An unprecedented 'Taiwan World Cup' initiated by a Taiwan-based British investment banker will take place on June 16 in Taipei to cash in on the spotlight of the real World Cup that opens in South Africa Friday. The one-day tournament -- the brainchild of Russell Curtis -- will bring together 16 teams composed of citizens from 20 countries residing in Taipei's Ying Feng Riverside Park. Actually, it already tried last Saturday, but rain forced the event to be postponed to June 16. For Curtis, organizing the event was a natural extension of his passion for the game. 'I love football. It's my life, ' he told the Central News Agency in an interview. Putting the event together, however, has not been easy because there are fewer football fans and standard fields in Taiwan than in western countries. 'It was most difficult to get the pitch. We wanted it for two days but could only get it for one day, ' Curtis said, which forced him to cut the original field from 25 teams down to 16 teams so that the event could be completed in a single day. The 16 teams in the 7-a-side tournament, including a European Union team that consists of players from Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic, are composed of people of many different nationalities from all walks of life -- students, English teachers, bankers, business executives and even millionaires. 'In England or the U.S., you'll never be with these people because you have a different status. It's like Terry Gou playing football with you,' Curtis said of the unusual phenomenon. To give the tournament a genuine feel, Curtis has invested more than NT$100,000 in prize money and to hire professional referees, tents and a PA system. A set of rules were also established, including requiring each team to present their national anthem before each match, he said. According to Curtis, everyone is motivated, with some teams even preparing the same uniforms that their national teams will wear at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. But he also wondered if the passion could be taken to excess, worrying that if everyone gets too serious, they might not be able to enjoy the game and have fun. If the investment banker has any regrets, aside from losing some of his investment to the rainout on Saturday, it is that more Taiwanese teams did not sign up. 'I tried to get more Taiwanese teams to play, but not many Taiwanese people were interested.' Only two or three teams, he said, expressed interest. Curtis does not anticipate that World Cup fever in Taiwan will ever rival that in his native England, where the country comes to a virtual standstill during big matches. But he is hoping the June 16 tournament will at least raise the profile of the game in Taiwan and establish a new tradition by being held every two to four years. 