by Jade Fitzgerald

Created on: January 29, 2009

Qualification for the 2010 world cup in South Africa is already underway. Here is how it is done:

There are 32 places available in the final tournament, one is reserved for the host; South Africa. Currently, only the host/hosts are guaranteed qualification for the world cup finals. Up until 2002 the cup holder was also guaranteed a place but now the champions have to qualify.

FIFA decides beforehand how many places they are going to award to each continental zone. For 2010 it is as follows:

Europe (UEFA): 13 teams will qualify. The 53 national teams are divided into eight groups of six and one group of five. The group winners automatically qualify while the best eight runners up play each other for the remaining four places.

Africa (CAF): As well as South Africa another five teams will qualify. As there are a large number of countries in this continent there are preliminary rounds prior to qualification to narrow down the number to 48. The 48 teams are then put into 12 groups of four. The group winners and the best four runners up advance to the second stage which sees the 20 teams placed into five groups of four. The five group winners will qualify for the world cup finals.

South America (CONMEBOL): Four teams are guaranteed qualification. This is the simplest system. Ten teams play each other twice. The top four teams advance to the world cup finals while the fifth place team will play against the forth place CONCACAF nation.

North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF): Three teams are guaranteed qualification. There are two preliminary rounds, first the entrants are reduced to 24 teams and then the second preliminary round reduces them to 12. From here three groups of four are formed. The top two teams of each group then form one group of six. The top three teams qualify and the team in fourth place will play the fifth place CONMEBOL nation. The winner of that match will also qualify.

Asia (AFC): Four guaranteed teams. A preliminary round reduces the entrants to 20 countries. They are broken down to five groups of four. The next stage sees the top two teams from each group form two groups of five. The winner and the runner up of each group advance to the finals. The two teams who finish in third place in each group then go on to play each other. The winner will play the winning nation from Oceania.

Oceania (OFC): No nation is guaranteed a place. As Australia is considered to have a higher quality football team they will attempt to qualify via CAF to give them a better chance. With Australia gone that leaves 11 nations. 10 teams (New Zealand are given a bye) are split into two groups of five. The top two teams and the best runner up join New Zealand in stage two. These four teams form a group with the winner going on to play the fifth place Asian nation.

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