World Cup Football 2010

Group 9 Qualifying Groups

2008-01-11T15:04:00.001Z

I'm sure the Scots will have a good qualifying campaign and go one further that the Euro 2008 qualifying!

6.9.08 Macedonia v Scotland
6.9.08 Norway v Iceland

10.9.08 Macedonia v Holland
10.9.08 Iceland v Scotland

11.10.08 Holland v Iceland
11.10.08 Scotland v Norway

15.10.08 Iceland v Macedonia
15.10.08 Norway v Holland

28.3.09 Holland v Scotland

1.4.09 Holland v Macedonia
1.4.09 Scotland v Iceland

6.6.09 Iceland v Holland
6.6.09 Macedonia v Norway

10.6.09 Macedonia v Iceland
10.6.09 Holland v Norway

19.8.09 Norway v Scotland

5.9.09 Scotland v Macedonia
5.9.09 Iceland v Norway

9.9.09 Scotland v Holland
9.9.09 Norway v Macedonia

Group 7 Qualifying Fixtures

2008-01-11T15:01:00.000Z

Another interesting group, but France and Romania should be assured to qualify.

6.9.08 Austria v France
6.9.08 Romania v Lithuania
6.9.08 Serbia v Faroe Islands

10.9.08 Lithuania v Austria
10.9.08 Faroe Islands v Romania
10.9.08 France v Serbia

11.10.08 Faroe Islands v Austria
11.10.08 Romania v France
11.10.08 Serbia v Lithuania

15.10.08 Austria v Serbia
15.10.08 Lithuania v Faroe Islands

28.3.09 Romania v Serbia
28.3.09 Lithuania v France

1.4.09 Austria v Romania
1.4.09 France v Lithuania

6.6.09 Serbia v Austria
6.6.09 Lithuania v Romania

10.6.09 Faroe Islands v Serbia

19.8.09 Faroe Islands v France

5.9.09 Austria v Faroe Islands
5.9.09 France v Romania

9.9.09 Romania v Austria
9.9.09 Serbia v France
9.9.09 Faroe Islands v Lithuania

10.10.09 Austria v Lithuania
10.10.09 Serbia v Romania
10.10.09 France v Faroe Islands

14.10.09 France v Austria
14.10.09 Lithuania v Serbia
14.10.09 Romania v Faroe Islands

Group 4 Qualifying Fixtures

2008-01-11T14:54:00.000Z

This is a group that I'll be keeping a close eye one as Wales take on the powerful Germans (again). Good luck!

6.9.08 Liechtenstein v Germany
6.9.08 Wales v Azerbaijan

10.9.08 Finland v Germany
10.9.08 Azerbaijan v Liechtenstein
10.9.08 Russia v Wales

11.10.08 Germany v Russia
11.10.08 Wales v Liechtenstein
11.10.08 Finland v Azerbaijan

15.10.08 Germany v Wales
15.10.08 Russia v Finland

28.3.09 Germany v Liechtenstein
28.3.09 Russia v Azerbaijan
28.3.09 Wales v Finland

1.4.09 Liechtenstein v Russia
1.4.09 Wales v Germany

6.6.09 Finland v Liechtenstein
6.6.09 Azerbaijan v Wales

10.6.09 Finland v Russia

19.8.09 Azerbaijan v Germany

5.9.09 Russia v Liechtenstein
5.9.09 Azerbaijan v Finland

9.9.09 Wales v Russia
9.9.09 Germany v Azerbaijan
9.9.09 Liechtenstein v Finland

10.10.09 Russia v Germany
10.10.09 Liechtenstein v Azerbaijan
10.10.09 Finland v Wales

14.10.09 Germany v Finland
14.10.09 Azerbaijan v Russia
14.10.09 Liechtenstein v Wales

Group 1 Fixture List

2008-01-11T14:48:00.000Z

This is a tough group with any 5 of 6 having a good chance of qualifying. My money, however, would be on Portugal and Sweden.

