Latest / Kidcast Daily / Ep178: Top Soccer Tournaments and Leagues

Transcript

Ep178: Top Soccer Tournaments and Leagues · Kidcast Daily

• 0:08
  Spin the wheel, let's take a ride.
• 0:11
  Sports and science bursting from inside a world of wonder.
• 0:17
  Open wide. Come on kids, let's amplify kid
• 0:22
  cats. Daily starts yours.
• 0:25
  Welcome to Kick Ass Daily, where we bring news, trivia, fun
• 0:29
  facts, and more just for curious kids like you.
• 0:32
  Today, we're going on a world tour of top soccer tournaments
• 0:35
  and leagues. If you love soccer, or even if
• 0:38
  you're just starting to learn about it, get ready to discover
• 0:41
  how the best teams and players compete, why these tournaments
• 0:44
  are so famous, and some awesome facts you can share with your
• 0:48
  friends. Let's kick things off with the
• 0:50
  basics. Soccer is the world's most
• 0:52
  popular sport. In some countries, it's called
• 0:55
  football. No matter what you call it,
• 0:58
  billions of people play and watch soccer every year.
• 1:02
  But what really gets fans excited are the big tournaments
• 1:05
  and leagues where the best teams and players show their skills.
• 1:09
  So what is a Soccer League and what is a tournament?
• 1:12
  A Soccer League is a competition where teams play against each
• 1:15
  other over a season, usually several months long.
• 1:18
  Each team plays many matches and they earn points for winning or
• 1:22
  tying. At the end of the season, the
• 1:25
  team with the most points is the champion.
• 1:27
  A tournament is different. It's usually a shorter event
• 1:30
  where teams play knockout matches.
• 1:33
  If you lose, you're out and the last team standing wins the
• 1:36
  trophy. Let's start by traveling to
• 1:38
  Europe, home to some of the most famous soccer leagues in the
• 1:41
  world. One of the best known is the
• 1:44
  English Premier League, or EPL. This league is in England and it
• 1:48
  has 20 teams who play each other twice every season, once at home
• 1:52
  and once away. Teams like Manchester United,
• 1:55
  Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are known all
• 1:59
  over the world. Stadiums are packed with fans
• 2:02
  and each goal is celebrated with loud cheers.
• 2:05
  Did you know the Premier League is watched in more than 200
• 2:08
  countries? That means millions of people
• 2:11
  TuneIn every weekend. Next, let's visit Spain where
• 2:15
  the top league is called La Liga.
• 2:17
  Big teams here include Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
• 2:21
  These two teams have a famous rivalry called El Clasico.
• 2:25
  When they play each other, it's one of the most watched sporting
• 2:29
  events on the planet. Players like Lionel Messi and
• 2:32
  Cristiano Ronaldo have played in La Liga and have become soccer
• 2:35
  legends. Italy has its own top league
• 2:37
  called Serie. Teams like Juventus, AC Milan
• 2:41
  and Inter Milan have won many trophies.
• 2:44
  Serie is known for strong defenders and skillful players.
• 2:48
  In Germany, the top league is the Bundesliga.
• 2:51
  Bayern Munich is the most successful team in Germany and
• 2:54
  their stadium called the Allianz Arena can hold about 75,000
• 2:58
  fans. That's a lot of people cheering
• 3:01
  for their team. France's top league is called
• 3:03
  League 1. Paris Saint Germain or PSG is
• 3:07
  one of the biggest teams. Some of the world's best players
• 3:10
  like Neymar and Killian and Bape play there.
• 3:13
  League One is known for fast-paced games and exciting
• 3:16
  young talent. Now let's talk about tournaments
• 3:19
  that bring together the best teams across Europe.
• 3:22
  The most famous is the UEFA Champions League.
• 3:25
  This tournament happens every year.
• 3:27
  The best teams from different countries in Europe qualify to
• 3:30
  play. the Champions League has a special song that plays before
• 3:34
  every match, and it's a big honor for teams just to be a
• 3:37
  part of it. The final, which is the last
• 3:40
  match of the tournament, is watched by hundreds of millions
• 3:43
  of people around the world. Did you know the Champions
• 3:46
  League trophy weighs about 7.5 kilograms?
• 3:49
  That's heavier than a big bag of flour.
• 3:52
  Europe also has the UEFA European Championship, or the
• 3:55
  EUR. This is a tournament for
• 3:57
  national teams, not club teams. Every four years, countries like
• 4:01
  England, France, Germany and Italy compete to be the champion
• 4:05
  of Europe. The last EUR were held in 2021
• 4:09
  and Italy won after a dramatic penalty shootout against
• 4:12
  England. Let's hop over to South America
• 4:15
  where soccer is just as popular. The top club tournament here is
• 4:20
  the Copa Labradors. Teams from countries like
• 4:23
  Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay compete.
• 4:26
  Clubs like Boca Juniors and River Plate from Argentina and
• 4:29
  Flamingo and Palmeras from Brazil have huge followings.
• 4:34
  The Copa Labradors final is a big event and fans celebrate
• 4:38
  with music, fireworks and parades.
• 4:40
  South America also has the Copa America, which is for national
• 4:44
  teams. It's the oldest international
• 4:47
  soccer tournament in the world, first played in 1916.
• 4:51
  Countries like Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay have won it many
• 4:55
  times. Did you know Lionel Messi
• 4:57
  finally won his first Copa America with Argentina in 2021?
• 5:02
