ESPN Plans Huge 2010 World Cup Media Blitz

Remember ESPN's ‘One Game Changes Everything’ ad campaign for the 2006 World Cup in Germany?



Simple. Poignant. Brilliant.

On Tuesday, ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper said the network plans its "biggest marketing campaign ever" for the 2010 World Cup.

All 64 games will be shown on ESPN, America's biggest sports network. Skipper said the "One Game Changes Everything" byline may return next year.

Word of ESPN's emphasis on the World Cup comes after it suffered a setback with soccer programming last month, losing North American rights to the UEFA Champions League to the Fox Soccer Channel, a channel not as widely distributed in the States.

ESPN owns the rights to the World Cup through 2014 -- games are carried on Internet hub ESPN360.com and mobile platforms, as well as ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. No ads run during the game action, but sponsors receive on-air mention, as well as an opportunity to place a logo on-screen next to the score line.

MY POV: Soccer isn't a popular sport in America. But big tournaments like Euro 2008 and the World Cup generate significant ad revenue for the networks. It's surprising that Americans shun the domestic league (MLS), yet can't get enough once the big tournaments appear.

Just goes to show the American public will pay for quality football, much like the rest of the world.

Glad to see ESPN's continued commitment to the game, in lieu of losing the Champions League to Fox Soccer earlier this year.

Biggest Dives in Football History

The following dive (courtesy of the Offside and Off the Post) from a Columbian league game got me to thinking: What are some of the worst dives in World Cup history?

First off, the dive in the Columbian league game, perpetrated by Atletico Juniors' Emerson Acuna.

Are you kiddin' me?? The guy's miles from the defender! And the referee called a penalty?!?



Next up, a compendium of the worst dives of the 2006 World Cup, as narrated by the folks of ESPN's Sportscenter.

Pay particular attention to Cristiano Ronaldo's flop job, Asamoah Gyan's dramatics and Cristian Zacccardo's awful acting job against Australia ...



Finally, some of the worst dives in football history ... who can forget Gilardino's efforts for AC Milan in the first excerpt of the clip, Rivaldo's Oscar-winning performance in the 2002 World Cup and Brazilian 'keeper Duda's spectacular skills against a Celtic supporter ... great stuff ...

Ivory Coast Coach: We're Not That Good!

Talk about instilling confidence in your team ...

Ivory Coast coach Vahid Halihodzic told reporters today that his Ivory Coast team is at best 'average'. The Bosnian trainer took charge of the Elephants in May and has won three and drawn three in his six games in charge.

Many people feel that after their showing at the 2006 World Cup and their semi-final run at the 2008 African Cup of Nations, the Ivory Coast is poised for big things.

Hold on a minute, says Halihodzic.

"This team is still fragile," he said at a news conference in Abidjan.

"Since I took up this job as manager and trainer, everywhere I go, I hear the same analysis, the same words: 'Ah, Vahid, you've got a super team'.

"And each time I say the same thing: 'I don't have a super team - perhaps there are some special players, but the team itself is still rather average.'

"You in the media, and above all the supporters, need to know that there are better teams than us - even in Africa."

Many still regard Ivory Coast as a side with the potential to make a real impact at the next World Cup in 2010.

To reach the finals, the Elephants must finish top of a qualifying group with Guinea, Burkina Faso and Malawi, which begins next March.

"Everyone is waiting with a lot of anticipation for this qualification," said Halihodzic.

"It'd be such a shame if this generation which has so much talent doesn't get to South Africa.

"Perhaps our greatest challenger could be ourselves. It's something exceptional for this generation, which has so much talent. For some players it'll be their last competition."

MY POV: This could be a cunning ploy, setting everyone's expectations low so the Elephants can surprise people on the Road to 2010.

Then again, telling your team they aren't better than the also-rans of the continent doesn't exactly inspire greatness, does it?

I don't know. This is a tricky balancing wire Halihodzic is trying to navigate ...

What do you think??

Ghana Denies Match Fixing Allegations

In yesterday's post, we talked about allegations that the 2006 World Cup match between Brazil and Ghana was fixed.

