World Cup Football 2010

Win Tickets To The World Cup In South Africa

2010-02-05T13:50:00.001Z

Would you like to Win tickets to the World Cup in South Africa?

South Africa World Cup Fixtures 2010

2009-12-06T09:55:00.002Z

Group A
Date v. Time Venue Results
11 June 15:00 at Johannesburg - JSC South Africa v. Mexico
11 June 19:30 at Cape Town - Uruguay v. France
16 June 19:30 at Tshwane/Pretoria - South Africa v. Uruguay
17 June 19:30 at Polokwane - France v. Mexico
22 June 15:00 at Rustenburg - Mexico v. Uruguay
22 June 15:00 at Mangaung / Bloemfontein - France v. South Africa

Group B
12 June 15:00 at Johannesburg - JEP Argentina v. Nigeria
12 June 12:30 at Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth - Korea Republic v. Greece
17 June 15:00 at Mangaung / Bloemfontein - Greece v. Nigeria
17 June 12:30 at Johannesburg - JSC Argentina v. Korea Republic
22 June 19:30 at Durban - Nigeria v. Korea Republic
22 June 19:30 at Polokwane - Greece v. Argentina

Group C
12 June 19:30 at Rustenburg - England v. USA
13 June 12:30 at Polokwane - Algeria v. Slovenia
18 June 15:00 at Johannesburg - JEP Slovenia v. USA
18 June 19:30 at Cape Town - England v. Algeria
23 June 15:00 at Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth - Slovenia v. England
23 June 15:00 at Tshwane/Pretoria - USA v. Algeria

Group D
13 June 19:30 at Durban - Germany v. Australia
13 June 15:00 at Tshwane/Pretoria - Serbia v. Ghana
18 June 12:30 at Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth - Germany v. Serbia
19 June 15:00 at Rustenburg - Ghana v. Australia
23 June 19:30 at Johannesburg - JSC Ghana v. Germany
23 June 19:30 at Nelspruit Australia v. Serbia

Group E
14 June 12:30 at Johannesburg - JSC Netherlands v. Denmark
14 June 15:00 at Mangaung / Bloemfontein - Japan v. Cameroon
19 June 12:30 at Durban - Netherlands v. Japan
19 June 19:30 at Tshwane/Pretoria - Cameroon v. Denmark
24 June 19:30 at Rustenburg - Denmark v. Japan
24 June 19:30 at Cape Town - Cameroon v. Netherlands

Group F
14 June 19:30 at Cape Town - Italy v. Paraguay
15 June 12:30 at Rustenburg - New Zealand v. Slovakia
20 June 12:30 at Mangaung / Bloemfontein - Slovakia v. Paraguay
20 June 15:00 at Nelspruit Italy v. New Zealand
24 June 15:00 at Johannesburg - JEP Slovakia v. Italy
24 June 15:00 at Polokwane - Paraguay v. New Zealand

Group G
15 June 15:00 at Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth - Côte d'Ivoire v. Portugal
15 June 19:30 at Johannesburg - JEP Brazil v. Korea DPR
20 June 19:30 at Johannesburg - JSC Brazil v. Côte d'Ivoire
21 June 12:30 at Cape Town - Portugal v. Korea DPR
25 June 15:00 at Durban - Portugal v. Brazil
25 June 15:00 at Nelspruit Korea DPR v. Côte d'Ivoire

Group H
16 June 12:30 at Nelspruit Honduras v. Chile
16 June 15:00 at Durban - Spain v. Switzerland
21 June 15:00 at Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth - Chile v. Switzerland
21 June 19:30 at Johannesburg - JEP Spain v. Honduras
25 June 19:30 at Tshwane/Pretoria - Chile v. Spain
25 June 19:30 at Mangaung / Bloemfontein - Switzerland v. Honduras

Final Draw for FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010

2009-12-06T09:51:00.002Z

Here are the videos of the World Cup Finals Draw. What was that blonde bint on about?

Are you bored yet?

I'm going for a pint!

New England Kit - Leaked Images - Pre-Order - 1st April Release Date

2009-03-17T07:53:00.004Z

Don't you love it, to recoup more money for the hideously expensive new Wembley, they've launched a new kit. Apparently this is the 45th new kit since we won the World Cup 43 years ago!

The leaked image of what some are saying are the new England kit is:

If that is the new kit then it's not so much different from the old one:

With the on-sale date being 1st April, then we can only assume its a crap April Fools Joke! But what isn't a joke is the price! It's gone up £4 which is over 10% in two years - that's just not funny, considering how many families are struggling with the recession.

You can get the New England Kit from Kitbag and UK Soccer Shop.

Ray Calls For Respect - FA Respect Campaign

2009-03-16T10:53:00.000Z

FYR Macedonia v Scotland World Cup Qualifying - Wednesday 15th October

2008-10-12T09:25:00.002+01:00

It's not looking great for Scotland. Ok so you've had one win, one draw and a loss. But boy you should have beat Norway! The lad on his debut missing from 2 yards - shocker!

With FCY Madedonia on your tails and being the next game and away, you really have to get a win - somehow.

Then you can rest and enjoy your Christmas! But with the press at George Burley's through I don't see it being much of happy Christmas with anything other than a good win!

