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Where are you watching the World Cup?

Duke soccer fans make plans for the best viewing parties

Members of the South African national soccer team warm up before a pre-World Cup practice.

Duke researcher Paul Ousema wants Dutch fans to know he and his friends will root for the Orange at the Carolina Ale House on the Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard.

Laurent Dubois will be at Pinhook Saturday and in South Africa later in the month, rooting for a France-Cameroon final.

And fans of all nationalities will always be welcome at Duke's International House.

With the start of the World Cup soccer tournament, which claims to be the most followed event in the world, the Duke campus and nearby gathering spots are getting ready for viewing parties.

Because the host nation of South Africa is six hours ahead of North Carolina, most games are during the day. The early schedule has games set for 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. A full schedule of first-round games is here.

One place that will be ready is International House. Eight years ago, when the games were held in South Korea and Japan*, the office was turned into a late-night soccer venue where sleepy fans stayed up late to catch the action.

This year, the hours are more reasonable. Lisa Giragosian, senior assistant director, said that although most internationals have left campus for the summer, they expect to house viewing parties for most of the games. International House will serve soda and popcorn.

On West Campus, fans can watch games on TVs in the Bryan Center and Wilson and Brodie Gyms, and in the Devil's Bistro on Central Campus..

But others are heading off campus. Dubois, a professor of Romance Studies who has written a book on the World Cup, said he knows downtown establishments such as Pinhook and Bull McCabe's will feature games. So will Brightleaf restaurants such as the James Joyce, Devine's, the Federal and Satisfactions.

But Dubois is heading to South Africa on June 25 for closer inspection of the later rounds of play. Following the much-anticipated U.S.-England matchup this Saturday, he will screen a film of classic World Cup highlights at Pinhook, part of a series of soccer-related films the nightclub will showcase during the tournament.

Are you getting your country's fans together to watch games? If so, send the location to Duke Today, and we'll post them here.

* This sentence has been corrected. The original article left out Japan as cohost of the 2002 games.