How to follow the World Cup on Twitter

By
Wednesday, 4 June 2014

With just 10 days to go, the countdown has begun to the 2014 @FIFAWorldCup in Brazil, and the conversation is building on Twitter. In fact, there have already been more World Cup-related Tweets this year than during the entire 2010 tournament.

The #WorldCup will happen on the pitch, but also on Twitter, giving people the chance to get closer to the action than ever before. Fans get real-time updates on Twitter from their favourite teams, players, coaches, writers, celebrities and fellow fans. It is the only truly global viewing party, where you can track every match, experience every goal and love every second of the World Cup, both on and off the pitch. This how-to-follow guide gives you everything you will need to all the action as it unfolds:

Follow Australia’s World Cup adventure on Twitter
Twitter and sport go hand-in-hand in the Australia. So Aussie fans will be pleased that they are able to follow the majority of the final 23-man squad while they are in Brazil. A full list of @Socceroos players on Twitter can be found here; below are the top most-followed members of the final 23-man squad:

How to follow the World Cup on Twitter

Exclusive access
The @Socceroos account is the best place to start your #WorldCup journey. Their account provides amazing access to the players and coaches and will be providing photos, videos and breaking news from inside the Aussies camp in Brazil.

The Socceroos have been tweeting behind-the-scenes photos from the team’s Brazilian base:



The Australian players are using Twitter to share exclusive content too:



The players even enjoyed sending Vine videos to fans as they hit the red carpet at the official farewell dinner on the Opera House forecourt:


Hashtags
The official hashtags for the 2014 World Cup are:

Official accounts
Be sure to follow these verified accounts for reliable, up-to-the-minute World Cup news:

Other Australian accounts to follow
Throughout the tournament, fans will flock to Twitter to join in the live conversation. A full list can be found here, and below are a selection of Australian media outlets, writers, broadcasters and other voices that will create the roar of the crowd on Twitter:

World Cup teams
30 of the 32 nations competing in this year’s World Cup have official accounts on Twitter. You can follow all of the teams here; this graphic shows the top six most followed teams:

How to follow the World Cup on Twitter

World Cup players
More than 300 of the players, across all 32 nations, making the trip to Brazil are on Twitter. You can follow each of their individual journeys throughout the tournament here. This graphic shows the top six most followed players in the 2014 World Cup:

How to follow the World Cup on Twitter

The final squads are now chosen, but we must wait until the opening matches to see who starts for their team. If Twitter users were picking the lineup, the eleven players below would be a good place to start. This team is made up of the most mentioned players on Twitter in the past three months, forming an XI that would surely be the envy of any manager in football:

How to follow the World Cup on Twitter

Follow the #WorldCup on Twitter for real-time updates on and off the pitch.

Twitter and Sports
Twitter is your second screen whilst watching on TV, creating a space for live commentary in the moment, from fans and expert alike, across sports, as recent research from @Nielsen suggests:

  • 50% of Tweets about TV in 2013 were sport related
  • 492 million Tweets sent in 2013 were about sports events
  • 12 of the top 20 tweeted events on Twitter in 2013 were sporting events
  • There were 1.7 million Tweets about the World Cup draw globally in two hours

In Australia specifically, research from @globalwebindex shows that Twitter and football go hand in hand:

How to follow the World Cup on Twitter

The first @Socceroos game is on 14 June against Chile, with group matches to follow on 19 and 24 June. So be sure to tune in with Twitter this World Cup. All the drama of the #WorldCup will unfold on the pitch, but also on Twitter, bringing you closer to the action than ever before, so that you never need miss a moment.