Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Injury Trouble for Veron and Buffon
Juan Sebastian Veron will sit out Argentina's game with South Korea on Thursday with a minor leg muscle injury.
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has missed training for the second successive day amid fears that he may not play again in the 2010 World Cup.
2010 FIFA World Cup: Wednesday's Previews
Chile vs. Honduras
Preview
Spain vs. Switzerland
Preview
Spain begin their journey
Team News
South Africa vs. Uruguay
Preview
South Africa inspired by chance to make history
Team News
Richard Williams: Brazil off the mark but we wait for action to ignite
Brazil laboured to overcome North Korea in a World Cup that has produced the lowest number of goals of any of the previous 18 tournaments.
Sven-Goran Eriksson calls for summit on World Cup ball
"I can understand that goalkeepers are not happy, and I think the authorities should listen to them," Eriksson said. "I think the matter should be discussed. Players, coaches and perhaps top goalkeepers should get together. Especially people should listen to the goalkeepers' point of view, because the ball isn't doing them any favours."
Carlos Queiroz, the Portugal coach:
"I find it strange that normally players are prevented from wearing even a simple string bracelet in a game, yet the referee gave permission for Drogba to play in a cast. It is not really a matter for Portugal and I do not wish to make a complaint, but I would like to know if the rules are still the same for all players."
Somali Islamists kill two for watching World Cup
Somali Islamist militants killed two people and arrested dozens of others for breaking a ban on watching the World Cup on television, residents said.
World Cup match-day 5: Garth Crooks' team of the day
We're still waiting for this tournament to properly come alive but we saw quite a few fine individual performances with only four teams still to play their opening fixture.
Here's my 2010 Fifa World Cup finals team of the day from Tuesday 15 June:
North Korean 'fans' at World Cup look out of place
Kim Yong Chon, 43, one of the North Korean fans, said the group, which numbered 300, was not Chinese, but he admitted they had been carefully recruited by the North Korean government to make the trip. Speaking through an interpreter, he said the group had left Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, and traveled through Beijing the same day and they would stay in South Africa as long as their team does.
2010 FIFA World Cup: Tuesday's Action
Slovakia 1 - 1 New ZealandKevin McCarra at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium
Ivory Coast 0 - 0 Portugal
Paul Wilson at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Paul Fletcher: Portugal lack punch
Paul Hayward: Ronaldo is latest damp squib
Amy Lawrence: Ronaldo vs. Drogba fizzes
Brazil 2 - 0 North Korea
Sean Ingle at Ellis Park
Jonathan Stevenson: Dunga delights in efficient Brazil
Carlisle: Complacency is the U.S.'s challenge
The U.S. passed all manner of exams against England this past weekend. But to prevail against Slovenia on Friday will require the U.S. to ace World Cup Psychology 101.
Phil Ball in Spain
Back at home in Spain, a strange atmosphere prevails, unique in its consensus that La Roja are the tournament's best side, yet oddly restrained in the face of such unbridled optimism. The Spanish are a happy enough lot, as befits their so-called Latin temperament, but one would hardly describe them as eternal optimists.
Live the Beautiful Game
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Cisco. All opinions are 100% mine.
The stage is set for football lovers for the biggest event in history of the sports where teams from 32 countries are going to battle hard to prove their worth. FIFA World Cup 2010 is being played in South Africa, from June 11 to July 11, 2010 and football fans have already gathered there to watch the thrilling game and the rest are glued to different media channels to find what is happening.
The passion for Football is certainly sweeping everyone in the world this time, particularly the sportsmen and the youth. In addition to conventional media, football fans are going online to find all sorts of information about the championship, including multimedia content such as brief video clips of stars and highlights from games from earlier championships. Many Internet sites have sprung up which are reporting each and every thing about the World Cup.
There are so many ways to experience this beautiful game at home. I suggest you Put yourself in a World Cup video, share it with the world and enjoy. It has been made easy by the Casio System. I suggest you watch this video. Not only that, why don’t you create your own and share it with family, friends and the world. Please leave a link to your video in the comment of this blog and I will blow it up a bit (with a link back to you).
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Brazil - the Destination for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Dance teams perform at the opening of the Brazil Sensational expo on June 15, 2010 in Sandton, South Africa. Brazil opened the exhibit at the Sandton Convention Center, showing off Brazilian culture, provincial art and its distinguished World Cup soccer history as a record five-time champion. The Brazilian Tourism Board organized the display to advertise Brazil as the destination for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Vuvuzela Every Where
A Paraguay fan blows a vuvuzela as she enjoys the atmosphere prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group F match between Italy and Paraguay at Green Point Stadium on June 14, 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Brazil Toils to Crack North Korean Mystery
So you're North Korea. You test nukes. You take journalists and wayward hikers into custody. You blow up the occasional ship belonging to your archenemy to the south and don't give a hoot what anyone says about it.
You don't exactly play by the rules.
So when your soccer team is ranked 84th and pitted against the top-ranked team in the world, you just decide you're not going to play.
Oh, the North Koreans took the field Tuesday night, and kicked the ball around in suddenly frigid Johannesburg. They even managed to score a goal while giving up only two.
But on the whole their behavior didn't much resemble that of the 31 other nations that have played thus far.
