The World Cup Will Cause World Peace

Sometimes; well, often really, I want to weep. Not, as you might think, because of all the suffering that goes on in the world or because I've stubbed my toe getting out of bed. Not even because I've been listening to Johnny Cash singing 'Hurt' - although that does get me every time.No, I mainly want to weep when people who should know better make outrageous claims for their products. I'm not

The World Cup Will Cause World Peace

Sometimes; well, often really, I want to weep. Not, as you might think, because of all the suffering that goes on in the world or because I've stubbed my toe getting out of bed. Not even because I've been listening to Johnny Cash singing 'Hurt' - although that does get me every time.No, I mainly want to weep when people who should know better make outrageous claims for their products. I'm not

There's No News...So Let's Make Something Up..Part 1 of Several 100

It's been a quiet week in football in general, apart from the USA's sterling performance against Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final.So, bored journalists do what they are best at and that is : make something up.Take this headline in the Daily Mail from a couple of days ago:'We fear England could ruin our World Cup chances, reveals Brazilian superstar Kaka'Wow, you think. Kaka must have really

There's No News...So Let's Make Something Up..Part 1 of Several 100

It's been a quiet week in football in general, apart from the USA's sterling performance against Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final.So, bored journalists do what they are best at and that is : make something up.Take this headline in the Daily Mail from a couple of days ago:'We fear England could ruin our World Cup chances, reveals Brazilian superstar Kaka'Wow, you think. Kaka must have really

What Did the 2009 Confederations Cup Teach Us?

It's all over. The 2009 Confederations Cup is in the books and Brazil reigns supreme as the greatest team in the world.

Ok, maybe not. Or maybe so ... Hard to tell. What does the Confederations Cup really mean?

One thing the Cup does is serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup. This year's version surely showed the world what to expect come next summer: Raucous crowds, vuvuzelas and exciting play.

What else did we learn?

Here are five things we've learned from the Confederations Cup according to the Guardian's Johnathan Wilson, who was on the ground in South Africa.

#1 and 2 are interesting: Spain can be beaten and it's cold in the winter time in South Africa. Fair enough.

What do you think about #3? The world wide introduction of the vuvuzela?

"Those African trumpets?" Xabi Alonso said with a look of genuine disgust. "They make a terrible noise. I don't think it's a very good idea to have them on sale outside the grounds. Here's a piece of advice for Fifa: they should try to ban those things. It's not distracting but that noise is a bit annoying."

It seems like an innocent enough comment. Why, after all, shouldn't Alonso complain if something irks him? But it prompted fury among South African fans and was, it seems, part of the reason why the home crowd got behind the US in their semi-final victory over Spain. "South Africa is a noisy country," blasted a leader in the Daily Sun. "Foreigners should get used to it." A letter in the same paper, meanwhile, accused Alonso of being a modern-day conquistador.

You may know that the idea they're connected to the myth that baboons are killed by loud noise is farcical. You may know that they've only really been around for four or five years. You may despair of people who tell you that they're part of African football (they're not: I've been to three African Cups of Nations and heard the drumming of the Beninois and the Ivorians, the trumpets and trombones of the Nigerians, even the banjo-playing of Ali, the grinning and omnipresent Tunisian, but I'd never heard a vuvuzela until a fortnight ago). You may be driven slowly insane by them. But it's probably best not to mention it.

As far as I'm concerned, the noise kind of fades into the background once the play starts. I'm ok with them.

Wilson's 4th thing learned is that Brazil is pretty good. Kinda knew that already.

#5 is interesting. South Africa's almost ready. But not quite.

Two stories: a) driving back from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg, we ran out of fuel a couple of miles outside Soweto at 4am in a thick and swirling mist.

We walked to the nearest toll plaza, and were rescued by a short man with a moustache called November. He had no reason to help us but willingly hotwired his own car (I think), turned his hazard lights on and drove the wrong way up a slip road to get to a petrol station. His was merely an extreme example of the general welcoming attitude on the part of locals, fans and stewards.

b) After an excellent steak at the Melville Grill, I got a lift back to Sandton, where I was staying. I got out of the car, and went through the security gates, only vaguely aware of two vehicles screeching to a halt in the driveway. It was only the next day I found out what had happened next. The first car contained a white couple, in clear distress. The driver of the second car, who was black, leapt out, remonstrated angrily with the driver of the first, and then pulled a gun from a hip holster — at which the friend who had given me a lift sped off.

As he admitted, his first thought was that this was one of the car-jackings for which Johannesburg is notorious. Only later did it dawn on him that a carjacker probably wouldn't bother with a holster, and the likelihood was that the man with the gun was a plain-clothes police officer. But how on earth would you tell?

I can only rely on this journalist's view point and other man-on-the-ground reports I've read, such as this one from the BBC's Simon Austin.