  It was a huge moment for him and his fans.
• 5:05
  In North America, the top league is Major League Soccer, or MLS.
• 5:09
  In the United States and Canada, teams like LA Galaxy, New York
• 5:14
  City FC and Toronto FC play in big stadiums, and the league is
• 5:18
  growing every year. Many famous players from Europe
• 5:21
  have come to play in MLS like David Beckham, Zlatan
• 5:25
  Ibrahimovic and Terry Henry. MLS has a unique way of deciding
• 5:30
  its champion. Instead of just the team with
• 5:32
  the most points. The top teams at the end of the
• 5:35
  season go into the playoffs and the winner of the final match,
• 5:38
  called the MLS Cup, is the champion.
• 5:41
  Asia also has exciting soccer leagues like the J1 League in
• 5:45
  Japan and the K League in South Korea.
• 5:48
  The top club tournament in Asia is the AFC Champions League,
• 5:52
  where the best teams from different countries compete.
• 5:54
  Soccer is growing fast in Asia with more fans and players every
• 5:59
  year. Africa has many leagues and a
• 6:02
  special tournament called the CAF Champions League.
• 6:05
  Teams from Egypt like Al Ali and from Tunisia like Esperance are
• 6:10
  very successful. The Africa Cup of Nations or
• 6:13
  AFCON is the biggest tournament for national teams in Africa.
• 6:17
  Egypt and Cameroon have both won the AFCON many times and the
• 6:21
  tournament is famous for its colorful fans and great goals.
• 6:25
  Now let's talk about the biggest soccer tournament in the world,
• 6:28
  the FIFA World Cup. This is the tournament for
• 6:31
  national teams from all over the globe.
• 6:34
  It happens every four years and 32 teams compete for the trophy.
• 6:38
  The World Cup is watched by billions of people.
• 6:41
  The very first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay and only
• 6:45
  13 teams took part. Brazil has won the World Cup
• 6:49
  five times, more than any other country.
• 6:52
  Did you know the 2018 World Cup in Russia was watched by over
• 6:56
  3.5 billion people? That's almost half the people on
• 7:00
  Earth. There's also a World Cup for
• 7:02
  women's soccer called the FIFA Women's World Cup.
• 7:05
  This tournament is becoming more popular every year.
• 7:08
  The United States women's national team is the most
• 7:11
  successful, having won four times.
• 7:14
  The 2019 Women's World Cup final in France was watched by over
• 7:18
  260 million people. Players like Megan Rapinoe, Alex
• 7:23
  Morgan and Marta from Brazil are some of the stars of women's
• 7:26
  soccer. For kids and teenagers.
• 7:29
  There are special tournaments too, like the FIFA U-17 and U20
• 7:33
  World Cups, where the best young players from around the world
• 7:37
  get to compete and show their skills.
• 7:39
  Soccer tournaments and leagues aren't just about winning
• 7:42
  trophies. They also bring people together.
• 7:45
  Fans wear their team's colors, sing songs and celebrate
• 7:48
  together. In many countries, soccer is a
• 7:51
  big part of life, and matches are a time for families and
• 7:55
  friends to gather and have fun. Let's look at some more fun
• 7:58
  facts. Did you know that Real Madrid
• 8:00
  has won the most Champions League titles with 14 trophies
• 8:04
  as of 2023? Or that the fastest goal in
• 8:07
  World Cup history was scored just 11 seconds after kickoff by
• 8:11
  Hawkinsucker of Turkey in 2002? And the largest soccer stadium
• 8:15
  in the world is the Run Grotto 1st of May Stadium in North
• 8:18
  Korea, which can hold up to 114,000 people.
• 8:22
  You might be wondering how teams get to play in these big
• 8:24
  tournaments. In leagues, teams qualify by
• 8:28
  being among the best in their country.
• 8:30
  For tournaments like the World Cup, teams must play in
• 8:33
  qualifying matches against other countries.
• 8:36
  Only the top teams make it to the final tournament.
• 8:39
  Soccer also has awards for the best players.
• 8:42
  The Baloundore is a golden ball trophy given every year to the
• 8:46
  player voted the best in the world.
• 8:48
  Players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won it
• 8:52
  many times. Let's quickly recap what we've
• 8:54
  learned today. Soccer is the world's most
• 8:57
  popular sport, with exciting leagues and tournaments on every
• 9:01
  continent. Some of the top leagues are the
• 9:03
  English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italy, Serie A,
• 9:08
  Germany's Bundesliga and France's League One.
• 9:10
  The UEFA Champions League is the top club tournament in Europe,
• 9:14
  and the FIFA World Cup is the biggest tournament for national
• 9:17
  teams worldwide. South America's Copa Labradors
• 9:20
  and Copa America, North America's MLS and Gold Cup,
• 9:24
  Asia's AFC Champions League and Africa's CAF Champions League
• 9:29
  and AFCON are all important competitions too.
• 9:32
  Soccer is more than just a game. It's a way for people everywhere
• 9:36
  to come together, cheer for their teams, and celebrate
• 9:39
  amazing skills and teamwork. Thanks for joining us on Kid
• 9:43
  Cast Daily. Now you know all about the top
• 9:45
  soccer tournaments and leagues around the world.
• 9:48
  Next time you watch a match or play with your friends, you'll
• 9:51
  have lots of cool facts to share.
• 9:53
  Stay curious, keep learning, and we'll see you next time.
• 9:58
  Grab your breakfast. Feeling fine?
• 10:00
  Adventures waiting? Don't be late.
• 10:03
  Today's the day we. Celebrate kid Cast Daily starts
• 10:06
  your day.