On defense, where most teams place four players, North Korea stationed between six and eight who hung back, barely bothering to challenge the Brazilians as they walked the ball two-thirds of the way up the field. If you're not a soccer person, imagine letting an opponent in football march to the red zone on every possession before you think about tackling.
North Korea attempted shots from 45 and 50 yards. On one free kick from Brazil, they set up a 10-man wall. Typical is a five- or six-man wall. The North Korean goalkeeper punted the ball all the way down the field to Julio Cesar, the Brazilian goalkeeper.
Midway through the second half, central defender Pak Chol Jin got taken off on a stretcher. When he reached the sideline, he stepped off the stretcher and asked the referee if he could return to the match.
The contrarian strategy almost worked. Playing the team that taught the world bicycle kicks and other offensive tricks, the North Koreans kept Brazil scoreless for nearly an hour. Then Brazil's Maicon took a perfect feed from Elano on the right wing in the 55th minute, dribbled to the end line and bent a shot off the outside of his right foot, beating Ri Myong Guk on the near side. Seventeen minutes later, Elano connected for a goal of his own off a perfect through-ball from Robinho.
"When we come across an adversary that plays very defensively, it's very difficult to come up with an attack strategy," said Dunga, the Brazilian coach, relieved to escape with a win.
Even if nobody else does, the North Koreans know who they are. Coach Kim Jong Hun promised a defensive effort, and his players delivered just that, flinging their bodies across the field in front of rockets from the Brazilians, resisting the temptation to try hard to score and leave themselves open to Brazil's lethally fast counter-attack. Midfielder Mun In Guk could often be seen waving his players back from the midfield line.
"For the first half, I think our players really carried out our plan," Mr. Kim said. "Our team defended very strongly, nevertheless we were trying to find a goal opportunity and we were able to find one goal."
Fifa detains 36 female Holland fans for 'ambush marketing'
Thirty-six female Holland fans were thrown out of their country's game against Denmark at Soccer City after Fifa officials accused them of wearing orange mini-dresses to promote an unlicensed beer brand.
2010 FIFA World Cup: Tuesday's Previews
Beckenbauer: England have regressed under Capello
Franz Beckenbauer has stored up potential for a stormy clash between England and Germany by declaring that Fabio Capello's side have headed "backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush" on the evidence of Saturday's opening match against the United States and he has also suggested that there is very little that can be done to improve things.
World Cup 2010: It's just too cold for sexy football
In Durban on Sunday evening, the year-round sub-tropical climate on the Indian Ocean coast ensured that Germany’s 4-0 demolition of Australia was staged in balmy temperatures in excess of 20 degrees.Yet 24 hours later, Italy and Paraguay slugged out an uninspiring 1-1 draw in Cape Town in horrendous conditions that saw the southern city battered by incessant rain, high winds and hail-storms throughout the day. The temperature at kick-off time was four degrees.
So the best game of the tournament was played out in typical World Cup conditions, while two of the worst – Italy v Paraguay and France v Uruguay – were staged in grim wintry weather.
World Cup footballers Messi and Ronaldo join roar for ban on ‘deafening’ vuvuzela
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi joined calls by broadcasters and fans to ban the vuvuzela at the World Cup as British supermarkets reported selling one of the plastic horns every two seconds.Some horn players complain of “vuvuzela lip” from the plastic mouthpiece. Bruce Copley, who has been teaching pupils to play the vuvuzela, advised using baby oil to reduce friction.
There may yet be sanctuary for armchair fans. A website — antivuvuzelafilter.com — is said to offer a download for 2.95euros (£2.45) which combats the horn by playing back at the television set noise waves at the same frequency.
Chris Jones: Spending Time With England Away
The bar was called Bulls. It was a rugby bar, named after the Blue Bulls, a provincial team from Pretoria, but today it would become a soccer bar. Today it would become an English bar filled with Englishmen. They would see it, and they would claim it. The bar was their territory.
And then the American college kids came in.
And then the police.
World Cup 2010: Reality Sets In
The first weekend of the 2010 World Cup has come and gone, with more success than failure. FIFA gleefully reported "record TV audience" for the opening match. The United States Soccer Federation sent a release announcing that Saturday's United States-England tilt in Rustenburg had the highest ratings of any first round match ever. (Amazingly, almost one in five people in Germany viewed the Americans battle the Three Lions.)
But the story is a bit different on the ground in South Africa. While the country's excitement carried the initial 72 hours, the thrill is wearing off and reality is setting in.
2010 FIFA World Cup: Monday's Action
Italy 1 - 1 Paraguay
David Hytner at Green Point Stadium
Amy Lawrence: Italy show unfamiliar lack of charisma
Carlo Garganese: Same old uninspired Italy
Holland 2 - 0 Denmark
Paul Wilson at Soccer City
Patrick Barclay: Elia breathes life into Dutch campaign
Japan 1 - 0 Cameroon
Honda tames the Domitable Lions
Japan earn first World Cup win on foreign soil
Japan vs Cameroon World Cup Results 2010
Japan vs Cameroon World Cup Results 2010 – Cameroon definitely needs to rethink its strategy because for the first time in its history in World Cup,they lost their first match.Their task ahead is not impossible but it is difficult for the Lions to finish first in their group.Earlier today Japan surprised the world by beating Cameroon (1-0) thanks to the Cameroonians’ lack of defense and Keisuke Honda ’s rapid mind and feet.The Japanese deserved their victory but its just that were shocked by the unexpected weakness of the Indomitable Lions who were overjoyed at the idea of playing the first World Cup in Africa’s history.
