FIFA 2010 World Cup Football

Norway For FIFA 2010 World Cup

b2bfreezone — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:14:00 +0000

Norway made the biggest impression during the latest round of World Cup qualifiers for next year’s big event in South Africa, giving the struggling team fresh hopes of making it to the finals. Sweden also got a welcome confidence boost at the expense of Finland, while group leaders Denmark played and won a friendly against Chile.

Norway had it all to do against Scotland, whom they trounced 4-0 in a home match attended by 24,000 spectators. The Norwegians desperately needed to take all three points to keep their dreams alive, as they are battling for the third and final spot in the group.

John Arne Riise and Erik Huseklepp each scored for Norway, while Morten Gamst Pedersen put two past the Scottish keeper. When Scotland’s Gary Caldwell was sent off with a red card in the 34th minute, it gave the Norwegians a big advantage that they did not squander.

Sweden was also in action in a friendly match against Finland. They won the game 1-0 in Stockholm, which will boost their confidence ahead of their upcoming qualifying match against Hungary on 5 September. Sweden lay adrift in 4th place in their group behind the Danes, Norway and Portugal. If they can’t get all three points from their next game, their World Cup dreams will be dashed.

However, if Sweden can get a win all of their remaining group one qualifying matches, they will get a playoff game. Norway’s defeat of Scotland has assured this possibility in group nine.{#}

Facts About the World’s Greatest Soccer Tournament

b2bfreezone — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:24:00 +0000

This year the 2010 FIFA World Cup will take place in South Africa, fulfilling a dream of millions to host this soccer tournament on African soil.

With less than a year till kick-off, soccer teams around the world are jockeying for position in their Groups and fans are making plans to travel to South Africa next July for one of the greatest sporting extravaganzas on the planet.

When Was the Winning 2010 World Cup Bid Announced?

On 15 May 2004, in Zurich, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced to the world that South Africa would host the 2010 World Cup, the first on African soil. After South Africa’s victory was announced, Nelson Mandela hoisted the World Cup trophy and Archbishop Desmond Tutu embraced Blatter. “I feel like a young man of 15,” said Mandela, who was 85 at the time.

How Many Teams Are in the Competition?

A total of 200 teams entered the race for one of the 31 places at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. (The host nation, South Africa, is automatically in the final, number 32). The final draw will be held in Cape Town on 4 December 2009.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will be staged at 10 venues across nine South African cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, and Pretoria. Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic capital is home to two World Cup stadiums, Soccer City and Ellis Park.

The 2010 Stadiums in South Africa

Five of South Africa’s football stadiums have undergone major renovations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup: Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg in North West Province and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein in the Free State.

New stadiums are nearing completion at Mbombela in Mpumalanga and in the Nelson Mandela Metro (Port Elizabeth). Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo has been rebuilt, and the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban as well as Cape Town’s Green Point stadium are on schedule for completion in October 2009. Meanwhile the rest of South Africa is also gearing up for 2010.

What is the South African National Team Called?

The South African National team is called Bafana Bafana (which means the boys, the boys in isiZulu). Bafana Bafana is coached by Brazilian, Joel Santana. Aaron Mokena is the Captain.

Will the Vuvuzela be Allowed at the 2020 World Cup Games?

Yes, this noisy plastic trumpet that is part of the indigenous culture of South African soccer has been given the blessing by FIFA. The Vuvuzela will stay.

Official Match Schedule for 2010 Soccer World Cup

The Official Match Schedule for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to take place in South Africa between 11 June and 11 July 2010 has been released.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is will be soccer tournament like no other. The World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 final in Germany.

The copyright of the article The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa in International Soccer is owned by Karen Lotter. Permission to republish The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.{#}

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2010

b2bfreezone — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:20:00 +0000

The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is set to kick off in just a year’s time, in Bochum on 13 July 2010 to be precise. The passion and excitement stirred by the high-class international clashes at the competition’s four venues – Augsburg, Bochum, Dresden and Bielefeld, where the final will be held – will help to keep momentum going all the way through to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™.

For FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, the U-20 showpiece will serve as a taster for the following year’s main event. “FIFA and the German Football Association wanted to hold this competition a year before the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 to help fans get into the spirit of the event,” said the President of world football’s governing body. “Given the quality of football that will be on offer, the U-20 national teams will be capable of attracting very large crowds. This tournament will therefore act as an appetiser.”