Group 1 Qualifying Fixtures:

September 08
6.9.08 Albania v Sweden
6.9.08 Hungary v Denmark
6.9.08 Malta v Portugal
10.9.08 Sweden v Hungary
10.9.08 Portugal v Denmark
10.9.08 Albania v Malta

October 08
11.10.08 Sweden v Portugal
11.10.08 Denmark v Malta
11.10.08 Hungary v Albania
15.10.08 Malta v Hungary
15.10.08 Portugal v Albania

Febuary 09
11.2.09 Malta v Albania

28.3.09 Portugal v Sweden
28.3.09 Albania v Hungary
28.3.09 Malta v Denmark

April 09
1.4.09 Hungary v Malta
1.4.09 Denmark v Albania

June 09
6.6.09 Sweden v Denmark
6.6.09 Albania v Portugal
10.6.09 Sweden v Malta

September 09
5.9.09 Hungary v Sweden
5.9.09 Denmark v Portugal
9.9.09 Malta v Sweden
9.9.09 Albania v Denmark
9.9.09 Hungary v Portugal

October 09
10.10.09 Denmark v Sweden
10.10.09 Portugal v Hungary
14.10.09 Sweden v Albania
14.10.09 Portugal v Malta
14.10.09 Denmark v Hungary

England Draw - World Cup

2007-12-02T12:29:00.000Z

Group 6 World Cup Draw Video - England face Croatia

Delegates Inspect Tournament Stadia

2007-10-08T19:40:00.000+01:00

20 FIFA inspectors are looking at the stadia today. Fingers crossed everything goes ok! I'm sure we'll be hearing about it very soon!

Qualification Draw Details

2007-10-07T21:32:00.000+01:00

There will be 53 European nations competing for 13 places in the World Cup to be held in South Africa.

The games will start in September 2008 and nine clubs will qualify directly whilst the best eight second-placed teams with be involved in home and away play offs for the remaining four places.

UEFA President Michel Platini said:

It's a good compromise solution, because I wasn't really happy with the format for the last qualifying competition with groups of seven and eight teams," said U.

Group 1
Portugal
Sweden
Denmark
Hungary
Albania
Malta

Group 2
Greece
Israel
Switzerland
Moldova
Latvia
Luxembourg

Group 3
Czech Republic
Poland
Northern Ireland
Slovakia
Slovenia
San Marino

Group 4
Germany
Russia
Finland
Wales
Azerbaijan
Liechtenstein

Group 5
Spain
Turkey
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Armenia
Estonia

Group 6
Croatia
England
Ukraine
Belarus
Kazakhstan
Andorra

Group 7
France
Romania
Serbia
Lithuania
Austria
Faroe Islands

Group 8
Italy
Bulgaria
Republic of Ireland
Cyprus
Georgia
Montenegro

Group 9
Netherlands
Scotland
Norway
Macedonia
Iceland

2014 World Cup Announcement In November

2007-04-15T22:04:00.000+01:00

In 2003 FIFA made the announcement that the 2014 World Cup would be hosted in South America - it would be the first time it would be hosted in the continent since Argentina in 1978.

As far as we're aware on Brazil have submitted their bids before the April 18th deadline as Colombia have pulled out of the bidding process.

However, Sepp Blatter has said that if no bid matches their quality guidelines they'll consider other bids. In September 2006 the President of Brazil acknowledged that they may have problems and that they may have to build 12 new stadia.

204 Teams Enter Preliminary Rounds - A Record

2007-04-02T10:15:00.000+01:00

FIFA have announced that a record 204 national teams have entered the preliminary competition to take part in the 19th FIFA World Cup™ to be held in South Africa in 2010.

One of the new countries to be submitted is Montenegro which is probably going to become the 208th association next may - which may cause some complications for the Euro 2008 tournament.

There were four nations that didn't register for the tournament the Philippines, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam and Laos.

The first qualifying matches will take place this August. The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) will use the South Pacific Games to be held from 25 August to 8 September of this year as a preliminary qualifying tournament for the Oceania region.