With today’s results the Samurais will now have the opportunity to seriously compete against the Netherlands and Denmark, their next two opponents in Group E in the upcoming days.
Monday, June 14, 2010
No Ban on Vuvuzelas
Vuvuzela trumpets will not be banned from the World Cup, organisers say, despite complaints from teams over the cacophony and a run on earplugs as South Africans fret about their hearing.
The incessant blasting of the plastic trumpets has become the unofficial World Cup soundtrack, but the vuvuzelas have triggered controversy.
A BBC report said chief organiser Danny Jordaan had not ruled out banning the horns, but Rich Mkhondo, a spokesman for the local World Cup organising committee, said "Vuvuzelas are here to stay and will never be banned."
"People love the vuvuzelas around the world. Only a minority are against vuvuzelas. There has never been a consideration to ban vuvuzelas," he added.
Vuvuzelas have been controversial since the Confederations Cup last year, a World Cup dress rehearsal, when several players complained they could not communicate through the racket.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter also rejected calls for them to be banned, saying they are as typical of South African football as bongo drums or chants in other countries.
Mkhondo said the horns were part of the local culture and he said they were also being used by fans from other countries -- a view backed up by the enormous extra demand seen by vuvuzela outlets across South Africa.
"It seems like the bad publicity has been good for us," said Brandon Bernado, owner of the vuvuzela.co.za website and a factory he said could churn out at least 10,000 of the instruments every day.
"We're completely sold out. Every time we manufacture more, the next morning by nine we're sold out," he told Reuters.
The vuvuzela industry is worth 50 million rand ($6.45 million) in South Africa and Europe, according to Cape Town-based Neil van Schalkwyk, who developed the vuvuzela seven years ago.
The vogue for vuvuzelas is also proving a boon for earplug vendors too as South Africans rush to protect their hearing and get a good night's sleep.
"It's actually very dangerous. Vuvuzelas can produce about 200 decibels of noise -- which basically sounds like a herd of elephants approaching," said Lindy Gordon-Brown, who runs an online business selling earplugs.
Staff at Grayston pharmacy in Johannesburg's Sandton business hub have made three orders for earplugs in the last week, and stocks are already running low.
Gordon-Brown said her sales have trebled due to the World Cup and that many buyers are entrepreneurs hoping to sell earplugs at a premium outside stadiums.
"I'm sure they're going to be a lot of earplugs available around the stadiums but heaven knows what they're going to charge." (Additional reporting by Zaheer Cassim, Helen Popper and Opheera McDoom)
Top Twelve World Cup Stars
The World Cup is the showcase of footballing talent. It is the chance to bring the most talented footballers in the world together to determine which nation holds the best footballing prowess. However the World Cup is not just a team spectacle, it is very important on the individual level as well. Will Lionel Messi be able to back up his sparkling form for Barcelona and prove he is the best player in the world, or that he is a one trick pony reliant on the potent midfield at the Catalan side?. Will Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney be able to put together a sparkling tournament to dislodge the Argentinian winger from the World Player of the Year crown?. There are many questions to be answered over the next month.
However these are all famous, well-known players who get written about daily in the press and are household names. What I aim to do with this article is uncover 12 talents you may not know much about, and give you a little insight into them in the hope they show their true potential and make a name for themselves at the World Cup.
See the Slide Show here!
The Fabulous Vuvuzelas
That's the verdict from FIFA, the world governing body for soccer and organizer of the World Cup, which once again refused to bow to pressure and ban the loud -- and controversial -- plastic horns.
"I have always said that Africa has a different rhythm, a different sound," FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in a Twitter post. "I don't see banning the music traditions of fans in their own country. Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?"
The buzzing horns, which sound like thousands of angry bees, first came to the soccer world's attention in last summer's Confederations Cup in South Africa. But after FIFA considered banning the noisemakers from the World Cup, Blatter said they would be allowed in deference to their place in South African soccer culture.
Four days into the tournament, however, and TV viewers around the world are making their own noise. According to the Associated Press, ESPN has received some complaints, but "not an overwhelming amount," network spokesman Bill Hofheimer said. Al-Jazeera, South Korean broadcaster SBS, TF1 in France and Brazil's BandSports also have heard from viewers unhappy about the incessant drone.
Some fans have said they have resorted to watching TV with the sound turned down, while a poll conducted by the text-answer service kgb.com found that 88% of respondents say the vuvuzelas are destroying the World Cup broadcasts.
Even some players are complaining. After a 1-0 loss to Ghana before an pro-Ghana crowd armed with vuvuzelas, Serbian players complained about the noise. However, others, such as U.S. defender Jonathan Bornstein and Spanish striker David Villa, say the horns, while distracting, add to the emotion and ambiance of the games.
-- Kevin Baxter in Johannesburg, South Africa
Paul Gascoigne in hospital after crash
The former England, Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder was in a serious but not life-threatening condition at Newcastle General Hospital following the accident in the city at 9.45pm yesterday.
