Get out those team shirts, dust off those flags, break out those vuvuzelas - the champions are here. It's wall to wall football from now on.

FERNANDO TORRES, Kaka, Fabio Cannavaro, Ahmed Hassan - the names roll off the tongue of almost any person you care to ask; and they're just four of the football superstars putting in an appearance in the city of gold.

They're here, with loads of other top players, for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, on from 14 to 28 June. Johannesburg is one of the host cities - arguably the most important one - with the opening ceremony, first match and final taking place at Ellis Park Stadium, on the eastern edge of the CBD.

And given this, fans should be mastering the art of blowing the vuvuzela, South Africa's own way of celebrating The Beautiful Game at the stadiums.

The Confederations Cup, held in the host country a year before the World Cup, is known as the Festival of Champions because it pits the champions of the six FIFA Confederations, the reigning world champions and the next FIFA World Cup hosts against each other. That makes it Iraq, Egypt, Spain, United States, Brazil, New Zealand, current World Cup champions Italy, and 2010 hosts South Africa, this year.

Bafana foes
Iraq, the AFC Asian Cup 2007 champions, is up against South Africa in the opening match. They bring to Joburg their attacking style of play and techniques that have made them champions. FIFA ranks Iraqi coach, Jorvan Vieira, at 77th.

Egypt are the 2008 CAF African Cup of Nations champions. They are the most successful team in the confederation, with six titles under their belts. Their coach is Hassan Shehat, who ranks 22 at FIFA. Hossam Hassan, Ahmed Hassan, Amr Zaky and Mohammed Zidan are part of the team playing in South Africa.

The 2008 UEFA EURO champions, Spain, are the top ranked team in the world, led by FIFA's number one ranked coach, Vicente Del Bosque. Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos are in the squad.

Considered the sleeping giants of the football world, the United States are the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions. They have qualified for the last five FIFA World Cup tournaments and coach Bob Bradley ranks 21st at FIFA. Notable players include Darmacus Beasly, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard.

Record holders
Brazil are the only country to have played in every FIFA World Cup, ever. And the 2007 Copa America champions have stars like Kaka and Julio Cesar in the squad. Brazil are a sexy team, chockfull of talent, and in their time have produced some of the world's greatest footballers, such as Pele. Coach Dunga ranks fourth at FIFA.

The All Whites - New Zealand's football team - are the 2008 OFC Nations Cup champions. They have taken part in every OFC Nations Cup since 1973, winning four times. Coach Ricki Herbert, ranking 54th at FIFA, accompanies players including Simon Elliot, Ryan Nelson, Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz.

With four World Cup titles to their name, Italy is the 2006 FIFA World Cup champions. Coach Marcello Lippi, ranked second at FIFA, leads one of football's powerhouses. Joining the team to South Africa are Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Luca Toni and Gianluigi Buffon.

South Africa, the host nation, counts one CAF African Cup of Nations and two COSAFA Cup titles. Bafana Bafana, including players such as Bernard Parker, Steven Pienaar and Teko Modise, are showing the world their skills.

African event
In keeping with making the football tournament a truly African event, the official match ball has been inspired by the geometric artwork of the Ndebele people. And it has been named Kopanya, derived from the Southern Sotho word for "joining together". It represents the world of football coming together for the first time in Africa.

The Confederations Cup is widely seen as a test run for the organisers of the FIFA World Cup the following year in terms of infrastructure, logistics and services.

"We want to encourage South Africans to take emotional ownership of this tournament, to see themselves as hosts and the best way is to go out and fill the stadiums and welcome the teams and visitors to our country," says the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee's chief marketing officer, Derek Carstens. "We know that South Africans will rise to this call and we are focusing on making it as easy as possible for them to purchase their tickets."

Prices for matches start at R70, and there are several ways of applying for tickets. GET YOUR CONFED CUP TICKETS TODAY: through FIFA's ticketing call centre on 083 201 0010, at any FNB branch nationwide, through the FIFA website.

It's hard work winning the cup, and FIFA will reward the champions with a prize purse of $17,6-million (about R160-million). The winners will get $3,75-million; the runners up will get $3,25-million; third-placed will get $2,75-million; and fourth-placed will get $2,25-million. Teams ranked fifth to eighth will each receive $1,4-million.