Obviously South Africa qualify automatically as hosts, whilst the other 31 places to take part in the 2010 World Cup from 11th June to 11 July will be allocated as follows:

- AFC (Asia): 4.5*
- CAF (Africa): 5
- CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean): 3.5**
- CONMEBOL (South America): 4.5**
- OFC (Oceania): 0.5*
- UEFA (Europe): 13

*AFC and OFC to compete for one berth
**CONCACAF and CONMEBOL to compete for one berth

South African Tournament Dates

2006-12-19T00:00:00.000Z

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be held from June 11th until July 11th, FIFA revealed today.

There's no change in the how qualification takes place and the number of teams from each region also remains the same as last time round.

So Europe gets 13 nations, 5 for Asia and Oceania, 8 from America and 5 African nations (apart from SA).

Cape Town To Be Excluded

2006-12-18T23:57:00.000Z

Cape Town has been warned that it would be excluded from the 2010 World Cup if it delays the construction of its new stadium. LOC Chairman Irvin Khoza stated recently that "The LOC will not tolerate any delay. If there is any delay in Cape Town, Cape Town is out," - there's no confusion as to what he means!

Local Green Point residents are thinking about taking legal action as the new stadium is due to be built on municipal football pitches and a public golf course while the existing stadium in Green Point still remains.

Draw To Take Place in Durban

2006-12-18T23:55:00.000Z

The draw for the qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup will take place in my Birth town of Durban, it has been confirmed. The date has also been finalised as November 23rd and is set to be broadcast live to 200 countries.

More Police

2006-12-18T23:51:00.000Z

Bua News reports that more than 30 000 police officers will be deployed to tighten security around the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. At the moment South Africa has 156 000 police officers.

Deputy national police commissioner Andre Pruis recently stated that the 30 000 officers would be deployed across different police sectors including intelligence, VIP protection, border and route security.

"More than 30 000 will concentrate on providing security to the actual events, officials and supporters during the competition. There will be a dedicated team of officers in each sector," he said.

Commissioner Pruis said the officers would be deployed in various areas including accommodation facilities, stadiums, airports, roads and border posts, among others.

"[The] Police will also be patrolling roads between airports and hotels as well as roads between stadiums and hotels to ensure that visitors are protected at all times," he said.

It's not just people they're using to tackle any eventuality but stated they would also procure a fleet of 40 helicopters and command vehicles which boast state-of-the-art technology that will link with the SAPS head office.

In October, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that the government would increase the number of police officers to 193 000 by 2010.

Minister Manuel also announced in the MTBPS that government would allocate R15 billion for the 2010 World Cup.

Briefing the media about government's programme in preparation for the world cup, Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi expressed confidence that South Africa would meet the FIFA deadlines.

"In this regard we have set aside about R8.4 billion to build and upgrade stadiums and close to R6 billion would be utilised to improve public transport infrastructure and communication systems," said Mr Moleketi.

Mr Moleketi added that the main contractors in the development of the five major stadiums would be identified by the end of this year after tender processes had been completed.

The closing dates for most tenders were this month, he added.

"The process was underpinned by principles of transparency, fairness, value for money and Black Economic Empowerment," he said.

Mr Moleketi said there would be discussions between host cities and contractors before February regarding the costing of different products and services.

"The key thing is the issue of building stadiums and having the main contractor moving on site around February next year and this will give us enough time to basically ensure that the infrastructure is in place," he said.

The government, he said, would like to leave a lasting legacy of efficient transport and communication systems after the world cup.

Mr Moleketi reassured the public that five stadiums would be ready by 2009 for the Confederation Cup.

The stadiums are Ellis Park, Royal Bafokeng, Free State, Loftus and another in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality.

-BuaNews

Sepp Blatter Suggestion

2006-09-29T22:10:00.000+01:00

I don't always agree with FIFA President Sepp Blatter. But this time I do.

He suggested recently that World Cup finals shouldn't be decided on penalties. And changes may be made in the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Blatter said recently: "When it comes to the World Cup final it is passion, and when it goes to extra time it is a drama

Read more about Sepp Blatter.