Today, a strong statement by the Ghana Football Association (GFA), who say they are going to take legal action against Canadian author Declan Hill and his publishers over claims the Black Stars 2006 World Cup clash with Brazil was fixed.

The GFA is denying claims made in Hill's book 'The Fix' that has been serialized in the German news magazine Der Spiegel.

The claims are that an Asian betting syndicate influenced the result which led to Ghana's 3-0 loss to Brazil in the second round in Germany.

The football association has also lodged a complaint with the Ghana Police Service to investigate the matter in view of the allegations made against the FA and players of the senior team.

"Without prejudice to the foregoing, we have decided to seek the advice of our lawyers on any further cause of action that may be available against Declan Hill, and publishers of the defamatory statements."

Randy Abbey, a GFA spokesman, said that as much as it was a serious allegation, the FA would not jump to hasty conclusions but will read the book before investigating.

"We have to investigate the matter because it is a very serious allegation on the credibility of our country and our players," Abbey said in an interview.

"Since we are yet to read the book to know its detailed contents with regards to Ghana, making any definite conclusions would be jumping the gun, but we are not taking it lightly despite we being innocent."

The book has accused players of the Black Stars of taking less than US$1,000 each to lose the game against Brazil, a claim Abbey describes as a bizarre and serious indictment on the integrity of Ghana's world star players who featured in the match.

"It is unbelieveable that our world-class players who have served Ghana with integrity all along would throw a game for less than US$1,000 each when they stood the chance of getting US$700,000 collectively for winning the game. We have not had any such experience with our players in the past, and those making these allegations should be ready to face the music if it is found to be a hoax."

Hill claims in his book that large sums of money had been bet on Brazil winning by at least two goals, and a former Ghana international acted as an intermediary.

His work, which took three years to be published and which saw him visiting Ghana, said the research showed that a former Ghana international, Abubakari Damba, had acted as the middleman between Ghana's players and the head of a betting syndicate in Bangkok.

Declan also made inquiries about reports that some betting agents had tried to infiltrate Ghana's senior female football side, the Black Queens camp during their World Cup campaign in China last year.

MY POV: A strong declaration by the GFA. Really, what choice did they have? They needed to say something.

Still, an internal investigation needs to take place. Maybe some FIFA monitoring and maybe some independent council to further investigate are in order

Honestly, is anyone surprised? Not that Ghana is involved, but that match fixing takes place?
Let's hope these allegations are proven incorrect, for the good of the game.

Ghana-Brazil 2006 World Cup Match Fixed?

I've been away from the blog for a bit too long. That's life.

So today, Day One of a little project I'm going to undertake, where I post on the blog for 31 straight days. So dear reader, stick with me.

Today's big news, besides the ongoing transfer talk and the huge acquisition of Manchester City by a United Arab Emirates business group concerns the accusation of match-fixing at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

According to German weekly news magazine Der Speigel, the 2006 World Cup knock-out stage match between Brazil and Ghana was influenced by an Asian betting syndicate. What do we mean by influenced?

Fixed.

The magazine reports large sums of money had been bet on Brazil winning by at least two goals and a former Ghana international acted as an intermediary.

Ghana lost the last 16 round match 3-0 in Dortmund on June 27, 2006 which put Brazil into the quarter-finals, where they lost to finalists France.

The information in Der Spiegel comes from Canadian investigative journalist Declan Hill, whose book about betting on sport around the world is published in German on Tuesday.

Der Spiegel also claim their investigations show two matches in Germany come under suspicion after huge sums were placed on them by a Malaysian who has been convicted of attempted match-fixing.

According to the report, William Bee Wah Lim placed 2.8 million euros ($4.1 million US dollars) with Asian bookmakers on Kaiserslautern losing a first-division match at Hanover in November 2005.

As a result of Hanover's 5-1 victory, he won 2.2 million euros.

Lim placed almost 4 million euros on Karlsruhe beating Sportfreunde Siegen in a second-division match in August 2005. Karlsruhe won the game 2-0.

A Frankfurt court gave Lim a two years and five months prison sentence in June 2007 after he was convicted of attempted match fixing in the German regional league and Austria's first division.