Martin Rogers: Controversy over World Cup ball won’t die
The infamous Jabulani World Cup ball has had goalkeepers in the tournament worrying, panicking and complaining for the past week. Now it has reduced one of them to tears.
Amy Lawrence: Maradona - manager, fan and still a would-be player
Argentina's former captain and current manager struggled to keep his playing instincts in check against Nigeria.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Do You Need Vuvuzela to Enjoy the Game
The sign outside the Springbok bar near the Newlands Rugby Stadium said it all: No Vuvuzelas. Those trying to sneak one of the plastic horns that have so characterised this World Cup into the stadium for the France v South Africa Test match were also asked to give them up.
In Cape Town, the football World Cup may be dominating the TV schedules and the newspapers but rugby - still the white population's most popular sport here - is holding firm.
Rugby Ahead of Saturday's 55,000 sell-out at Newlands, FIFA asked the South African Rugby Union if they would postpone the match until after the World Cup, so as not to detract from the majesty of their own tournament.
The SARU by all accounts took about five second to say 'no'. Quite right, too. South Africa's grand sporting heritage reaches far beyond football and there is absolutely no reason why the world should stop turning here just to make way.
Certainly the crowd at Newlands was rather different to that found at Green Point Stadium for the France v Uruguay World Cup game the night before. It was, it has to be said, a whiter crowd and certainly a more middle-class crowd.
Vuvuzelas It was, however, more knowledgeable too. The spectators that saw the Sprinboks beat an under-par France 42-17 cheered and applauded in all the right places. They certainly didn't need to blow on a long plastic horn to show that they were enjoying themselves.
The stadium itself is a fantastic arena. Built adjacent to the Newlands cricket ground that is recognised as one of the world's most picturesque, both have views of Table Mountain. Well, they do if you are lucky enough to be sitting in the right seats.
The rugby ground has hosted football before. Manchester United played there on the pre-season tour to South Africa two summers ago. Which, of course, asks the question of why it couldn't have been used as a venue this month?
Lion An atmospheric stadium, it certainly has enough corporate facilities and even has its own train station serving the centre of Cape Town that lies 20 minutes away.
It seems odd that while Johannesburg and the north are being serviced by five World Cup stadia, there is only one within reaching distance of Cape Town.
Certainly here in the Mother City that fact has not gone unnoticed. #
FIFA World Cup 2010 TV Schedule and Scores Updates
What a day we have in the FIFA World cup as teams displayed their high caliber performances.FIFA World Cup continues today as we witnessed three exciting games in our television screen. Netherlands defeated Denmark 2-0 in what is considered to be a lopsided game yet it turned out to be filled with actions and expectations. Japan beat Cameroon in a close game that went down the wire 1-0. Japan was so surprised that Cameroon didn’t score at all. On the other hand, the heavily favored Italy went on a tie against Paraguay. This shocked the world for Italy is one of the biggest teams in the FIFA World Cup 2010.
FIFA World Cup 2010: TV Schedule Printable June 14 2010. We are in the second game of the FIFA World Cup 2010 as the expectation rises among the fans. It is a great day so far. For all the people looking for the Schedule of the FIFA World Cup 2010, this is the place for you. There’s so many people now searching for the South Africa vs Mexico Game as we start our viewing for the FIFA World Cup 2010. The element of surprises in the FIFA World Cup 2010 cannot be neglected as teams will battle for supremacy in this tournament. The Opening Ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2010 is set and we are ready to watch it with such anticipation and excitement. Of course we are waiting for the United States vs England Game yet all the games will be contentious and exciting.
FIFA World Cup 2010: TV Schedule and Scores and updates. Are you ready to watch FIFA World Cup 2010? With the way it is being buzz and promoted, FIFA World Cup 2010 is a must watch soccer tournament. Many of the fans around the world couldn’t sleep anymore awaiting for the FIFA World Cup 2010 Opening ceremony which will be held in South Africa. With just few hours before the start, it is magnificent thing to note that this is the biggest soccer tournament in which 42 countries are participating.
FIFA World Cup 2010: TV Schedule and Scores and updates. Seizing the moments of the World Cup 2010 will be a great thing to do as full pack soccer actions will be seen. FIFA World Cup 2010 starts on June 11 with one of the most wonderful opening ceremony presentations. The FIFA World Cup 2010 is approaching and millions of people around the world are anticipating how the Opening Ceremony will unfold in our eyes as the host South Africa have something for us.
FIFA World Cup 2010: Opening Ceremony TV Schedule June 11, 2010 Latest Updates. ?Our family is ready to watch all the World Cup 2010 Games. This is really an amazing year because we all have the games we want particularly the World Cup 2010. With all the teams dreaming for this prestigious one month tournament, we, the fans, are prepared also to support our team and our nation in every game.
Just 24 hours from now we will witness the World Cup 2010 games and opening ceremonies.World Cup 2010 is the biggest soccer spectacle around the world as over a billion people will be watching the games especially in television. Of course the fans have favorites and that your country’s team will you be supporting. World Cup 2010 starts on June 11, 2010 which features some of the biggest teams. Yes, we have here the schedule of the opening day of the World Cup 2010. As the games draw near we have here the World Cup Schedule for the First Day.
South Africa vs Mexico. This is a game in which the eyes of the fans are looking for. South Africa is a team to reckon with in this competition yet we all know that Mexico is a great team. The Game starts at 16:00 CET.