“The U-20 Women’s World Cup is genuinely a very exciting tournament. Spectators will have the opportunity to discover talented players for the future in some magnificent stadiums,” said Organising Committee President Steffi Jones. “Some of the players at the 2010 event will be back the following year. And on the other hand, the four venues will have the opportunity to host some thrilling encounters.”

The last edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, held in Chile 2008, was successful both in terms of large crowds and the extensive media coverage. The 32 matches attracted a total of 351,309 fans at an average of nearly 11,000 per game.

There are 16 places in the U-20 Women’s World Cup 2010, allotted to the confederations as follows:

AFC (Asia) 3 teams

CAF (Africa) 2 teams

CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean) 3 teams CONMEBOL (South America) 2 teams

UEFA (Europe) 4 teams + the host nation Germany

OFC (Oceania) 1 team

Franz Beckenbauer, chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women’s World Cups, is of course a prestigious ambassador for the competition.

Tickets for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup are expected to be available for purchase from March 2010 onwards. (FIFA.com)

FIFA World Cup 2010 Campaign for Education

b2bfreezone — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:47:00 +0000

The Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, FIFA, Gary Lineker and footballers from across the globe launched 1GOAL: Education for All, a FIFA World Cup 2010 initiative focused on ensuring that all children receive an education.

1GOAL has one purpose: to ensure that the 75 million children out of school in Africa and the world’s poorest countries get access to classrooms, teachers and the future that education provides. 1GOAL calls on football fans to sign their names at join1goal.org and tell world leaders that education beats poverty.

“I’m proud to support 1GOAL; it isn’t asking for money, it’s asking for your name, your commitment to fair play for future generations,” said Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. “It’s about reminding world leaders to play by the rules and keep their promises to children of the developing world. I think that’s worth signing up for.”

Players from all over the world are joining the effort including Rio Ferdinand, Thierry Henry, Robinho, Michael Essien, Aaron Mokoena (captain of the South Africa team), Kanu (captain of the Nigerian team), Nicolas Anelka, Michel Silvestre, David James, Kolo Toure, Javier Zanetti, Ivan Cordoba, Michael Owen and Mia Hamm (captain of the 1999 American women’s World Cup champion team). Retired champions also joining 1GOAL include Marcel Desailly, George Weah and Roger Milla. Today’s event was hosted by England football legend Gary Lineker.

“Global football stars, the football world and its governing body, FIFA, are behind 1GOAL,” said Federico Addiechi of FIFA. “At this World Cup, we’re asking fans to sign up to give 75 million children a chance in life. FIFA is pleased to do our part in helping every child to get into a classroom and grow up to be a doctor, teacher, parent or maybe even a football player.

“The World Cup 2010 can be more than a great tournament,” Addiechi continued. “This World Cup can leave a lasting legacy for African schoolchildren. FIFA is asking football fans around the globe to sign up to 1GOAL and give all kids the education they deserve.”

Leading players also strongly support education for the world’s poorest children. “I believe every child has the right to an education and that’s why I’m supporting 1 Goal and asking football fans around the world to join today,” said Rio Ferdinand.

“I am firmly backing 1GOAL in their effort to make sure every child receives an education,” said David James. “I have travelled to Malawi and I have seen the power of kids in schools. When people get an education, they can start to provide for themselves and their families.”

England football legend Gary Lineker said, “We know that education beats poverty. 1GOAL is bringing together fans around the world to demand education for all. This World Cup is a moment for us to shine.”

In addition to FIFA’s support, Bob Geldof, Bono, Kevin Spacey, Kelly Rowland and organizations Global Campaign for Education, Comic Relief and the One Campaign have promised their commitment.{#}

Conflict of Interest

b2bfreezone — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 05:45:00 +0000

There is no doubt that the World Cup is the biggest event in the world. There is no doubt that soccer in the Olympic Games is a big draw everywhere. Miami natives can remember the buzz that there was back in 1996 when Brazil as well as other national teams played their matches in the Magic City when stars like Ronaldo, Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha, FIFA knows this and wants to guard their biggest money maker. The Olympic Games last year brought out the zealous manner in which FIFA wants to protect their brand- thus began the chatter in very low tones.

