about the World Cup as a cultural, linguistic, and social phenomenon. This year, due to the sad international situation, there’s less enthusiasm.

But of course, in Latin America, soccer isn’t just a sport.

It’s family conversation, childhood, neighborhood, emotion, and even language.

Many Spanish expressions come from soccer.

For example:

a goal from midfield

being on the bench

playing as a team

putting on the jersey

playing at home

And although modern soccer was born in England in the 19th century, in Latin America it found a unique passion. The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Thirteen teams participated. Who won? Uruguay, of course. They beat Argentina 4–2.

In Latin America, soccer is sung, shouted, debated, and lived.

Additionally, Mexico is hosting the event again after many years.

It will share the hosting duties with the United States and Canada, and many activities related to the event have already begun. There are cultural festivals, concerts, urban murals, and events.

Mundial — World Cup

Sede — host country

Aficionado — fan

Partido — match

Cancha — field

Gol — goal

Árbitro — referee

Afición — supporter

Un gran honor tocar la copa

La palabra “fútbol” viene del inglés football.

In some countries, they say “soccer.”

In others, “futbol.” No accent or “futbol-soccer”

And in some places, you still hear “balompié.”

Yes, “balompié”: ball + foot.

It makes perfect sense… although almost no one uses it in everyday conversation.

Another interesting piece of news related to the World Cup is that President Claudia, the head of the Mexican government, decided not to attend the opening match and to give her seat to a young girl interested in the sport.

The seat will be raffled off among several young female athletes. The idea is to inspire new generations and support the participation of girls and young women in sports.

And in the meantime, thousands of people are already looking forward to the first match on June 11 between Mexico and South Africa, at 12:00 p.m. in Mexico City.

Many fans are already organizing trips, get-togethers, and parties to watch the start of the tournament.

Because the World Cup has something special:

for a few weeks, people from different countries speak the same language.

The language of soccer.

What about you? Would you like to practice Spanish by talking about culture, travel, and international events?

Then see you this month, with plenty of topics to discuss.

See you soon,

Bye, bye

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