Uruguay vs France. Uruguay wants to prove to the world that they are one of the best teams in their bracket. We will expect this to be a wild soccer game and it will be a toss up.For all the fans of soccer, World Cup 2010 is approaching. Let’s gird ourselves for the World Cup 2010. DN
World Cup Guides
Mayer Weisel has compiled the must have handbook for this summer for the not so rabid soccer fan looking to take in their first World Cup. In his new book, Weisel lays out the who, what, when, where and why’s of world football and soccer in regards to viewership in the states.
More a tool than a beach side read, The American Fan’s World Cup Handbook will be perfect for your office mates and friends who hope to enjoy some matches yet know nothing of the beautiful game.
In early chapters, Weisel points out key points in the organizational structure of world football. The FIFA’s, UEFA’s and CONCACAF’s of the world are second nature to us, yet can be quite daunting to the soccer youngster. Weisel spells out the importance and purpose of the continental federations without pretense or snobbery as to ease in the soccer newbies. Ours is a world that takes some time to adapt to, to learn about. Weisel is saying “come one, come all, I’ll lay it all out for you” with his easy to read guide.
Mainstream American sports fans will appreciate Weisel’s comparison of popular American sports to that of soccer as he weaves in and out of the two clearly stating the similarities and differences while educating the soccer newbie to world soccer’s intricacies and oddities when it comes to rules, cultural aspects, Championships, league and cup play, length of season and more.
The remainder of the 75 page book plays out by perfectly explaining the structure of the upcoming World Cup. Qualifying, group stage play through to the final and who will be playing who are listed for convenience.
For Americans who don’t speak soccer English, Weisel cheekily lists a vocabulary section where the overwhelmed soccer newbies can compare and learn such words and phrases as, relegation and promotion, set piece and just what are international breaks and two-legged playoffs.
The owner of this compact book won’t read it once and never touch it again, Weisel has compiled an in-depth chapter featuring fill in brackets and group stage result tracking which will serve as a great companion throughout the duration of the tournament.
Related: Football Books
Related: Football Books
Don't Ban the Vuvuzelas - the South Africa Noise
World Cup organising chief Danny Jordaan has revealed he may consider banning vuvuzelas from the tournament.
The sound of the trumpet-like instruments has droned through every match since the competition got under way in South Africa on Friday.
Singing from the stands has generally been drowned out as a consequence and Jordaan, the chief executive of the World Cup organising committee, admits action may have to be taken.
Turn it down: Vuvuzelas could be banned during the tournament following complaints, revealed World Cup organising chief Danny Jordaan
Asked if it was a possibility that fans could be prevented from bringing the instruments into the stadiums, Jordaan told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme: 'If there are grounds to do so, yes. 'We have heard from the broadcasters and other individuals and it is something we are evaluating on an ongoing basis.'
He continued: 'We have tried to get some order with it. We have asked for no vuvuzelas during national anthems or when anyone is making an announcement. 'I know it is a difficult question but we are trying to manage it as best we can.
Making a noise: Even England fans entered the spirit of blowing the traditional trumpet-like instrument during the Group C draw with USA in Rustenburg. 'This matter has been raised on many occasions and my personal view is that I would prefer singing. It has always been a great generator of a wonderful atmosphere in the stadiums and we will try to encourage them to sing because that is the strength.
'In the days of the struggle, we were singing - we did not blow anything, we were marching and singing. 'All through our history it is our ability to sing which really inspires and draws the emotions. 'It is a huge debate and it will continue, but we did say that if one lands on the pitch in anger then we will not think twice and take action.'
Related: at Jaho Jalal
FIFA battles unauthorized World Cup merchandising
While South Africa celebrated the kickoff of the World Cup on Friday, Grant Abrahamse is plotting his revenge against the organizer, FIFA, soccer's governing body.
The Cape Town businessman spent the past five years embroiled in a legal fight with Zurich-based FIFA, which accused him of violating its patent rights by marketing a commemorative key-ring holder. The case, scheduled to come to court in November, has cost him $65,000 in legal fees.
"I've done everything legally," Abrahamse said. "No one's benefitted from the World Cup except FIFA. They are actually worse than the mafia. They should get their just rewards. I'm going to pursue it. We are going to go for costs and damages when we win this case."
Abrahamse is up against one the world's most powerful sporting bodies intent on protecting the rights of broadcasters and sponsors such as Adidas AG and Coca-Cola Co., which paid $3.2 billion to be associated with the World Cup.
FIFA lawyers have filed 2,519 cases globally against parties it accuses of so-called ambush marketing. In only one instance did they have to go to court to get redress, forcing wholesaler Metcash Trading Africa (Pty) Ltd. to stop selling 2010 lollipops.
"You are in or you are out," FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke said. "If you are out, you have to respect the rights of others. We can send people to jail if they try and profit from the World Cup when they have no right to do so."
Contested by 32 nations, organizers expect the monthlong tournament to draw a half billion television viewers and blanket press coverage.
"You couldn't have a better platform to build awareness," said Roger Sinclair, a marketing professor and partner at Prophet Brand Strategy, which offers marketing advice.
Companies will exploit any opportunity to "ride on the back of the tournament by ambush marketing. It will be difficult" given how tightly FIFA guards its brand, he said.
