South Africa should be very proud of hosting a wonderful tournament & Spain are worthy World Champions

Spain have cemented their place as the best as well as most entertaining footballing nation in the world.

They are the new football kings of the world & their team sheet reads like the "who is who" of the football world, a team of champion players playing beautiful football in a champion team

They won a spiteful final match this morning against a Dutch team which played very ugly at times but should nevertheless be commanded for trying to neutralise Spain's attractive & attacking style.

South Africa & her people should also be very proud of staging such a wonderful tournament & largely the sceptics (including myself) wrong.

Other accolades go to New Zealand for its gutsy & impressive effort, & to Germany & Argentina for playing the game in its right spirit & scoring plenty of goals (as opposed to Spain who played beautifully but were unable to capitalise on their superiority most of the time & scored a mere 8 goals, one of the lowest for a World Cup winning side).

Whilst many expected France to disappoint, having only qualified by "the hand of Henry", & considered the defending Champions Italy over the hill & out of sorts, most were surprised by the poor results of England in particular, and Portugal & Brazil to a lesser extent.

And then there was the one & only worldwide superstar of the World Cup,"Paul the Octopus"! He managed to correctly pick all of Germany's 5 wins & 2 defeats plus Spain's win in the final & in the process became a superstar. How I wish he had picked Germany to beat Spain in the semi finals!
As for me personally, this has been a great World Cup despite my beloved Socceroos poor start to the tournament & their subsequent early elimination & my life long idols Germany not reaching the final.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the kind remarks & show of support & encouragement from all of you who were following my blog. A special mention also goes to Deborah Cameron & Jennifer Lacey at ABC 702 Sydney morning show (radio station) for their enthusiasm & support.

To top it all, I even managed to inadvertently get under the skin of a rather cranky Les Murray of SBS TV, who this morning sent me a less than complimentary email belittling me for merely suggesting that despite Spain's attractive way of playing, their multiple 1-0 victories & lack of goals were not a great way to promote the beautiful game to the casual non core supporters! I hope most of you agree with my point.

I must however emphasise that SBS once again provided Australia with a world class presentation & in fact managed to show all 64 games live. We are very lucky in Australia to have such a dedicated team at SBS.

On a final note, as exciting as the annual club competitions such as the Champions League & some of the European and other leagues are, they will never be able to fully replace the World Cup as the premier football (& indeed sporting) event in the world stage. Only European Championships come close & that is because it is similar to a mini world cup!

My blog will recommence at the beginning of the European season in late August. I hope you can join me from time to time!

Viva Espana! Congratulations to Spain & its supporters for playing wonderfully entertaining football on their way to winning the World Cup. They are worthy winners & will be hard to catch in the coming years.

http://ricksamimi-football.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancelotti-is-proving-his-genius-stroke.html

I also predicted Hull, Burnley & Wolves as relegation candidates in the EPL. Two out of three! Wolves survived the drop, somewhat more comfortably than predicted.

However, my & I imagine many other pundits' most crucial tip was Barcelona winning the champions League. But like Chelsea before them & Bayern in the final, Messi & co found the well organised Inter Milan defence almost impenetrable & lost to Mourinho's side in the semi finals.

Now to the start of my World Cup blog: I will start by quickly look at the usual suspects:

I have already mentioned in one of my earlier posts that Germany will have a very difficult World Cup ahead of them, although Germany should never be underestimated (7 times finalists & 4 times semi finalists). Injuries to Ballack, Adler, Rolfe, Tresch & Loew's stubborn refusal to recall Frings & Kuranyi will make matters even more critical for the team. Nevertheless, as he mentioned himself, Loew & his team can learn from Bayern's achievements this year.

My prediction: Quarter Finals

Amongst the other big teams, England, Italy & Argentina seemingly have easier paths to the second round:

• Italy's team is however too old & Lippi's reliance on many of the fading stars will prove fatal. France on the other hand have lacked clear tactical directions under Domenech & owe their qualification to that dubious handball by Henry.

My prediction: Round of 16s for both team

• England on the other hand have flourished under Capello & as long as they sort out the following three major issues they will go a long way
  

a) Goal keeping issues. James is well past his best & Hart & Green are unproven at any level!

b) How to tactically accommodate both Lampard & Gerrard in midfield

c) Over reliance on injury hit Rooney! He can not emulate Maradonna winning the Cup for Argentina!

My prediction: Semi Final

• Argentina have massive technical ability & with Messi & others at least on paper have one of the top teams in this year's World Cup. However, Maradona is not the right tactical coach for such talented team & most likely will make naive mistakes as he did eg in the 1-6 drubbing by Bolivia in the qualifiers. However, Argentina will probably meet Germany in the QFs & go to the semi finals.