World Cup Football Blog Prediction: FYR Macedonia 0 - 1 Scotland

Germany v Wales World Cup Qualifying Wednesday 15th October 2008

2008-10-12T09:11:00.002+01:00

The Welsh aren't doing too bad, 6 points from 3 games and sitting 2nd in the table.

But you shouldn't take progression for granted. Wales only scrapped a 2-0 win against Liechtenstein, Finland on 4 points and Russia on 3 have a game in hand and you're playing the mighty Germany next.

If you manage a draw against the Germans then I'll eat a leak. I don't see it happening but I'll be over the moon.

World Cup Football Blog Prediction: Germany 2 - 0 Wales

Belarus v England - Wednesday 15th October

2008-10-12T09:01:00.002+01:00

England fly to Minsk knowing that if they win against Belarus that they're 50% the way to South Africa. I know its a case of famous last words and all that, but we should do win over there - even if we just scrape a crappy goal from Heskey.

We can't get carried away with our win over Kazakhstan as it was against a team ranked something like 130th in the FIFA Rankings. Belarus may have only 3 points also, but if we put a solid performance and get a win and with Ukraine not playing until next year, we can go into Christmas with a 5 point lead of our nearest rivals.

I'm thinking that Capello may drop either Lampard or Gerrard to be bench and play Barry in there. He should play Rooney up front with Heskey and just drop Rooney behind.

World Cup Football Blog Prediction: Belarus 0 - 2 England

England 5 - 1 Kazakhstan

2008-10-12T08:40:00.002+01:00

It was such a dull first half I actually walked away and packed for my holidays. This meant that I missed some of the second half and some pretty average goals. But goals is goals and they all count!

Wayne Rooney's were scuffy affairs, Rio has started scoring for club and country, there was an unlucky own goal and a neatly taken one from Dafoe.

It just proves that changing your formation to accommodate Lampard and Gerrard is not a wise move. At half time England went from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 with Wayne taking a more central position. If we don't do this against Belarus on Wednesday then I'll be very much disspointed!

We should come out on top of that game, but its a tricky away tie so you can never take them for granted!

And for Ashley Cole being booed, I don't like the fella but come on! Don't boo him because he's playing like a Sunday League defender - give him some support!

And why is football more interesting in a foreign language?

Man of The Match: Rooney Rooney Rooney!

Fixtures Saturday 6th September - Qualifying

2008-09-03T08:42:00.002+01:00

Here's the FIFA World Cup European Qualifying fixtures for Saturday 6th September.

The qualifying rounds kick off this Saturday. Ronaldo will be happy to see some sun in Malta. It may also be a bit warmer in Andorra for the England squad. Scotland face a nice trip to Macedonia and Wales host Azerbaijan.

With the English midfield suffering from a variety of injuries and Wayne Rooney not being on top-form - we can only guess what the score will be!

Group 1

Albania v Sweden 17:45
Hungary v Denmark 18:45
Malta v Portugal 19:00

Group 2

Israel v Switzerland 18:55
Luxembourg v Greece 19:15
Moldova v Latvia 17:00

Group 3

Slovakia v Northern Ireland 16:30
Poland v Slovenia 16:00

Group 4

Liechtenstein v Germany 19:45
Wales v Azerbaijan 15:00

Group 5

Armenia v Turkey 17:00
Belgium v Estonia 19:45
Spain v Bosnia-Herzegovina 21:00

Group 6

Andorra v England 19:00
Croatia v Kazakhstan 19:15
Ukraine v Belarus 18:00

Group 7

Austria v France 19:30
Romania v Lithuania 19:00
Serbia v Faeroe Islands 19:15

Group 8

Cyprus v Italy 19:45
Georgia v Rep of Ireland 17:00
Montenegro v Bulgaria 19:00

Group 9

FYR Macedonia v Scotland 14:00
Norway v Iceland 18:00

FIFA Slightly More Generous With World Cup Tickets

2008-07-10T08:29:00.003+01:00

I love FIFA's double standards. They perport to be for the fans and of the fans. But then you find out that only 12% of tickets in the initial round would go to the fans of the respective nations. Wow so it's up from 8% thanks. So you still can't guarentee that 78% of the tickets will go to the fans of the nations that are playing in any given game? Great idea!

So how many will be going to corporate sponsors, FIFA officials and their wive's, girlfriends and bit of stuff on the side? Well, it looks like 20%!

And even worse apparently buyers will only be able to pick up the tickets when you get to the host nation. Eek. You'll have to travel all the way down there without your ticket. I'd be crapping myself. Its obviously to prevent touts flogging them on the internet. But for me it'd be sqeeky-bum time!

Also tickets won't go to the national FA's, instead they'll go via a hospitality company associated with FIFA. This is a good idea as fewer tickets should get "lost" on the way to fans. Not saying anything underhand goes on at the FA at all!

FIFA Looking at South Africa Alternative

2008-07-10T08:24:00.002+01:00

Apparently the numpty extradinaire is looking at alternative venues for the South Africa World Cup there are fewer people in this world that I have less respect for than Sepp Blatter.

The World Cup heads to Africa for the first time and he just doesn't understand Africans. I can say that as I'm an African too. I understand the culture. South Africa (the nation of my birth) will be ready, but we're no Swiss or Germans that'll have everything ready a decade before needed.

So, less meddling Sepp, and just let them get on with it. You said that the other nations you've spoken to need a year to prepare. The tournament is two years away so leave them alone.

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