Confederations Cup Update

South Africa has sold half of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup tickets - about 320,000 of the almost 640,000 tickets.

This is good news, as South African Cup organizers recently complained about the sluggish ticket sales.

The Confederations Cup starts on June 14 at the Ellis Park stadium as hosts South Africa play Asian champions Iraq.

About 95 % of the tickets have been purchased by South Africans, according to the World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC).

“After opening the ticketing sales for the FIFA Confederations Cup to the corporate market two months ago, we are very pleased with the feedback of the local business community. We do hope, that with the opening of the ticketing centers we will now have a similar positive response of the general republic,” said FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke.

“From now on, with the launch of the ‘over the counter’ sales in ticketing centers, we are convinced it will be even easier for our football supporters to obtain tickets. By simplifying the process we are certain South Africans will now find it easier to purchase their tickets and we hope this will create the necessary demand to sell out all matches for the tournament,” said Danny Jordaan, CEO of the Organizing Committee.

MY POV: Fans can only hope South Africa puts on a decent tournament this summer. The Confederations Cup is usually a dry run of the real thing - the World Cup - which comes next summer.

Having ticketing centers is a wise move, as fans won't queue up at the stadium and cause havoc, as has been seen in other countries before.

The Organizing Committee seems pleased. All systems are go for this summer's tournament. Are they ready for the storm next year? Wait and see ...

10 Stars Who Will Break Out at 2010 World Cup

405 days to go ...

We previously discussed the Top 10 African Youngsters at the 2010 World Cup.

But who are the top 10 world players who we'll be talking about by next summer's tournament?

According to John Molinaro of CBC Sports in Canada, these are the guys you should be paying attention to ... what do you think? Break out stars or busts?

Bruno Alves, 27, Portugal (above)
Alves is a bit of a late bloomer (he only made his national team debut two years ago) but the FC Porto star is an imposing and tenacious central defender, very much in the mould of Chelsea star and countryman Ricardo Carvalho.

Michael Bradley, 21, United States
Even though he's the son of U.S. national team coach Bob Bradley, Michael earned his spot on the American roster with his consistent and steady performances while patrolling the midfield for German club Borussia Monchengladbach.

Claudio Bravo, 26, Chile
Bravo is only six-feet tall (relatively small for a goalkeeper) but the Chilean captain is a talented shot-stopper who has looked pretty impressive since joining Spanish side Real Sociedad in 2006.

Patrick Helmes, 25, Germany
Helmes comes from good soccer stock, as his father, Uwe Helmes, was a former player. What makes Patrick, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, so dangerous are his excellent finishing skills in front of the net and his ability to score with both feet.

Milan Jovanovic, 28, Serbia (above)
This Serbian striker has established quite a name for himself with Standard Liege in Belgium, scoring goals at an alarming rate. His greatest asset is his ability to hold onto the ball when being chased down, not to mention his composure inside the penalty area.

Seydou Keita, 29, Mali
He doesn't get the credit he deserves at FC Barcelona, as he's often overshadowed by the likes of Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o. But there's no denying his invaluable contributions on the field as a tough-tackling, defensive central midfielder.

Riccardo Montolivo, 24, Italy
A cultured, left-sided midfielder with Italian club Fiorentina, Montolivo is a creative player with a great touch on the ball who is just as comfortable slotting in the centre of midfield as the chief playmaker and directing the attack.

Cristian Riveros, 26, Paraguay
Think of him as the Paraguayan Patrick Vieira, the Frenchman who starred for Les Bleus at the 1998 World Cup. Riveros is a sensational, two-way midfielder, who uses his size and strength to outmuscle opponents and runs himself into the ground for 90 minutes.

Tatsuya Tanaka, 26, Japan
Deployed either as a striker or a winger, the diminutive Tanaka is a real live wire with the ball at his feet, using his speed and sublime ball control to take defenders on one-on-one and make things happen in the attacking third of the field.

Amr Zaki, 26, Egypt
The Egyptian forward came out of nowhere and took the English Premier League by storm this season, scoring bags of goals for Wigan Athletic. Zaki has been compared to English legend Alan Shearer for his sheer ruthlessness when it comes to scoring goals.