My prediction: semi final or final

• Spain & Brazil are my tip to reach the final. On paper they, alongside Argentina have the best squads in the tournament. On top of that both Spain (in particular) & Brazil (at times) are capable of playing attractive attacking football

My prediction: Spain vs Brazil final, Spain to win

My dark horses for the tournament: As per usual Germany, and yet again Holland. In Sneijder & Robben Holland possess two of the best "match winners" (alongside Messi of Argentina) in the world & if Holland manage to avoid the infighting they are notoriously well known for, they may at last lift the Cup!

I will be posting regular posts on my blog during the World Cup.

8 Days To Go: I Haven't Left!

I missed yesterday's post.

Please don't boo me out of the building.

I was sick but your friendly neighborhood blogger is back, ready to provide you with news regarding the 2010 World Cup.

8 days away and the news is ratcheted up. There's so much information out there regarding the tournament, it's quite literally information overload.

But that's why I'm here.

Today's Tidbits

1 - Goalkeepers dislike the official World Cup Adidas ball more than Diego Maradona dislikes reporters and photographers, according to the New York Times.

As reporter Jere Longman says, 'the ball is being criticized for being too light and too curvy, as if it were a fashion model obsessed with too little food and too much plastic surgery.'

I love that analogy ...

2 - Spain's sports daily MARCA has the best World Cup fixture calendar I've yet to see. It's in Spanish but I'm sure you can figure it out. It's brilliant.

3 - The BBC has a wicked 2010 World Cup site. It's obviously geared towards the English national team. But what's this? WHAT'S THIS?! Stop the presses ...

One of the blogs there, Piers Edward's football blog, has your friendly neighborhood blogger linked on the side!!!

Sorry, I had to gloat some. It's great to be linked to the BBC ...

4 - The 2010 World Cup is already lucrative to FIFA. You think?

5 - Nelson Mandela will attend the 2010 World Cup. The 91-year-old will attend the opening match between Bafana Bafana and Mexico as well as the Final scheduled for July 11 at Soccer City Stadium. Great news!

And because I wasn't here yesterday, one extra news tidbit:

6 - North Korea tried to pull a fast one on FIFA, listing one of their strikers as a goalkeeper. Tsk tsk ... Bad, bad Korea ...

What I Think I Think

Football's a global phenomenon but for fans, it's also a personal experience.

Let me delve inside my fandom for a bit and touch on a news story.

Today, Liverpool confirmed Rafa Benitez is leaving the club after 6 seasons.

"It is very sad for me to announce that I will no longer be manager of Liverpool FC," Benítez said. "I would like to thank all of the staff and players for their efforts.

"I'll always keep in my heart the good times I've had here, the strong and loyal support of the fans in the tough times and the love from Liverpool. I have no words to thank you enough for all these years and I am very proud to say that I was your manager."

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Spanish club Valencia CF, where Benitez made his name. While managing Valencia, Rafa guided Los Che to their first Spanish title in 31 years and two years later, the double, winning the Spanish league and UEFA Cup.

Since Rafa's departure, Valencia's star has fallen.

But Benitez has been a star, capturing the 2005 UEFA Champions League in dramatic fashion over AC Milan in a match no one will ever forget. He also led 'Pool to the 2007 final against the same AC Milan team, losing 2-1.

Ultimately, Rafa's undoing was his failure to capture the English championship, which has eluded Liverpool since 1990.

Where does he go now? Inter Milan? Back to Spain?

Who knows ...

What I do know is that Rafa's provided me with some of my favorite football memories.

From Valencia winning 2 Spanish titles to the UEFA Cup against Marseille.

From the incredible 2005 Champions League final to some heart stopping matches against Chelsea in the CL semifinals, Rafa's teams have consistently provided entertainment and excitement.

Sure, one of Rafa's criticisms are that his teams play 'boring' football. But whatever. The guy's a winner and that's all that matters to the fans.

He didn't win the English Premier League and that cost him his job. But that doesn't mean Rafa doesn't deserve accolades.

Thanks for the memories, Rafa. We wish you the best in the future.

11 Days To Go: Summer Time

Bright, sunny days such as today in New York City remind me what I love so much about soccer.
Lush, green grass.
Warm, balmy weather.
Dust being kicked up from the tracks of football players.

It's the sight, smells and feelings of playing the sport that drive one to identify so much with the Messis and Ronaldos of the world, who'll be vying for the world's richest sporting prize in 11 days time.

What's the weather going to be like in South Africa anyways?

Today's Tidbits

1 - Fabio Capello looks set to steer the England ship until 2012.

2 - USA lands safely in South Africa. USA, USA, USA!

3 - Nice pictures of South Africa's World Cup stadiums.

4 - Guess who's the new coach of Real Madrid? The Special One, Jose Mourinho. A match made in heaven, if you ask me.

5 - What's the mood in South Africa less than two weeks before the start of the Cup? The World Cup and CSR blog has an interesting take, with a view of the ongoing situation before the Cup starts from blogger Adam Boros.