So? What do you think?

ESPN To Make Huge Committment to 2010 World Cup

According to the great EPL Talk soccer news site, ESPN have announced their plans for next year's 2010 World Cup.

Expect wall-to-wall coverage of the world's biggest sporting event, with all of the network's World Cup coverage from on-site in South Africa, totaling more than 65 hours of original content.

Not only that, there will be a nightly World Cup Live show (30 minutes) shown on ESPN's family of networks and pre-match, halftime and post-match shows, shown on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

Sounds like ESPN is going all out to show a great World Cup.

What do you think?

I'm Going Into The Hotel Business

Would it be possible, do you think, to build twenty or so hotels in nine months? How long does building a hotel actually take, because if I could do it, then I would.I figure that if I can get 20 hotels open in nine months, that will leave me three months to market them to the hundreds of thousands of football fans that will be coming to the 2010 World Cup.Y'see, right now there's a slight

I'm Going Into The Hotel Business

Would it be possible, do you think, to build twenty or so hotels in nine months? How long does building a hotel actually take, because if I could do it, then I would.I figure that if I can get 20 hotels open in nine months, that will leave me three months to market them to the hundreds of thousands of football fans that will be coming to the 2010 World Cup.Y'see, right now there's a slight

Security, What Security

OK, so Barack Obama is going to attend the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup Finals. Nice of Sepp Blatter to announce this way, way in advance, so that security - already a contentious issue for these finals - can be compromised still further.And it gives any potential terrorist plenty of time to put a plan in place. Good thinking, Mr Blatter. I for one am in awe of your great generosity of

Security, What Security

OK, so Barack Obama is going to attend the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup Finals. Nice of Sepp Blatter to announce this way, way in advance, so that security - already a contentious issue for these finals - can be compromised still further.And it gives any potential terrorist plenty of time to put a plan in place. Good thinking, Mr Blatter. I for one am in awe of your great generosity of

Oops...I Spoke To Soon

Well, after an impressive performance against Brazil and an even more impressive performance against Italy, Egypt somehow contrived to get knocked out of the Confederations Cup by being soundly beaten by USA.Worst still, some of the team were apparently robbed after celebrating that 1-0 win over Italy. Robbed, you say? By who?Well, if South Africa paper Sunday World is to be believed, they were

Oops...I Spoke To Soon

Well, after an impressive performance against Brazil and an even more impressive performance against Italy, Egypt somehow contrived to get knocked out of the Confederations Cup by being soundly beaten by USA.Worst still, some of the team were apparently robbed after celebrating that 1-0 win over Italy. Robbed, you say? By who?Well, if South Africa paper Sunday World is to be believed, they were

The Great Vuvuzelas Controversy

Anyone watching the Confederations Cup over the last week or so can't fail to have heard the continuing, defeaning drone coming from hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic horns known as Vuvuzelas.These are, apparently, extremely popular among South African football fans. However, such is the incessant din produced by this horns, that players (well Xabi Alonso anyway) have complained it knocks

The Great Vuvuzelas Controversy

Anyone watching the Confederations Cup over the last week or so can't fail to have heard the continuing, defeaning drone coming from hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic horns known as Vuvuzelas.These are, apparently, extremely popular among South African football fans. However, such is the incessant din produced by this horns, that players (well Xabi Alonso anyway) have complained it knocks

Egypt Starting To Look Good

Yeah, I know I should have been working, but I couldn't help but watch the BBC website live coverage of the Confederations Cup match between Brazil and Egypt instead. As well, I mean.Anyway, it finished 4-3 to Brazil and you can check out the highlights here.Brazil just edged it, with a last minute Kaka penalty, but the most impressive thing about it was Egypt in the second half. They dominated

Egypt Starting To Look Good

Yeah, I know I should have been working, but I couldn't help but watch the BBC website live coverage of the Confederations Cup match between Brazil and Egypt instead. As well, I mean.Anyway, it finished 4-3 to Brazil and you can check out the highlights here.Brazil just edged it, with a last minute Kaka penalty, but the most impressive thing about it was Egypt in the second half. They dominated

Who Are You Trying To Kid, Robert

Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe is not a man noted for having self-doubts. Which, presumably, is why he's hopeful that a number of World Cup football squads will want to base their training camps in what is left of his country.The Unity government is trying to persuade Brazil, Nigeria and England to come to Zimbabwe, in the hope of attracting tourism from neighbouring countries.Tourism minister

Who Are You Trying To Kid, Robert

Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe is not a man noted for having self-doubts. Which, presumably, is why he's hopeful that a number of World Cup football squads will want to base their training camps in what is left of his country.The Unity government is trying to persuade Brazil, Nigeria and England to come to Zimbabwe, in the hope of attracting tourism from neighbouring countries.Tourism minister