"FIFA has been very helpful in terms of responding and calling out companies that are trying to use something that they haven't paid for," said Scott McCune, vice president of integrated marketing at Coca-Cola. The contract with soccer's governing body is the company's largest marketing program.
FIFA has produced thousands of words to copyright the World Cup name, including several permutations used to describe the tournament. It obtained similar protection for the last World Cup in Germany, in 2006, when 3,200 infringement cases were filed.
South African budget airline Kulula.com, which advertised itself as the "Unofficial National Carrier of the You-Know-What," found out first-hand how all-encompassing FIFA's rights are when it was pressured into dropping the slogan. Kulula is owned by Comair Ltd., a British Airways franchise.
FIFA's response was "over the top and heavy handed," Heidi Brauer, the airline's marketing director, said. "It's left a foul taste in people's mouths. If I could ask FIFA one question, I'd ask them: 'How can you sleep at night?'"
Kulula's decision to drop the slogan and change it to "the sporting event that can't be mentioned" is "the best proof that those guys recognized they did something they shouldn't have," said Thierry Weil, FIFA's marketing director. "We allow everybody to make business around the World Cup. We just do not allow companies, and mainly it's just the bigger companies," from portraying themselves as part of the event.
Sponsors recognize that the event's profile means companies will always try to exploit the World Cup whether they are official partners or not.
Adidas is providing the ball, outfitting the referees and the ball boys, and its branding will be festooned across the 10 stadiums used for the competition. Rival Nike Inc. isn't an official partner.
Yet, Nike's new "Write the Future" campaign featuring stars like England's Wayne Rooney and the world's most expensive player, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, is being broadcast to homes across the planet. The advertisement had more than 14 million views on the YouTube website.
An analysis of online blogs, message boards and social networking sites carried out by the Nielsen Co. between May 6 and June 7 found Nike was more frequently linked to the World Cup than any official sponsors. Carlsberg beer attracted four times as many mentions in English language messages relating to the tournament than official sponsor Budweiser, the study found.
"Savvy marketing can successfully connect a brand to a major event like the World Cup, without shelling out millions of pounds for exclusive sponsorship rights," New York-based Nielsen said in an e-mailed statement Friday.
"Sometimes we are doing the same thing," said Adidas' global PR manager, Erik Van Leeuwen, when asked about rivals using events like the World Cup to market their goods. "It's a thing that will go on and completely stopping it is undoable."
The sports companies are competing for soccer sales. Adidas is the world leader with $1.8 billion in revenue to Nike's $1.7 billion.
Charlie Brookes, head of corporate communications at Nike in Britain, said the event was a vital part of his company's global sales campaign.
"It's the time when the world is focused on football and there's so much energy around the sport," he said. "So we're always going to be communicating around the time of the World Cup."
Fifa's money making machine
Just before Italy walk out of the tunnel tomorrow evening to begin their defence of the World Cup trophy, the blimp will scan its lenses over the startling panorama which surrounds the Green Point Stadium. There's Table Mountain, there's Robben Island, there's the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. What a picture, what a country, what a con.
By rights, the eye in the sky should be sweeping across the Athlone township, across the squalor and the grime, before it reaches the Athlone Stadium. This is the venue where the original South African winning bid said the Cape Town matches should be held, this is the venue which the local government on many occasions insisted would be the city's primary venue. But Fifa didn't agree. "A billion television viewers don't want to see shacks and poverty on this scale," said one of the organisation's reports.
So instead of spending the 200 million rand (£18m) to make the necessary upgrades to the ground nestled in the football-obsessed environs, Fifa insisted the South Africans spend 4.5bn rand on a new stadium nestled in all the scenery. The vista would, of course, make it more palatable to all those billions who didn't have a clue there were social problems in South Africa and hence make it easier to sell advertising for the games at the Green Point, including a semi-final. And while they were at it, Fifa could lob another 20,000 or so seats on the plans to ensure they receive more revenue. Everyone's a winner. Well, everyone at Fifa, that is.
This is the reality of this World Cup. Not the camera crews sticking their microphones in the face of dancing locals, before, in their very roundabout and racist way, asking: "How grateful do you poor little Africans feel to the big, rich men for bringing their competition to your slums?"
The Fifa festival is dressed up as some great gift to the contingent, which will send the revenues soaring of local economies, local communities and local football clubs. In fact, it will do nothing of sort. Just as the Olympics never does what it promises any more, just as no event on that scale ever could do what it promises.
There have been enough well-detailed articles in the build-up to this and every other recent "sports event to bring humans together" to convince all those who can be bothered to read past the headlines that it is a total myth that the great sporting spectacles of our time boost the economic growth of the host nations. And as we set out on Britain's so-called "decade of sport", which may or may not include the 2018 World Cup, the alarm bells are ringing through the offices of every local sporting organisation, every charity and, if they are wise, every school and hospital. They could all suffer in the drive to deliver a successful event and not become a global laughing stock. For what? A fortnight of feelgood?
Ah, they say, but what about the legacy? What legacy? The legacy which saw South Korea having to pull down two brand spanking new stadiums built for the 2002 World Cup because no side could afford either the rent or the upkeep? The legacy which saw the famous Greek debt pile on a few more noughts because of the 2004 Olympics? The legacy which says that all these kids will jump off their couches and rush out to participate in sports before discovering non-existent sports fields boasting non-existent sports facilities? The only guaranteed legacy is a few votes for whichever politician fired up the bandwagon.