Special World Cup Courts

2006-09-29T22:02:00.000+01:00

The South African Police are known to be tough and during the 2010 World Cup they'll be given support from special courts established just for the event.

"In the case of offences committed by visitors, these special courts will speedily resolve cases before their departure," said Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Mathogwame.

During the tournament it is expected that 350,000 extra people will visit the county and this would obviously place a great deal of pressure on the local resources.

The preperation is looking good with an estimated 160,000 local police being trained by foriegn forces with World Cup experience.

"The foreign police played a very important role in Germany (this year). Where there were unruly supporters, the police already had information on them (the culprits)," he said at a media briefing Wednesday.

An Environmentally Friendly Tournment

2006-08-29T13:59:00.000+01:00

The United Nations has joined the initiative to ensure the supply of environmentaly friendly transportation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is planning to operate a pilot project to look at bio-diesal and bio-ethanol as alternatives to petrol.

The level of polution and traffic congestion is a major concern for World Cup organisers.

The South African Government says it is committed to environmentally-friendly transport set up for the World Cup. Martin Mokonyama, the deputy director-general at the department of transport, said: "We will be looking at alternative options of technology in terms of vehicles, alternative vehicles, alternative fuels and other modes that produce less or no greenhouse gases

South Africa 2010 Facts

2006-08-11T20:52:00.000+01:00

Here are some facts about the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa:

There will be 3 million tickets available for the World Cup's 64 matches.
Of that 1/3 will be made available to local fans. Another million will be made to international visitors and the other third will go to sponsors, teams and the "FIFA family".
You're still welcome even if you don't have tickets as there'll be public viewing galleries.
South Africa is one hour ahead of the UK so there won't be any major problems of watching the games.
You'll probably be arriving by air and South Africa has 10 international airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, East London, Bisho, George, Phalaborwa and Alexander Bay.
There's loads of variety for accomodation - hotels, hostels, campsites and family homes.
Take medical advice before you go and check the foreign office website.
Don't forget travel insurance.

Ghana turns to Brazil for World Cup 2010

2006-07-21T20:00:00.000+01:00

Ghana President John Agykum Kuor has signed an agreement with the Brazilian President to improve the standard of football in Ghana via the hiring of coaches and use of their technical knowledge.

Ghana's foreign affairs minister, Nana Akuffo Addo said:

“We all know what happened to us at the World Cup and the very good performance that our people made. I think that the possibility of Brazilian coaches helping our team in the years ahead, it would make a lot of sense as we approach Johannesburg 2010.“We can realistically look forward to participating in that competition and also doing much better than we did this time. These are part of the arrangement that have been made.”

Source: African News Dimension

World Cup 2010 Stadia

2006-07-08T20:53:00.000+01:00

When South Africa won the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ they presented 13 stadia as potential match venues. Of these seven only needed minor improvements and three were due to be built.

Currently it is expected that only 10 will be used which compares to 20 in Korea / Japan 2002 and 12 in Germany 2006.

Here's the list that was set out at the presentation stage. We'll try and refine it asap.

1) Kings Park Stadium - Durban
Inauguration: Sep. 2007
Capacity: 60,000

2) Ellis Park Stadium - Johannesburg
Club: KaizerChiefs
Inauguration: June 2005
Capacity: 60,000

3) Soccer City City - Johannesburg
Inauguration: April 2007
Capacity: 94,700

4) Newlands - Cape Town
Club: Ajax Cape Town
Inauguration: November 2007
Capacity: 40,000

5) Loftus Versfeld - Pretoria
Club: Sundowns FC
Inauguration: April 2005
Capacity: 45,000

6) Free State Stadium - Bloemfontein
Inauguration: June 2007
Capacity: 40,000

7) Rainbow Junction - Pretoria
Inauguration: November 2007
Capacity: 41,000

8) Port Elizaeth Stadium - Port Elizabeth
Inauguration: June 2007
Capacity: 49,500

9) Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace - Rustenburg
Inauguration: November 2005
Capacity: 40,000 seats

10) Oppenheimer Stadion - Orkney
Inauguration: April 2007
Capacity: 40,000

11) Kimberley Stadium - Kimberley
Inauguration: June 2005
Capacity: 40,000

12) Mbombela Stadium - Nelspruit
Inauguration: June 2007
Capacity: 40,000

13) Peter Mokaba Stadium - Polokwane
Inauguration: April 2007
Capacity: 40,000

The above map was created by Kwh.