What I Think I Think

Can it be? Could someone from FIFA actually be talking sense?


According to the football website The Spoiler, the annoying South African noisemaker known as the vuvuzela may be banned during the World Cup.

Joy of joys!

Look, I'm all for expressing your unique cultural qualities.

Singing, dancing, etc. I think it's fabulous.

But the vuvuzela is incredibly annoying.

It's 50,000 people blowing their air horns (vuvuzelas), making a noise that can only be described as a nasty beehive descending on your head.

Remember the Confederation Cup last year? How indescribable the noise of the South African noisemaker was? You didn't hear cheering or singing or boos and yays. You heard a non-ending BZZZZZ that kept going and going and ...

According to the website:

Prior to South Africa’s warm-up friendly with Colombia yesterday, fans were warned the plastic horn was still ‘under review’ and could be banned from the World Cup if too much noise was made during the match. Apparently TV networks have been struggling to cope with the 140db onslaught during broadcasts, while players have complained of not being able to hear their manager, or even each other.
Making a point of not actually referring to vuvuzelas directly, head of the World Cup Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan, warned fans to choose the right moment to make their noise:

'If there is an order to evacuate that stadium and an announcement is made, you have to ask yourself, will everyone in that stadium hear that evacuation order?'

Jordaan also made it clear the instruments would banned if “one incident of violence [occurs] involving a vuvuzela”. We’re not sure how much damage you can do with a plastic stick, but there you go, the man has spoken.

Hallelujah!!!

Nigerians Dropped from Squad for Lying About Age

Nigeria have dropped 15 players from their Under-17 World Cup squad, following tests to determine the ages of team members.

Nigeria are the hosts of the tournament, which kicks off at the end of October. The Golden Eaglets, as Nigeria's U-17 team is known, play in a group against Germany, Argentina and Honduras

The move to test the players came after football's world governing body FIFA announced plans to carry out tests during the tournament itself.

Coach John Obuh now has a squad of 23 players remaining for the event.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) spokesman Ademola Olajire told the BBC the move to drop the 15 had been taken after the results of the tests were discovered.

"The decision was taken because the NFF was concerned with the preservation of Nigeria's good image," said Olajire.

NFF President Sani Lulu Abdullahi said the decision to drop the players would not prevent Nigeria from the defending the title they won in South Korea two years ago.

"We had 38 players in camp and some of them failed [age tests]," he was quoted as saying.

"[But] that does not mean that we do not have a team that will represent us at the World Cup - we still have a good team."

Nigeria have won the Under-17 World Cup three times, in 1985, 1993 and 2007.

(Story from the BBC)

MY POV: Wow, tough luck. But does this also shed bad light on Nigeria's past performances in '85, '93 and '07? Could some players from those squads have also lied about their ages?

I mean, 15 of 38 players were older than 17 ... how old were they, anyways? 28? 29?

Bad ... real bad ...

Free Tickets to 2010 World Cup!!

Want a free ticket to the world's biggest sporting event, the 2010 World Cup?

FIFA has launched a fund to give away 120,000 free tickets to poor South Africans for the 2010 World Cup.

MY POV: Now why didn't I move to South Africa and become a citizen when I had the chance?

The tickets will given to people involved in social development in the country as a reward for their efforts.

"The tickets will enable people who would never have had a chance to attend the World Cup games to see the event," said Danny Jordaan, chief of the LOC.

Fifa already set low prices for South Africans, starting at US$17 compared to US$80 for international tickets.

But with more than a quarter of the work force unemployed, and many of those who do have jobs earning US$10 a day or less, even cheap seats are out of reach.

Some 40 000 tickets have been allocated to construction workers who are building stadiums to be used for the tournament but other citizens must pay to watch the matches.

"I urge those who can afford to buy tickets to go and buy them now, the free tickets are targeted at very specific people," said Jordaan.

The second phase of ticket application is closing on November 16.

It will be the first time the World Cup is played on African soil.

South Africa Getting Bad 2010 World Cup Press Overseas

South Africa just can't catch a break. 

First the country's workers go on strike, possibly delaying the start of the 2010 World Cup. 

Now, anxiety and agitation over overseas press coverage of South Africa. 

Everyone knows the 2010 host country has social ills such as crime. But can someone spin some positive here? Please? 

Pierre van der Hoven, CEO of marketing company Southern Africa Direct, thinks the one-sided reporting on South Africa by the foreign media is damaging to the country's brand.

"Clearly we cannot expect the foreign media to put South Africa in a positive light ahead of the 2010 World Cup - we simply have to do it ourselves," Van der Hoven said, reacting to an article that appeared in the UK Sunday Times this weekend. (To read the article in question, please click here.)