Now FIFA is mentioning that their view of the game differs from that the IOC due to issues on two fronts: the release of players for this tournament, and the interference that this tournament creates on FIFA’s scheduling.

What this means is that FIFA do not want a rival competition at their expense.

The sport’s top authority plans to meet at the end of the month in Rio de Janeiro to discuss the possibility of soccer being withdrawn from the upcoming Olympic Games that will be held in London in 2012.

There are three camps currently in fighting each other. UEFA wants the sport to be competely withdrawn from the Olympic Games siting that it would delay the start of European domestic leagues as well as the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. The European entity is also being pressured by the big European clubs to lobby this stance after seeing players like Lionel Messi, Diego, and Rafinha (among others) participate in the tournament against their clubs’ wishes.

IOC president Jacques Rogge would like to see the tournament remain but at the same time, he would like for FIFA to decide on what should be done. He would like to know as soon as possible whether he should count on soccer to be a sport in 2012, and he might get an answer in the coming weeks. Rogge’s counterpart, Sepp Blatter in the meantime has come up with an intermediate solution-essentially make the Olympic soccer tournament become what it was prior to 1992 when the IOC set up the soccer tournament to be a pseudo U-23 event where delegations could register three players older than that.

If this all were to happen, men’s soccer would be the third sport to be removed from the Olympic Games along with baseball and softball.

Let us know what you think! {#}

U.S. Trims List of Possible World Cup Sites

b2bfreezone — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:33:00 +0000

By Jack Bell

The committee leading efforts to bring the 2018 or 2022 World Cup tournament to the United States pruned the list of possible cities on Thursday to 27 in the third stage of its evaluation process.

At total of 38 cities submitted detailed information to the U.S.A. Bid Committee before the end of July.

“The U.S.A. .Bid Committee is pleased to have received comprehensive responses from city officials and local organizing committees across the United States,” Sunil Gulati, the chairman of the committee and president of U.S. Soccer, said in a statement. “The overwhelming interest and creativity shown by the candidate cities made our extensive review process that much more difficult in narrowing down the list.”

The cities dropped were: Birmingham, Ala.; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Fayetteville, Ark.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; New Orleans; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; and San Antonio, Tex.

The United States is among a group of countries seeking to host the World Cup that includes Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and Russia. Each of those countries has applied to host either the 2018 or 2022 tournaments. It is believed that England (which hosted and won the 1966 World Cup) has the inside track for 2018. The Netherlands-Belgium and Portugal-Spain have each submitted joint bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Qatar and South Korea have applied as candidates to play host only to the tournament in 2022.

FIFA will name the hosts for 2018 and 2022 in December 2010.

Is England the sentimental favorite for 2018? And if England does get the World Cup does it mean the U.S. is at the top of the list for 2022, or might FIFA (as it did in 1994 in the U.S.) award the tournament to a country like Australia, where the game remains a relatively minor sport? {#}

Mutu’s Case Tests Sport’s Private Courts

b2bfreezone — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:00:00 +0000

His goals have won games in Romania, Italy and England. His ball control, his movement, his audacity afford him hero worship. Yet his mistakes in life, which included using cocaine and arguing with José Mourinho, led to his being hounded toward the exit of his sport in an unprecedented manner.

A former employer, Chelsea, cast him out in 2004. But then, shocked that he should come back into the game and be bought and sold for millions of euros in Italy, Chelsea has legally harassed him ever since. The case could run and run.

Chelsea, backed by FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, is still trying to destroy him. This month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport endorsed a judgment that Mutu must repay Chelsea €17 million, or almost $24 million, to compensate the London club for the transfer fee it had paid Parma, an Italian club, in 2003.

Mutu’s view is that, in terminating his contract and casting him out of soccer, Chelsea had written off the fee.

The player’s lawyers are considering his options. There might only be one: to seek justice ultimately in the European Court of Human Rights.

This, in turn, might have implications for FIFA and for the legitimacy of the quasi-judicial bodies set up by sports to keep their affairs out of the civil courts.

Mutu, 30, is attempting a comeback after knee ligament trouble. His current club, Fiorentina, had a Champions League qualifying match against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night. A Russian club, Zenit St. Petersburg, on Tuesday morning denied Russian media reports that it was bidding to buy Mutu and pay him €5.5 million a season.

