Numbers: the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be a feast of them, with anything and everything that happens on the field analysed down to the minutest statistical detail. But that’s not my agenda here. Instead, I’ve listed below some of my favourite stats about the business of this World Cup off the field. Enjoy, and feel free to comment and add your own!

Number of times the World Cup has previously been staged in Africa.

Percentage the World Cup is forecast to add to South African GDP this year.

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Number of teams sponsored by Umbro, which only sponsors England.

Percentage the World Cup is expected to add to total global advertising revenues this year.

Focus of World Cup sponsor Sony’s tournament activation campaign, which will feature 25 matches filmed in 3D for the first time.

Predicted ratio of UK viewers for World Cup matches on BBC compared to ITV, based on recent World Cups and UEFA Euro Championships. Bad news for Adrian Chiles.

Percentage of people who will download an app to help them follow the World Cup, according to a recent Nielsen survey.

Percentage of South Africans (approximately 5 million) with internet access.

Teams sponsored by Adidas competing in the World Cup. Nike sponsors 9, in case you were wondering.

Official FIFA fan parks (known as Fan Fests) around the world for the tournament: nine in South Africa and seven others, in Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio, Rome and Sydney

Official sponsors of the World Cup, comprising six FIFA ‘Partners’ (Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates, Hyundai-Kia, Sony and Visa), eight ‘World Cup Sponsors’ (Budweiser, Castrol, Continental Tyres, McDonalds, MTN, Satyam, Seara and Yingli) and five ‘National Supporters’ (BP, First National Bank, Neo, Prasa and Telkom).

Fans, one from each competing country, who will feature in ‘Bud House’, World Cup sponsor Budweiser’s ‘Big Brother meets the World Cup’ reality show which run on YouTube throughout the tournament.

Days between the end of the World Cup on July 11 and the start of the 2010/2011 Premier League season

Female percentage of UK TV audiences for England matches, according to a recent forecast by Initiative.

Countries visited by the Coca-Cola World Cup Trophy Tour over 9 months in 2009 and 2010.

Hours of World Cup coverage to be broadcast by BBC.

Countries who took part in the World Cup qualification campaign, a new record on the previous best of 194. A total of 19.3 million fans attended the matches.

Year when a World Cup match was televised for the first time.

First World Cup tournament to feature official FIFA World Cup sponsorships.

World Cup trademark violations, according to FIFA, in 84 countries, from the 2006 World Cup. In 1994, when FIFA began taking action against violations, there were 258 reported in 39 countries.

Altitude above sea level, in feet, of Johannesburg, where the 2010 Final will be staged.

Reported number of tickets bought by non-South African Africans.

Media representatives working in South Africa during the tournament.

Tickets to be sold in total for the 64 World Cup matches.

YouTube views to date of Nike’s ‘Write the Future’ World Cup-themed ad featuring Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, Homer Simpson and others.

Dollar difference in FIFA prize money between winning the World Cup and being knocked out at the group stage.

Returns, at the time of writing, when you type ‘World Cup 2010′ into Google.

Amount in sterling that Betfair is forecasting fans will bet on Betfair during the World Cup.