It portrayed South Africa as a xenophobic nation flooded with starving refugees, where regular power outages are experienced and traffic lights are not maintained. (Two days earlier, the Times had another article about South Africa and their problems ahead of the 2010 World Cup. Read that here.) 

The article, "Starvation kills hopes of South Africa's rubbish-tip refugees" read: "Incomers hoping for opportunities from the 2010 Football World Cup are instead finding xenophobia, poverty, poor wages and squalid death."

"As the bread basket of the continent where poverty is a real issue, no one will deny that immigration is an ongoing issue in South Africa, but this article is one-sided and not factual," said van der Hoven. 

"It is not true that FIFA have their doubts about South Africa hosting the 2010 World Cup and many of the issues the author is referring to have long since been resolved. It is typical of the misrepresentation Africa continues to endure in the international media."

Sunday Times Africa correspondent, Dan McDougall, writes that strikes by underpaid immigrant workers are causing work on the World Cup stadiums to "grind to a halt" and that FIFA has voiced fears "over the preparations for what will be the largest sporting event in Africa's history."

"One particular concern is the state of the power grid. Power cuts are still common in most main cities. There are concerns about the wider infrastructure. In Johannesburg, street and traffic lights do not work in large parts of the city and routine maintenance has all but ceased," he writes.

Van der Hoven asked: "Has Mr McDougall even visited Johannesburg? Where does he get his facts?"

Van der Hoven's company, Southern Africa Direct, broadcasts positive and informative content on southern Africa on TV in the UK and worldwide on the internet.

"We have to show South Africa in a positive light, through articles, videos and TV productions. We have to tell our stories ourselves - because no one else is going to."

MY POV: Van der Hoven is right. But does he know how hard that job is going to be? Look at what some commentators on the online article wrote ...

"It is clear that some are just not capable of self-governance especially in Africa," commented Frank of Los Angeles.
"Why is anyone surprised by all this!" wrote PR of Manchester.
"I think this is one world cup I'll give a miss," wrote Peter K of Vancouver.

The misconceptions are hard to ignore and even harder to get past, unfortunately. 

Honestly, the only way I can see these ideas about Africa changing is by getting people to visit Africa. Isn't that one of the points about the 2010 World Cup? Getting people to come to South Africa and experience it for themselves? 

Ivory Coast Tops in Africa - July 2009

FIFA's July 2009 world rankings are out and in Africa, Ivory Coast's Elephants reign supreme.

The Elephants are 18th in the world, up 20 places from last month. They've now over taken last month's African #1, Cameroon, who slipped to second, 29th in the world.

This matches Ivory Coast's highest ever position in the FIFA table. Go on, Elephants!

Ivory Coast's two wins in 2010 World Cup qualifying in the last month helped them move into the number one position in Africa.

They were also aided by Cameroon's poor performance in the same campaign so far.

The Indomitable Lions suffered a disappointing draw with Morocco.

Elsewhere, African champions Egypt and World Cup hosts South Africa both moved up two spots. Egypt is now #6, 38th in the world. South Africa is #13, 70th in the world.

Good performances at the Confederations Cup have seen both Egypt and South Africa improve their rankings.

The Pharaohs dropped out of the tournament at the group stage but their win over the reigning world champions Italy gave them plenty of points.

South Africa moved after strong losing performances against Spain and Brazil.

Gabon are also big climbers this month - going up to third in the African rankings and 30th overall, thanks to their big win over Togo in 2010 qualifying.

Sierra Leone are the biggest fallers - dropping 40 places to 125th in the world.

The bottom three? Djibouti, Comoros, and the Central African Republic.

Do these countries even play matches??

For the full table, please click here ...

Oh Oh! 2010 World Cup in Trouble Again?

Just when we thought South Africa was in for smooth sailing until next year's World Cup, here comes some disheartening news.

According to Reuters, South Africa's biggest union said 50,000 construction workers would launch a strike over pay starting next Wednesday, halting work across the economy including on stadiums for the 2010 World Cup.

Not good.

"A strike action is set to begin on July 8," said Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) which also represents construction workers.

"Its not just the World Cup stadia that will be affected, we are talking about power stations, hospitals, roads and the like. It will last until they (the employers) come to their senses and offer a 13% wage increase for one year."

MY POV: In this economy? 13&?!? Wow.

The NUM wants a 13 percent rise over one year while employers have offered a 10 percent hike.

Employers have balked at the demands, citing the global economic downturn.

As well as World Cup infrastructure, the construction strike could halt work on the mass transit Gautrain high-speed rail project, power stations, an airport, a refinery, a coal terminal, hospitals, highways and mining projects.

The employers' organization said it would ask the courts to bar a strike, saying an agreement between the parties blocks the union from striking before the end of August this year.

"The strike is premature. We are looking into the possibility of getting a court order to stop this this week," Joe Campanella, spokesman for the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, told Reuters.