All the while, the player is pursued with unprecedented severity by Chelsea. He was one of the club’s first big-money purchases after it was acquired by the Roman Abramovich, though Mutu was known to be a troubled man. {#}

Claudio Ranieri, his coach when he arrived at Chelsea, was fired to make way for Mourinho, who did not have a high opinion of Mutu as a player or a person.

Their differences became public when Mutu played a World Cup match for Romania even though Mourinho had pronounced the player injured. When Mutu returned, Chelsea subjected him to a drug test. When that revealed traces of cocaine, the club shamed him and tore up his contract.

One interpretation was that the owner and the coach were setting an example to the sport: zero tolerance for drug takers.

England’s Football Association subsequently banned Mutu from any involvement in the game for seven months and fined him £20,000, or about $33,000 at current rates. FIFA made it a global suspension.

Mutu has admitted he was a lost soul. His wife, a television presenter in Romania, had divorced him and won custody rights to their baby son. He had a wild dalliance with a porn star. He was banned from driving after a police chase in Bucharest.

Chelsea compounded his instability. The club was on a high, top of the Premier League and taking the moral high ground by getting rid of a misfit whose drug habit breached his contract.

However, Juventus was interested. It picked him up for nothing, encouraged his rehabilitation, and its coach, Fabio Capello, changed him from a winger to a midfield creator.

Juventus then sold him on for €8 million to Fiorentina. And there, under his old Parma coach, Cesare Prandelli, Mutu blossomed into a playmaker voted the best in Italy.

Chelsea, rebuffed over claims to compensation from the Italian clubs, went for the player. Its lawyers sought the value it effectively had lost on his transfer, and FIFA deemed Mutu responsible for €17.17 million to be paid to Chelsea.

The case bounced round FIFA and ended up with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Lausanne. Three lawyers, from Italy, France and Germany, threw out Mutu’s final appeal and said he must pay.

“The decision is profoundly unjust,” Mutu said in a statement last week. “I think I have amply paid for an error of youth, which is light-years away from the man and the footballer I am now.”

There are contrasting pictures of Mutu. In January 2008, while the case was before its disputes process, FIFA published the words of a Romanian psychologist, Florin Tudose, on its Web site.

“Adrian Mutu is a spoiled child who was lucky enough to be blessed with huge talent, but who hasn’t been able to make the most of it,” Tudose concluded.

Mutu himself says he is happily remarried, has two more children and has turned down big offers to stay in Florence. He recently said his agent told him there were offers from English clubs again.

“I would not go back to London if they paid me in gold,” Mutu said he replied. “Nowhere is as good for me now as Florence.”

“After a difficult period in my life as a man and in my sporting career, I’ve found serenity in Florence,” he said in his statement. “There’s no question of me leaving. I am a sportsman but also, above all, a citizen of the European Union and I believe sporting justice must respect the principles and fundamental rights of the community.”

Anyone who thinks the case of Chelsea versus Adrian Mutu is over is mistaken. But while the stamina of Abramovich’s legal team may be limitless, Mutu only has so long left in sport — and therefore in the power of FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In the meantime, the case might redefine the powers of the tribunals sports set up to be their own judge and jury.

Direct Flights Between Johannesburg and Melbourne

b2bfreezone — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:33:00 +0000

The new announcement is just in time for travelers seeking alternative airlines to the FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, with V Australia flights beginning in March 2010.

Operating a brand new fleet of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, V Australia offers three classes of service, including International Business, International Premium Economy and International Economy.

Flights from Johannesburg to Melbourne are scheduled for take off March 13, 2010 and will operate twice a week, with connections to other Australian cities including Sydney and Brisbane.

V Australia also announced plans to offer “super specials” to Australia shortly, increasing competition for flights between South Africa and Australia.

Visit www.vaustralia.com.au.

City of Gold

b2bfreezone — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:22:00 +0000

Johannesburg or the City of Gold, as the city is known in South Africa, is the business hub of South Africa, contributing a substantial part of the country’s GDP approximately 12%. The City is home to two of the country’s most popular football teams and historical arch-rivals, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. Johannesburg is also known as the economic engine of Southern Africa and the trendsetter of South Africa. It is a melting pot laced with all the flavours of African cultures and beyond

Despite the hustle and bustle of the big city, Jo’burg is unexpectedly green and orientated towards outdoor living. It has a wealth of trees creating an ‘urban forest’, and many of the trees are located in the 2328 parks.