Russia Looking Strong, Portugal Pretty Much Gone

Today's European group qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup football tournament taught us a few things.Firstly, that Carlos Queiroz, the current Portugal manager, is not up to the job. Yeah, OK, it was a friendly and Queiroz rested a few players, but 0-0 against Estonia indicates the man is not capable of leading a talented squad of players to South Africa 2010.Sweden's 4-0 victory over Malta makes

Russia Looking Strong, Portugal Pretty Much Gone

Today's European group qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup football tournament taught us a few things.Firstly, that Carlos Queiroz, the current Portugal manager, is not up to the job. Yeah, OK, it was a friendly and Queiroz rested a few players, but 0-0 against Estonia indicates the man is not capable of leading a talented squad of players to South Africa 2010.Sweden's 4-0 victory over Malta makes

Ever Seen Anything Like This...No, Didn't Think So

With a tip of the hat to the marvelous Football365 people, here's a - quite literally - Lazarus like resurrection from a footballer.Admittedly, this has nothing to do with World Cup football, but how often do you get to see a professional footballer (albeit a lower league Belgian player) suffer cardiac arrest and then be revived by an internally implanted defibrilator.I know this is prurient to

Ever Seen Anything Like This...No, Didn't Think So

With a tip of the hat to the marvelous Football365 people, here's a - quite literally - Lazarus like resurrection from a footballer.Admittedly, this has nothing to do with World Cup football, but how often do you get to see a professional footballer (albeit a lower league Belgian player) suffer cardiac arrest and then be revived by an internally implanted defibrilator.I know this is prurient to

South Africa 2010 - It's All Going To Go Wrong...Or Maybe Not

There's always something faintly Xenophobic whenever a major sporting event is held outside of your own country, don't you think?It doesn't matter if you're English, German, American, French or wherever you are from, you will read reports in the newspapers about how everything in that other, somehow alien, country is behind schedule. You'll read about corruption, crime, poor quality of services,

South Africa 2010 - It's All Going To Go Wrong...Or Maybe Not

There's always something faintly Xenophobic whenever a major sporting event is held outside of your own country, don't you think?It doesn't matter if you're English, German, American, French or wherever you are from, you will read reports in the newspapers about how everything in that other, somehow alien, country is behind schedule. You'll read about corruption, crime, poor quality of services,

Australia, Japan and South Korea All Qualify

From the Asian groups, Australia, Japan and South Korea all qualified for South Africa 2010. The quality of the football wasn't high, but all three sides did enough to get through.Hardly surprising names, I admit, but that just leaves one place for one of North Korea, Saudi Arabia and, at an outside bet, Iran.

Australia, Japan and South Korea All Qualify

From the Asian groups, Australia, Japan and South Korea all qualified for South Africa 2010. The quality of the football wasn't high, but all three sides did enough to get through.Hardly surprising names, I admit, but that just leaves one place for one of North Korea, Saudi Arabia and, at an outside bet, Iran.

It's Looking Good For Some...And Terrible For Portugal

So, with yesterday's 2010 World Cup Qualifying matches out of the way, things are looking a little clearer, especially in the European groups.The Dutch have qualified already, from admittedly the weakest possible Group (Scotland are the next placed team, a mere 11 points behind the Netherlands).Almost certain to qualify now are England, who beat Kazakhstan 4-0 and then saw Croatia and Ukraine

It's Looking Good For Some...And Terrible For Portugal

So, with yesterday's 2010 World Cup Qualifying matches out of the way, things are looking a little clearer, especially in the European groups.The Dutch have qualified already, from admittedly the weakest possible Group (Scotland are the next placed team, a mere 11 points behind the Netherlands).Almost certain to qualify now are England, who beat Kazakhstan 4-0 and then saw Croatia and Ukraine

This Is How Not To Spin A Story

Have you heard about the 'bust-up' between England and former club teammates Gareth Barry and Gary Cahill yet?No? I'm not surprised. Because despite headlines in the Sun, Mirror and, yes, The Guardian newspapers, this is a prime example of how NOT to spin a story.What happened is this: Cahill tackled Barry in a practice match. He didn't help Barry back to his feet. Barry got up. Both players

This Is How Not To Spin A Story

Have you heard about the 'bust-up' between England and former club teammates Gareth Barry and Gary Cahill yet?No? I'm not surprised. Because despite headlines in the Sun, Mirror and, yes, The Guardian newspapers, this is a prime example of how NOT to spin a story.What happened is this: Cahill tackled Barry in a practice match. He didn't help Barry back to his feet. Barry got up. Both players

Yuvraj Sing Six Sixes in an Over

Watch the highlight cricket video of last icc world cup 2007. Yuvraj's six sixes in an over against England.