Soccer's world governing body said it was confident South Africa would deliver on its World Cup commitments.

"FIFA has full trust in the host cities and the government in the delivery of their commitments regarding the stadiums," FIFA's media department said.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the news of the strike, but earlier on Tuesday it said the remaining stadiums to be used for the World Cup were nearing completion.

MY POV: Uggh, what a disaster. Right after the Confederations Cup, no less.
The good thing is that they're not far apart. 13% vs. 10% ... they should get this ironed out.
Talk about negotiating power, though ... 'Give us what we want, or the 2010 World Cup shuts down.'

You have to hand it to them. They know what they're doing.

FIFA Pleased with Confederations Cup

Now that the 2009 Confederations Cup is over (congrats to Brazil from a disgruntled American), how did it go?

The 2010 World Cup dress rehearsal seems to have gone over well with football's world governing body FIFA. The organization's president, Sepp Blatter, addressed the media today.

"South Africa is heading in the right direction and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and the South African government have done an exceptional job, but there are still challenges to be addressed," Mr Blatter said.

He added that the hospitality, the stadiums and the reception by South Africans was wonderful, but emphasized that adequate accommodation, the transportation system, crowd control outside the stadium, the park-and-ride system and a few other logistics remained a major challenge.

"These challenges need to be addressed and I'm confident that the LOC working with FIFA and the government will pay attention to these challenges before the World Cup," he said.

Despite the challenges facing South Africa, Mr Blatter has given the country 7.5 points out of ten and encouraged the LOC to work hard to reach the maximum points during the much anticipated international sporting event.

He told reporters that as part of speeding up the process, the FIFA Organizing Committee will meet regularly with the LOC to discuss the challenges and how South Africa can improve in making this African World Cup the best ever.

Meanwhile, Mr Blatter met with South African President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who pledged to coordinate the process of preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

"The South African government has shown great commitment and as FIFA we will work with them and the LOC to ensure that South Africa and Africa at large deliver a flourishing World Cup which will leave a great legacy," he said.

MY POV: Now can we do something about the vuvuzelas?

I wasn't in South Africa. But from what I saw on my TV back in New York, the crowds looked like they were having fun. While this isn't in FIFA's bottom line, it's a good start.

South Africa's wonderful showing in getting to the semi finals didn't hurt either.

Now, onward and upward. The Cup's ever so close ...

President Obama to Attend 2010 World Cup?

The Confederations Cup nears its conclusion in South Africa this week ...

The days tick down to the 2010 World Cup next summer ...

My computer is broken AGAIN!

And news that US President Barack Obama may attend the world's biggest sporting event in South Africa next summer.

The White House would not confirm Monday that President Obama will head to Africa for the Cup, but top aides already seemed to be sizing up tickets for the opening ceremony and first match.

Earlier, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the president had accepted an invitation to attend the opening of the world football extravaganza next year.

"You know that heads of state are extremely busy and hopefully his schedule will allow him to attend," Blatter told reporters in Johannesburg.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he could not yet say whether Obama would go to the event, but as a former college soccer goalkeeper, sounded like he couldn't wait for the possible trip.

"I asked specifically... in order to get my seat early," Gibbs said at his daily briefing.

"I'm told from scheduling that the president has accepted a meeting with the head of FIFA World Cup, but we have not yet altogether made plans. I can assure you that a small group of us have assembled in order to move the president in that direction."

The opening ceremony for the 2010 World Cup will be at the new 100,000-seat Soccer City stadium on the outskirts of Soweto. The match is likely to feature either hosts South Africa or defending world champions Italy.

What to Do About the Vuvuzela (and some Vuvuzela Love)

According to Reuters, FIFA is to discuss the future of the vuvuzela, the noisy plastic trumpet blown at the Confederations Cup which has drawn complaints from European television stations. and bloggers like myself.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter told a media briefing he was aware of complaints the sound of the instrument was drowning out the commentary of broadcasters and that many wanted it banned at this tournament and next summer's World Cup in South Africa.

Blatter said soccer's governing body would discuss the matter with the organizers.

"It's a local sound and I don't know how it is possible to stop it," he said on Wednesday. "I always said that when we go to South Africa, it is Africa. It's not western Europe.

"It's noisy, it's energy, rhythm, music, dance, drums. This is Africa. We have to adapt a little."

Vuvuzelas, which have been given away free to fans, are a constant background to Confederations Cup games.

Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso said: "I think they should be banned. They make it very difficult for the players to communicate with each other and to concentrate.

"They are a distraction and do nothing for the atmosphere," he added after his team's 1-0 win over Iraq.

MY POV: Ban them? Hmm ... let's not go that far. They're just a part of the game in South Africa. But ban them, you say ... hmm ... You know what? Let me think on that one ...

As a commenter on South Africa's Times so eloquently put it:

Vuvuzelas were created by South Africans for South Africa’s soccer-loving people.