And for Fifa and the IOC, naturally. These two organisations are so far apart from what they set out to be that they would long ago have become unrecognisable to their founders. Just check the Fifa accounts from last year. They made more than $1bn, spent more than $863m, of which $172m went on development. $172m? That's not far off what Manchester City spent on development last year. Next year the Fifa balance sheet will be yet more anomalous. They are to make more than £2.3bn from the South African World Cup. Or, put another way, a quarter of the entire education budget for a country with a population of 50 million; a country called South Africa.
Then there's the obscene Fifa stockpile of $1bn of assets. For what? For the good of their sport? Or the good of their own egos sitting in their shiny Swiss offices, governing over what is merely a pastime like they are heads of state? Such power trips allow men such as the president, Sepp Blatter, to believe they are entitled to insist on luxury toilets in their hotels – at South Africa's expense – and imbue the organisation with the arrogance to demand the overriding of a nation's sovereignty to grant Fifa tax-free status, as well as guarantees that no protests take place when members of the public wake up to the outrage.
What has any of this got to do with the football? As sports-lovers we are just interested in the Messi on the pitch not the mess off it. Yeah, we mutter tut-tut and call Blatter and his cronies names. But then we go and afford them their life-force, the 22 million viewing figures which ensure their party is ever-replenished with the choicest caviar and bubbly.
We should finally acknowledge that this is a sporting and not a political disgrace. Just think, it was always supposed to be an escape from modern life; instead it is the grotesque encapsulation of modern life.
So we will all go on watching with our dreamy eyes, applauding our own interest in the very convenient notion that the Rainbow Nation has come across its pot of gold. And the cheek of it is, we will do so berating the South African horns, as if they're the only thing in danger of ruining this World Cup. But then perhaps that's why Blatter chose not to act on his initial threat and ban the vuvuzela – to drown out the din of that money-making machine in the background.
Look closer still and you may very well spot a Fifa-endorsed logo on the side of the horns. What a racket. #
FIFA Rankings 2010 Are Available and Dictate World Cup Favorites
FIFA Rankings 2010 Are Available and Dictate World Cup Favorites. The FIFA rankings are available, and dictate the favored teams for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The rankings indicate that Brazil is the top team, but Spain recently held that honor earlier in the regular soccer season. Many people estimate that there will be a Brazil-Spain showdown during the finals, but as we remember from various other tournaments there’s bound to be some upsets.
Portugal, the Netherlands, and Italy round out the top five in the FIFA rankings. Italy is the defending champions, as they won the 2006 games in Germany.
Today, #14 US plays #8 England, and if the US can pull off a win that could mean that they are ready to head to the finals … however may don’t expect the US to go beyond the “sweet 16″ of the World Cup tournament.
The rankings don’t really mean anything. After all – #17 Mexico played #83 South Africa and didn’t demolish them – they tied the match.
The entire list of the FIFA rankings are available (here). There are over 200 teams that are listed in the rankings. Still, the FIFA rankings should only be used as a guide to estimate what will transpire during the match, as there could be major upsets that transpire. Stay tuned.
FIFA looks to resolve glitches
FIFA (along with the local organisers of the World Cup) has launched an investigation into some minor glitches experienced during the first day of competition.
The 2010 edition of the finals began in Johannesburg on Friday with hosts South Africa and Mexico playing to a 1-1 draw, but there were several empty seats during the opening ceremony at Soccer City, while traffic problems around the stadium were also evident.
Both were unsurprisingly linked - the issue of transportation leaving the stadium just over half-full by the time South African Air Force fighter jets flew over the stadium to mark the start of proceedings.
"We are very happy with how things went on day one with the first two matches," Local Organising Committee (LOC) chief communications officer Rich Mkhondo said. "There were some challenges when it came to transportation. We are aware of those challenges and are working on them with our partners in the city."
However, Mkhondo felt that part of the problem came from the public's lack of trust in the country's transport system.
South Africa has never had a proper functioning transportation network, meaning most spectators coming to the stadium in their own vehicles, and the LOC has made a plea to change that attitude.
Mkhondo said: "The transportation challenges are caused by people. I would like to say the change of people's willingness to use public transportation will help us a great deal."
In response to a question about the empty seats in the stadium, FIFA spokesperson Nicolas Maingot said: "I think, to be fair, there were not many empty seats - there was an attendance of 84,000 people. There was one block which looked empty. Our people in charge of ticketing are looking into it."
Saturday, June 12, 2010
FIFA World Cup 2010 Schedule Pakistan Standard Time [PST]
Here are the detail schedules of all the football matches in 19th FIFA Football World Cup 2010 South Africa according to Pakistan standard time (PST)
U.S. Faces the U.K in the Global game
Tunku Varadarajan.
For the next month or so, as various bands of balletic, histrionic, and tireless men kick, head, dribble, and chest the Jabulani soccer ball to the infernal din of the South African vuvuzela, cultural differences between countries as unsuited to each other as Brazil and North Korea, Cameroon and Denmark, Ghana and Germany, Paraguay and New Zealand, Argentina and Nigeria, will dissolve as surely as an ice-cube does in a glass of single malt.