Cultural wealth is also in abundance, with a host of interesting museums including the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and the living memory of the South Western Townships, which include the world acclaimed Soweto. The Mai Mai Market is the oldest market in Johannesburg and is a great place to discover traditional remedies. But more than that, Johannesburg has become a truly African city, melding disparate people from across the continent with the descendents of the original Tswana and Ndebele inhabitants and the European, Indian and Chinese settlers. {#}

Today descendents of immigrants from around the world call themselves Joburgers and they are added to daily by a continual stream of migrants, keen to have some of the city’s shine rub off on them.

History

The Tswana name for Johannesburg is eGoli, a place of gold. The San and Stone Age people were the first inhabitants of the area. The face of the area changed when an Australian gold prospector generated interest in the mineral wealth beneath the surface. Johannesburg became a city in 1886, during the beginning of the Witwatersrand Gold Rush.

The city also became a political hotspot during the apartheid years. Soweto was an important instrument in the liberation of South Africa. In 1955, many anti-apartheid movements met in Kliptown, Soweto to sign the Freedom Charter. The Charter enshrined the belief in equality for all. It also became the working document for the current Constitution of South Africa.

Football

A heartland of South African football, Johannesburg is the backbone of the professional game. The majority of professional clubs come from the city and its surrounds. The professional football outfits from the city are: Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Jomo Cosmos, BidVest Wits and one of the oldest clubs in the country, Moroka Swallows.

The city centre has been at the core of football development in South Africa. Professional football was formed in the offices of the old Rand Daily Mail newspaper in 1958. In later years, football unity talks took place at the old Rand International Hotel. Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Jomo Cosmos and the now defunct Highlands Park, Rangers and Lusitano have all been championship-winning clubs.

A match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, which is dubbed as the ‘Soweto Derby’ in South Africa, is the biggest drawcard in the country. Everytime the two meet, they attract a capacity crowd and their rivarly has been well documented throughout the decades.

Jo’burg is home to some of the country’s most prized talent that include, Jomo Sono,Kaizer Motaung, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Doctor Khumalo, Lucas Radebe and many others. Sono played with Pele and Franz Beckenbauer at New York Cosmos.

Ntsoelengoe is revered as one of the greatest football players ever to be produced in South African football. He enjoyed immense success in the NASL.

The Premier League-based Wits University (now called BidVest Wit) are a team based at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Due to their location, the team is affectionately known as the ‘Clever Boys’ or the ‘Students’..

Johanesburg has hosted major games before including the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which was won by South Africa beating Tunisia 2-0 at Soccer City. The Ellis Park Stadium, situated in the heart of Johannesburg, hosted the historic 1995 Rugby World Cup where South Africa were crowned as the rugby world champions.

FIFA Soccer 09 is STO’s Best Video Game

b2bfreezone — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:33:00 +0000

Here in the U.S., it is the annual Madden time of the year, where kids all over America (both young or grown up) buy the popular sports video game franchise and look up the roster updates and marvel at the newly designed motion graphics. And for the first time in years, I haven’t even really thought about the game’s release date. That is thanks to FIFA Soccer 09.

FIFA Soccer 09 is the perfect game for fans of the game of soccer. First off, EA Sports really tries to include every league into the video game’s format. They have all the obvious leagues (Premier, La Liga, Serie A, MLS) plus many secondary leagues (Football League Championship, Serie B, Segunda Division) and other smaller leagues from all around the world (Argentina, German, French, Brazilian, etc..). And if you’re not into the whole league play thing they also have international squads to dabble with as well.

Also the game has a few cool features including a Be a Pro mode in which the user controls one individual’s four year club and international career, finishing with a World Cup tournament. The user can control whether or not the player should look for a new squad at season’s end and, once captain, control the lineup as well. The game also features a franchise mode in which the user can manage and play as all players. In this mode you can also play in Champions League tournaments as well as the regular season fixtures.

FIFA 09 is an outstanding game and if you have PS3 or XBox I highly recommend renting it or buying it. The game has tons of interesting things to do including its best feature of all… the excellent in-depth gameplay. {#}