They are proudly South African and are approved by soccer’s governing body Fifa.

We are not going to stop blowing our vuvuzelas just because we now have the Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup. I bet these vuvuzela-haters only watch the English Premier League and some European leagues.

This is Africa, not Europe. If you don’t like vuvuzelas, tough luck.

Buy yourself a vuvuzela and I’ll happily teach you to blow it. Remember: if you can’t beat them, join them.

FREE Tickets to Confederations Cup

Are you in South Africa and in need of tickets to the FIFA Confederations Cup?

Well, you might be in luck! 

FIFA's giving away free tickets! 

FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said a number of complimentary (i.e. FREE) tickets will be handed out to institutions "which have been very supportive of the event." 

MY POV: I've been supportive, no?

Maingot didn't say how many tickets would be handed out for some of the remaining group matches.

The FIFA spokesman said schools and local authorities will be among the recipients of the free tickets.

After a near sell-out in the opening match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, matches in Rustenburg, Pretoria and Bloemfontein have all been played in stadiums nowhere near capacity.

Meanwhile, South Africa's trade union confederation has said the low attendances are an embarrassment to the country.

"The Congress of South African Trade Unions urgently calls upon South Africans to buy more tickets and attend the Confederations Cup matches in greater numbers," congress spokesman Patrick Craven said in a statement.

"The low turnouts at some matches have been a serious embarrassment to the country and must be improved upon, if we are to demonstrate to the world our passion for soccer, and to remove any doubts about our commitment to the 2010 World Cup tournament."

MY POV: I think people are over blowing the Confederations Cup attendance issue. For starters, these matches are essentially friendlies. Everyone knows the main event comes next summer. 

Do you really think there will be an attendance problem for the World Cup? If you do, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn ... 

World Cup Organizers Optimistic One Year Ahead of Cup

We're one year away, folks!

One year until the opening of the world's biggest sporting event - the 2010 World Cup!

I'm excited! And so are the South African organizers, who are confident everything in South Africa will be ready on time.

Danny Jordaan, head of the South African Organizing Committee, even promised visiting fans will be embraced, not mugged, when they show up! I wouldn't mind that ...

"As things stand at the moment, we are very confident," said Jordaan, adding that some manufacturing unrest could still hamper progress. "It is not a straight line. It is a roller coaster."

Still, considering years of criticism that South Africa would not be able to pull off hosting the world's biggest sporting event and after calls for FIFA to come up with Plan B for 2010, Jordaan claimed a partial victory with the opening of the new stadium in Port Elizabeth, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

"It was completed more than 12 months before the World Cup starts," said Jordaan, calling it unprecedented.

For this month's Confederations Cup, a dry run for the World Cup, FIFA is using four World Cup stadiums which needed little upgrading.

Much international concern has centered on security. Jordaan sought to allay fears.

He pointed to the organization of the Twenty20 Indian Premier League tournament at short notice, which ended without any security incidents.

"This country has the capacity to safeguard events like no other country," he said, adding that South Africa had already organized 146 major events without a hitch. MY POV: 146?

Even if stadiums and teams can be easily secured, many fear fans from across the world will run into trouble.

South Africa has among the highest murder and rape rates in the world and has gained an international reputation as a violent country.

The government and local organizers are hoping to alleviate people's fears ahead of next year's Cup.

"We don't want you to have an experience in this country of fear and anxiety," Jordaan said. "You will find people warm and embracing.

"You should not be any more worried than when you walk in Atlanta or Toronto or any other city of the world."

MY POV: Jordaan is certainly optimistic. There's just no way of knowing if what he says is true until next year's Cup. The proof will be in the pudding, as they say.

2010 World Cup Ticket Update

366 days to go ... tomorrow's one year to the 2010 World Cup.
Where has the time gone?!?

Today, a World Cup ticket update from FIFA.com ...

As of today (with four out of 32 teams qualified, in addition to the hosts South Africa) there have been a total of 630,021 tickets in 188 different countries/territories sold.

Nearly half of those total orders have been submitted by South Africans (301,601). Outside of South Africa, supporters from the USA have purchased the largest number of tickets (73,441), followed by the United Kingdom (42,907), Germany (30,880) and Australia (15,038). Reigning champions Italy have so far received 6,063 ticket orders, Brazil 5,777 and from France 5,106 tickets have been so far sold.

MY POV: Kind of interesting that the USA is second behind South Africa. For a nation that many think doesn't care about soccer ... maybe that David Beckham transfer had something to do with it? I kid, I kid!

The second ticketing phase will continue until November 16th. It's on a first-come, first-served basis.

How many of you have got your tickets in hand? If not, what are you waiting for?

I'll see you there! Maybe!

How Important is the 2010 World Cup to Africa?