Of all the team games that are played in the world, only one—soccer—is irrefutably universal (and yes, that includes Arizona, where Hispanics, legal or otherwise, are known to play something they call “futbol”). Every other team game—the noble cricket, the actuarial baseball, the brutal rugby, the cartoon-costumed American football, the primitive ice hockey, the invigorating field hockey, the carcass-strewn buzkashi, the absurd kabaddi, the pseudo-aristocratic polo—is peculiar to a country, a region, a language group, or an ex-colonial context. Every other team game, however spellbinding or brutal, graceful or epic, rule-bound or free-for-all, lacks that transcendental ingredient of symphonic, globally comprehensible, non-pedantic vigor that soccer possesses.
This factor, I wager, entitles soccer to be ranked among the 10 greatest inventions in human history, alongside (in no particular order) fire, money, electricity, the wheel, wine, the flush toilet, bikinis, democracy, and the Internet. It is certainly (along with the sedentary chess) the foremost ludic—or play-themed—invention of mankind. (I am, here, treating sex not as an invention but as the acting out of an instinct.) So as soccer unfurls on our televisions—whether on Univision, with its operatic, deep-lunged, fast-talking, unembarrassable commentators who live for the moment when they can scream “gooooooooooool,” or on ESPN, with its coolly English and Scottish bank of commentators (the inept American commentators having been cut from the cast, gracias a Dios!)—it behooves Americans to take a modest, humble backseat, and spend a whole month learning about the arts and methods of a glorious game, and of the countries that play it.
The Diamondbacks, the Lakers, the Giants, the Jets, the Rangers, the Devils, the Whatchamacallits—these teams, these names, these confections of pumped-up confrontation, these fat tires of hype, pale into inconsequence when you utter the word “Slovakia”… or invoke the magic and energy of a confrontation over 90 minutes on a soccer field between Slovakia and Paraguay, two land-locked countries blessed with little else by God other than an ability to love soccer; or when you consider the marvel that this soccer World Cup features only four of the 10 most populous countries on earth, and only seven of the most populous 20. How eye-catching it is, and how confounding, that you have neither China nor India at play—both unable to qualify despite having, each, more than a billion people—and instead have not one but two Koreas in the tournament.
Both North and South Korea are playing, though sadly—imagine the tension, the theater, the Tom Friedman op-eds!—they are not in the same group. (Come to think of it, there are very few historically or geopolitically explosive matchups: England vs. U.S.A. on Saturday is the closest one gets to an encounter that is fraught with more than sporting history. Germany vs. Serbia, one might say, comes close, for it was Germany—with its premature recognition of Croatia as an independent state—that sparked the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, of which Serbia is the rueful rump. Portugal vs. Brazil offers a spicy matchup, you’d think, of ex-colony and ex-imperial power; but in matters footballistic, as everyone knows, Portugal is the peon and Brazil the aristocrat.
At the very least, let American parents with kids who play soccer—is there a suburban family that does not fit the bill?—use this World Cup to teach their children about not just the complexity of their weekend sport, but also of the countries who play it. Ask little Rachel to find Paraguay in the atlas; ask Jack to name the African countries taking part; ask Tamiqua if she can find where Slovakia is; and ask them all to practice their Spanish—especially if they’re in Arizona—by watching a game or two on Univision.
Then watch in wonder as they kick, head, dribble, and chest the ball around the backyard, pretending to be Drogba, or Anelka, or Kaka, or Messi, and screaming “goooooooool” as they pound the ground of a universal game, a global jamboree. What a sight that would be, what a lesson from soccer.
Tunku Varadarajan is a national affairs correspondent and writer at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a research fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and a professor at NYU’s Stern Business School. He is a former assistant managing editor at The Wall.
Jamie Redknapp goes ball-istic!
My advice to players at this World Cup is: Shoot! Let fly from as far out from goal as you dare. This Jabulani ball at South African altitude can only mean one thing - goals, and lots of them.
I've tried out both the Jabulani, which will be used in the group stages and knock-out rounds, and the Jo'bulani that will be used in the final on July 11 - they're essentially the same ball although the final's ball carries gold livery. The balls look and feel like kids' footballs but they don't play like them.
Read here.
World Cup Fans
Sports fan Mark Thompson has spent £400 transforming his living room into a football stadium. Mark, 45,and his 55-year-old wife Karen decked out their lounge with England emblem wallpaper, erected a towering stadium mural, festooned it with St George flags and marked out their green carpet with a six-yard box and penalty spot. The project features three false walls, including one covering the entire front window, a painted crowd of spectators and flags and bunting extending into a St George-themed gazebo in the back garden.
Living room now and before the change
Now the sports-crazy couple, who have been together for twelve years and have three grown-up children between them, are looking forward to holding a host of World Cup parties as friends and family round to watch the tournament over the next month, with food themed to each country the Three Lions are taking on.
Joiner Mark, who has lived in the house in Oldham, Greater Manchester for the past twelve years, said: 'The neighbours just keep laughing and they think it's really cool, all the young kids too. I'm a hero on our street. 'We're going to be watching all the games at our house. We've got a theme for every match. We're doing a food theme for each one. We're having burgers for the USA match then curries for Algeria then goulashes for the Slovenia game.
Where are you watching this wold cup?
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