ESPN believes that the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will be more successful than the 2010 edition that was held in South Africa.

Ed Erhardt, ESPN's president of global customer marketing and sales, said in an interview that they are expecting "significantly greater" advertisement sales this year, compared to the 2010 World Cup South Africa.

Despite the much-publicized World Cup-related protests and violence in Brazil, Erhardt revealed that the demand is very strong at this point, and they are expecting more sales as the event nears. The highly anticipated sporting event will kick off on June 12 and will run until July 13.

Erhardt pointed out that the strong demand could be attributed to the fact that more TV networks are now showing Major League Soccer games, along with Premier League and Champions League matches. He believes that U.S. fans' World Cup interest is significantly improving.

Erhardt also predicted that the 2014 Cup will be the "most social ever," more social than the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, 2012 London Summer Olympics, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while also adding that the event will be a strong digital marketplace.

"When you think about it, if you're going to spend some money digitally, what will be the biggest event in all of the world that is digital? It will be the World Cup," Erhardt said, via Ad Age. "While there was digital advertising [in 2010], it wasn't to the degree of the quality of the video that we now have."

FIFA: 2.3 Million Tickets Have Been Allocated To Fans

Meanwhile, FIFA announced that a total of 2.3 million tickets have been assigned, including tickets allocated through the hospitality programme and constituent groups.

Thierry Weil, FIFA Marketing Director who is in charge of ticketing, assured that all participating teams will enjoy the support of their fans in the upcoming World Cup, which will be held in 12 venues in Brazil.

"The teams can count on the support of their fans in the 12 stadiums in Brazil," Weil said. "This shows the huge anticipation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on all corners of the world and that we can expect an incredible atmosphere at all matches in the stadiums in June and July."

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