How important is the 2010 World Cup in South Africa not only for the host nation but for the entire continent of Africa?

In a word: Important.

While much of the importance is derived from financial concerns, there's also the question of image.

Many international observers have a skewed view of Africa that comes from the news media and reports of war and famine.

Many see this World Cup as a way to change Africa's image around the world. The continent's future reputation and chances of holding more big events -- with the huge investment that they bring -- will hang on its success.

Cup organizers are hoping the event will be a way to change a frustrating image of the continent.

"South Africa will deliver a world-class event that will forever change the perceptions of the international community, and also ensure a lasting legacy for the people of Africa," President Jacob Zuma said when he was inaugurated last month.

Zuma is looking to the Cup to help pull Africa's biggest economy out of recession.

A failure at 2010 - be it due to crime or poor organization - will do the opposite. Many will have their chance to say, 'I told you so.'

Will South Africa be ready?

The signs are getting better even though concerns persist, especially over crime, accommodation and transport.

The South African bid was once dogged by stadium delays, labor unrest, bureaucratic and political disputes and an obsession in the local media that the sport's governing body FIFA had a "plan B" to move it elsewhere.

Both FIFA chief Sepp Blatter and Franz Beckenbauer, chairman of the 2006 Germany World Cup organizing committee, publicly criticized the effort.

More recently, officials have been lining up to praise the preparations. "I am sure the World Cup in South Africa is going to be a big, big success," Blatter said last week.

FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke says nine of the 10 stadiums , half of them new, will be ready by December and the last, in Cape Town, will be delivered in February.

FIFA estimates at least 450,000 foreign fans would come for the tournament. Ticket sales, which are released on a staggered basis, are already heavily oversubscribed with at least 28 of the 64 matches sold out. Demand is expected to increase when fans know which teams have qualified, by November.

While optimism is increasing, there is continued nervousness about several potential problems that could spoil the party, with South Africa's crime problem at the forefront.

About 50 people are murdered every day, more than in the United States, which has six times the population. Crime makes South Africa one of the most dangerous countries outside a war zone.

Jordaan has dismissed alarmist warnings, pointing to South Africa's highly successful organization of many international events, including a cricket and rugby World Cup.

Police plan to saturate danger areas with more than 40,000 officers and high-tech security including unmanned drones, but some South Africans worry this will mean leaving everybody else exposed while fans will be vulnerable if they wander out of guarded areas round stadiums, hotels and tourist routes.

There are also fears impoverished local supporters, faced with even the cheapest ever World Cup tickets, at $20, being almost ten times the cost of a domestic premier league match, will either not turn up or sell them to foreign fans.

"The one thing we want it to be is a South African and African World Cup. We don't want it to be European, or South American or Asian," said former England footballer Terry Paine, now a popular commentator on South Africa's Supersport channel.

Whatever the problems, the World Cup has one big plus for South Africa. A construction boom in road, rail and stadium building is a rare bright spot in an economy entering its first recession for 17 years and fanatical foreign fans are thought unlikely to be put off by the global crisis.

FIFA, which makes most of its money from the World Cup, is expected to smash all records for revenue, topped by huge television rights deals, especially in the U.S.

The sports market website Sportcal (www.sportcal.com) estimates FIFA has already made $3.4 billion in commercial revenue, nearly 50 percent higher than the 2006 World Cup.

(Thanks to Barry Moody and Reuters for a bulk of the numbers and reporting in this post.)

MY POV: There would be nothing sadder than to see a major crime wave occur during the World Cup. Africa needs this Cup to be a success. For self-esteem, for future revenue, for pride.

I cross my fingers. But I admit to having a bad feeling about some of this.

50 murders/day? And now we're throwing more than half a million foreign tourists - with money - into the mix? It'll be pick pocket heaven.

And don't even get me started on the hooligan aspect of it all. Could you imagine the catastrophe that would occur if a group of drunken fans decide to pick a fight with a local gang?

Africa needed this Cup. It needed it back in '06 but that's another story.

In all honesty, Africa needs this Cup to be a success for future stability. It needs to put it's best foot forward and show the world it isn't all about civil wars and famine.

And I am positive it will do this.

I just hope some bad seeds don't try to screw it up.

Whoa! FIFA nets $184M profit in 2008

FIFA and economic recession? I think not ...

FIFA said Wednesday that it turned a $184 million profit in 2008, remaining 13 percent under its own budget and not losing any money on assets during the year. FIFA collected $957 million in revenue, mostly off television and marketing deals struck for the 2010 World Cup.

Wow!

FIFA had $773 million in expenses, avoiding what deputy secretary general Markus Kattner called "extraordinary legal costs" such as the $90 million payout that credit card giant MasterCard was owed the previous year in a settlement regarding sponsorship of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

FIFA has about $1.6 billion in assets.