South Africa 2010 World Cup News

2006-07-08T20:48:00.000+01:00

Here we'll collate all the news for the Fifa World Cup ™ in South Africa in 2010.

Ghana turns to Brazil for World Cup 2010 - July 21st 2006
World Cup 2010 Stadia - July 8th 2006
Buy World Cup 2010 Tickets - July 8th 2006
South Africa 2010 World Cup Logo Unveiled - July 8th 2006

Buy World Cup 2010 Tickets

2006-07-08T20:42:00.000+01:00

At the time of writing we've not finished the 2006 World Cup, but I thought other people would be interested to know the time lines for the FIFA 2010 World Cup™ tickets.

Obviously nothing's finalised yet. But here's what we could expect to see:

2007 - The ticketing policies should be defined and how the tickets are to be allocated will be released;
2008 - This year will see the ticket packages agreed, every national FA would estimate their ticket requirements and the sales of the preferntial tickets could begin;
2009 - Ticket sales to the general public should begin;
2010 - The tickets should be sent out.

South Africa 2010 World Cup Logo Unveiled

2006-07-08T20:36:00.000+01:00

The World Cup in 2010 will be the first to be hosted in African Continent and South African President Thabo Mbeki unveiled on Friday in Berlin the logo for the 2010 tournament.

At the party Mbeki commented at the"We come from a country where football is not simply a game but an enduring passion ... We come from a place where our hearts beat in unison as we celebrate a shared destiny and love for the beautiful game ... It is a challenge we will win with flying colors," he said. "We said we will host in 2010 the most successful FIFA World Cup and we will keep that promise."

The slogan for the tournament is a tad unusual: "Win with Africa in Africa" - I'm not entirely sure what its supposed to mean.

Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan commented:

"The World Cup is an event which illustrates the benefit of cross-pollinization between peoples and countries. More and more national teams now welcome coaches from other countries. More and more players represent clubs away from home between World Cups. They all bring new ways of thinking and playing. Everybody wins. Everybody wins by that cross-pollinization."

When you look at the logo you may realise that the background image is actually a map of Africa - it took me a while to work it out!

Fifa World Cup Logo ©2006 FIFA

England 1-0 Ecuador

2006-06-25T18:44:00.000+01:00

I've rarely been more frustrated watching a game.

We started brightly and thought this could finally be the game where we find our feet and pass the ball around with the confidence I knew we should be doing.

The team, save Rooney, looked jaded even considering he had chuff all support for most of the game.

Ashley Cole did himself proud and Joe Cole looked burnt out. But on the hour David Beckham slotted home a trademark free-kick. And thank fook for that!

I spent the rest of the match wrestling with the missus to get off me, hearing the occasional mutterings of John Motson between the cries of "you don't love me anymore". She's more of a Lee fan than an England one - who can blame her the.

At the moment look like they're fighting to get into their stride. They really want to perform but are combating against the heat - hopefully they'll meet the Dutch in the next round who are more suited to their style of play. Seeing the Portuguese and the pace of Ronaldo could prove an issue for our troubled right-back position. Hopefully Neville will be able to restrict the effectiveness of his Utd team-mate.

It's comedy hour ...

2006-06-23T21:04:00.000+01:00

Why communism, women and football should never mix!!!

Come on! Who thought this was a good idea? I'm sure she'll end up on some Graham Norton production some time before Christmas, either that or she'll be the female lead in the next James Cameron film!

Who said it was better at the stadium?

2006-06-23T21:00:00.000+01:00

... Wake me up before the game starts!