He was released on conditional bail, but has since left the country and a warrant for his arrest was issued in January.

The German Football Federation (DFB) have said they will investigate Der Spiegel's allegations concerning the two Bundesliga games in 2005.

"DFB and the German League have so far no reference points that the matches mentioned are to have been manipulated," said a statement on the DFB website.

"Immediately after becoming known of the suspicious factors DFB president Dr. Theo Zwanziger and German League president Dr. Reinhard Rauball affirm both federations aim at a comprehensive clearing-up of the affair.

"Already on Saturday morning an inquiry was started to look into the games concerned."

German football endured the most serious crisis in its history in 2004 when referee Robert Hoyzer admitted having received 70,000 euros to influence the results of 23 matches, mainly second and third division games, between April 10 and December 3, 2004.

MY POV: This would be absolutely devastating news. No one wants to see professional football turned into professional wrestling, especially at an event as big as the World Cup.
If this story is true, all the work FIFA's undertaken to prevent this very situation will be for naught. An immediate inquiry needs to be undertaken, much like Germany's doing, to make sure world football isn't polluted by gambling syndicates.

I found this excellent interview on Der Speigel's website with the author of the book, Declan Hill. Here's the whole interview. I've included a small excerpt. It's a riveting account of Hill's attempts to track down the characters involved in the scandal. It reads like a James Bond 007 spy thriller.

SPIEGEL: You have spent three years investigating the international betting mafia. Have you lost all pleasure in football?

Declan Hill: I love football the way one loves a woman, but by now I ask myself quite early on in a match, whether there is anything suspicious going on. There are no precise statistics about betting manipulation in football, of course, but it is shocking how often people in the world of betting talk about matches that have been manipulated – not just in Asia or Eastern Europe, but also in the major football leagues, such as in Germany, and even during world championships.

SPIEGEL: On June 27, 2006 the match ended 3:0 for Brazil.

Hill: The Ghanaians played as though they were putting their whole heart into it, but then there were a number of stupid mistakes: passes didn’t succeed, the defense was careless, the team collected three stupid goals. After the game I was in the stands in Dortmund with tears in my eyes because I was convinced, at least emotionally, that the match had been fixed. I phoned Chin from the stadium: “I didn’t believe you, but you are a genius.” He said: “How can I be a genius if I earn so little money with this?”

SPIEGEL: Did you speak with (Ghana Captain Steven) Appiah about the accusations?

Hill: Not just with Appiah, but also with the goalkeeper Richard Kingson and other national players too. They all assured me that they were completely unaware of the manipulation of the team in Germany. However one of the players did admit that he had been approached by Asian betters in 2004 during the Olympic Games. And they all said that Appiah was the captain of the team and that you would have to talk to him. I then met with him in an industrial area in Accra. We talked in his car and he said that he had been approached a number of times in the course of his career and that he had taken money too. The first time was in 1997 during the under-17s World Cup in Malaysia and also in 2004 at the Olympic Games in Athens; however he had been given money in order to win games, not to lose them. He had then shared the bonus among the players.

SPIEGEL: Ghana’s team captain, who was until recently signed to Fenerbahce Istanbul, says that he has accepted money from third parties twice during his career?

Hill: That’s exactly what he says. I had trouble comprehending this, so I spoke to him again over the phone, and he repeated his account.

SPIEGEL: And during the 2006 World Cup in Germany?

Hill: He was approached there too, but he says that he refused. I also asked him whether the Malaysian had gone to other players too. He replied: “Yes, I think he did the rounds.”

10 Best Dives of the 2006 World Cup

Diving is an art. When done well, it can frustrate the opposition and lead to dubious goals.

When done poorly, it can complicate matters for your club, cause cards to be shown and lead to suspension and head-shaking aggravation.

Today, I present to you the 10 Best Dives of the 2006 World Cup ... some of these are plain silly. Some of them (like the #1 dive), led to the furthering of a nation's ambitions and eventually to a World Cup championship.

While I don't advocate diving, one has to say that diving is an integral part of the game.

I don't like it. But some of these sure are funny ... have a go.