Later Wednesday, members of FIFA's Congress overwhelmingly approved the organization's 2010 budget, which includes about $1.1 billion in expenses, more than half related to operational costs for the World Cup in South Africa.

MY POV: FIFA is a cash cow. How do I get in on that action?

Oh No! 2010 World Cup Final Sold Out!

Looks like I'll be using scalpers to get into the 2010 World Cup final.

According to FIFA, the second phase of ticket sales for the opening match, semi-finals and the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup are sold out.

Gone. Goodbye.

The second phase had seen 105,322 tickets confirmed and approved so far.

"Due to a high demand for certain team specific ticket series, these tickets are no longer available for the following countries: England, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Ireland and Netherlands," the world football body said in a statement.

"It is no longer possible within the current sales phase to purchase match tickets for games taking place in Cape Town, Nelspruit and Pretoria."

Individual match tickets for the opening match, the two semi-finals, and the final were also unavailable in this phase.

However, team specific ticket series tickets, which allow supporters to follow the team of their choice, were available for the opening match, semi-final and the final.

If their team is eliminated, the team specific ticket allows the buyer to follow the team that progresses into the next round of the competition.

MY POV: So should I follow the USA? Spain? Help me here!

No New Viewers for the World Cup?

So you'd think that with more people in the world (isn't the world population increasing?) and new avenues to watch football (cell phones, etc.), the audience for the 2010 World Cup would be the highest ever.

Not so, according to a report from Reuters.

FIFA claimed an audience of 26.3 billion for the 2006 event, broadcast in 214 countries and territories.

"It should be more or less similar for 2010," FIFA's television chief Niclas Ericson told a media briefing.

MY POV: 26.3 billion? How is that possible? Isn't the Earth's population only 6 billion or so?

"We do expect record figures in Africa, where there will be much more free TV coverage in general. But the problem with these figures is that many countries do not have audited numbers and it is therefore difficult to predict any significant increase or decrease.

"We do hope the audiences will grow a little bit in every country."

Ericson said only if countries like China, India and Indonesia, with massive populations, qualified could a major increase in audience be perfected. But all three countries have already been eliminated in the qualifiers.

"We will not give up trying to get everyone to watch the World Cup final," he added.

Ericson said FIFA would be offering live coverage specifically produced for mobile phones for the first time at the 2010 World Cup finals.

"We have rolled out an aggressive product because more and more people are using the phone now to watch clips, results and updates on their mobile phones. We will have dedicated feeds for mobile users."

MY POV: The audience will be huge, no matter what. In this day and age, there will probably be very few eyeballs that won't see snippets of the 2010 World Cup ...

Obama Wants the World Cup in the USA

Is U.S. President Barack Obama trying to get the World Cup to America?

According to the New York Times, he just might be.

Not the 2010 World Cup, of course. But how about the 2018 or 2022 Cup?

In a letter hand-delivered to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, (Blatter's so important that Obama has to have his letter hand-delivered) the US President said, “As a child, I played soccer on a dirt road in Jakarta (his youth in Indonesia), and the game brought the children of my neighborhood together. As a father, I saw that same spirit of unity alive on the fields and sidelines of my own daughters’ soccer games in Chicago,” the president added.

“Soccer is truly the world’s sport, and the World Cup promotes camaraderie and friendly competition across the globe,” Obama added in the letter, a part of which was released to The New York Times by the United States Soccer Federation with permission from the White House.

“That is why this bid is about much more than a game,” he added. “It is about the United States of America inviting the world to gather all across our great country in celebration of our common hopes and dreams.”

Obama is hoping to influence FIFA when the decision for 2018 and 2022 is made in December 2010, five months after the next World Cup in South Africa.

Does the President have any experience with football?

Sure does!

According to the article:

He has attended games involving his 10-year-old, Malia, in Chicago and in 2003 visited his half sister Auma in London and went to a match at West Ham, in the Premier League. After he was elected president in early November, West Ham invited him to return to Upton Park, but his publicists denied the basic tabloid speculation that he roots for the Hammers, or anybody.

A man that politically astute should know that the claret-and-blue Hammers are an ideal team for a community organizer. Long identified with shipbuilders and dockworkers, West Ham has seen many of its ticket holders move out of the area while local periwinkle shops gave way to halal butcher shops. The club has run clinics to draw neighborhood children from South Asia into their fan base.

So what do you think? I know I'd love to see the World Cup here in the States.

US Soccer is trying to use the popularity of the new President to sway FIFA's vote. With the vast infrastructure already in place and the generally positive reviews the 1994 US World Cup received from FIFA executives, why not?

The infrastructure isn't there in South Africa. But FIFA awarded Africa their first World Cup for a variety of reasons.

Brazil will host the 2014 Cup. They have a plethora of infrastructure issues.

Maybe FIFA will decide to go with the nation most ready for the World Cup?

England? The USA? What do you think?