Casillas kissing girlfriend: TV journalist Carbonero and Spain is the world champion!

South Africa 2010: North Korea will have Chinese fans

Few North Koreans will be able to cheer their team at the World Cup in South Africa. So the country is recruiting 1,000 Chinese fans.

The Beijing office of the North Korean Sports Committee is giving out tickets to the tournament, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Chinese fans will attend North Korea's games against Brazil and Portugal, Xinhua said. This is just the second time North Korea has qualified for the World Cup. It shocked the world with its first appearance in 1966 when it beat Italy and reached the quarter-finals.

The Chinese fans who will support North Korea this time include celebrities who have led similar groups to cheer for Chinese teams in the past. The Beijing office of the North Korean Sports Committee could not be reached on Friday.

North Korea is the great unknown in the World Cup. News in the communist regime is strictly controlled. Broadcaster APTN in Pyongyang reported that the national team received a festive send-off on Saturday, with residents waving North Korean flags outside the airport as the players arrived. Footage showed women waving flowers as the team boarded the plane.

Coach Kim Jong Hun promised "a great success." China is North Korea's chief benefactor, and it apparently respected the wishes of the country's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il last week when it refused to confirm his secretive visit to Beijing until he had left.

Chinese support for North Korean sports teams is not new. A China-based sports apparel maker, Erke, sponsored all of North Korea's teams in the Beijing Olympics two years ago, and it now sponsors the country's soccer team.

Source: AP

World Cup 2010 tickets availability. Are they enough?

African fans will be fewer in the stadiums to support their teams during the soccer World Cup in South Africa, the first ever held on African soil, the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) announced here Monday.

In Africa, "the highest ticket buyer is Ghana with 8,700 tickets followed by Cote d’Ivoire with 6000 and Algeria with 4,300 tickets bought," FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke told reporters on the sidelines of the Indaba Tourism Fair being held in Durban until 11 May.

However, he did not give any indication on the number of tickets purchased by the three qualified African countries; Cameroon, Nigeria and the host country, South Africa.

The problems of Internet bookings, which a small part of the African population has access to, combined with too high ticket prices and expensive and impractical air transport is responsible for this low number, he said.

"To get to South Africa from Kinshasa or Lomé, one must pass through Paris," said Jerome Valcke, indicating that charter flights will be established to enable soccer fans from qualified African countries to directly fly to South Africa , where the competition will kick off within a month.

"The Algerian government will finance charter flights to take fans directly to South Africa," he said, adding that for other countries, negotiations are underway.

According to FIFA statistics, the highest ticket buyers are the Americans with 110,000 tickets reserved, followed by the British with 97,000 tickets, Australians and Germans 43,000 and 40,000 tickets respectively. The French have only reserved 4,000 tickets.

David Beckham Injured: Achilles Tendon Injury...No 2010 World Cup!

David Beckham will miss the World Cup and most if not all the Los Angeles Galaxy season after tearing his left Achilles' tendon Sunday while playing for AC Milan.

His international career for England is all but over. It remains to be seen how much he'll have left for the Galaxy and Major League Soccer.

"He will miss the World Cup for sure," a person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made. The person said it was likely the 34-year-old midfielder will play again.

Beckham was injured without getting hit during AC Milan's 1-0 Italian League win over visiting Chievo Verona. With only a few minutes remaining and the score 0-0, Beckham was by himself with the ball at his feet, shifted his weight and reached a hand down to his left heel. Beckham then stood up and snapped his wrists like he was breaking a twig in half in a gesture to show the AC Milan bench he knew the tendon was broken.

Visibly in pain and in tears, Beckham went to the sideline for medical attention, leaving Milan a man short because all three substitutes had been used. "He felt the muscle begin to come up, which is a typical symptom when you break an Achilles' tendon," Milan coach Leonardo told Sky. "This is a real blow."

Sky reported that Beckham said, 'It's broken, it's broken," when he came off. Club physician Jean Pierre Meersseman told Italy's Sky TV that Beckham will fly to Finland, where he will be treated by specialist surgeon Dr. Sakari Orava.

"He'll go to Finland tomorrow and will be operated on probably tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday morning," Meersseman said. While Beckham has not been a starter for England in recent matches, he was likely to make the World Cup roster as a reserve and looked forward to the high-profile June 12 matchup against the United States — and Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan. Although no longer a top player, Beckham was still useful for his free kicks and crosses, especially when England needed second-half goals.

And for many, he was the most-known soccer player in the world, a fashion icon with a celebrity wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. A 2002 movie was even named after him, "Bend it Like Beckham." The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was on his second loan stint to AC Milan from Los Angeles Galaxy as he looked to boost his chances of making England coach Fabio Capello's 23-man World Cup roster. With no chance to play in the World Cup, his international career is likely over after 17 goals and 115 appearances, second in English history behind only goalkeeper Peter Shilton's 125 matches from 1970-90.

Beckham was England's captain from November 2000 through the 2006 World Cup. He was due back with the Galaxy after the World Cup. "He'll probably be out for five or six months," AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani told Sky. "I saw him really suffering. In the changing room I hugged him and told him that if he wants he can join us next year, too."

It was yet another blow for Major League Soccer, already facing the threat of a players' strike ahead of the season opener on March 25. Beckham is the league's highest-paid player with a $32.5 million, five-year contract and its biggest draw. "We just received the information about David's unfortunate injury," MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "We wish him a speedy recovery."

Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said it was too early to tell exactly how long Beckham will be out. He didn't want to discuss the impact the injury would have on Los Angeles' season. He wouldn't blame the injury on the loan.

"Players get hurt whether they're on loan or not," he said. "Injuries are unfortunately part of the game."

Capello and his England assistant Franco Baldini spoke with Beckham on the telephone to offer best wishes, according to British news agency The Press Association.

In April 2002, Beckham broke a bone in his left foot during a European Champions League game against Spain's Deportivo La Coruna. His injury and recovery were front-page news to fixated England fans.

England fell short in the 2002 World Cup and yet again in 2006, still hoping for its first title since 1966. Beckham returned Sunday to AC Milan's starting lineup after a reserve-appearance in Wednesday's 4-0 Champions League loss at Manchester United, his first match at Old Trafford against his old club since he left after the 2002-03 season. Beckham was treated Sunday for a deep cut to his right cheek following a collision early in the first half.

With the game scoreless, Beckham nearly scored in the 84th, but Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino stopped his close-range effort. "Beckham came here because he wanted to help Milan return to the top and he was looking to get a jersey for the national team and participate in the World Cup," Milan defender Gianluca Zambrotta said. "If other victories come, there will surely be a dedication for David Beckham."

40,000 prostitutes may enter South Africa during World Cup

Soccer World Cup organizers have warned that close to 40,000 prostitutes may enter South Africa during the mega event.

The authorities, at a meeting of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, feared local children would also be targeted by drug and prostitution underworld. The threat is even more serious as World Cup takes place during a four-week national school holiday.

"It's horrific and very concerning. Money talks, and if you're a sex worker then there is going to be money in South Africa in 2010," the New York Daily News quoted Davis Bayever, South Africa's deputy chair of the country's Central Drug Authority, as saying.

He added: "There is no doubt that they will be targeted to become prostitutes. Children from poor rural families will be given a carrot by criminals who tell them they will have a job if they come to the big city."

However, as a preventive measure to stop influx of prostitutes, strict passport checks, screening, and profiling will take place at the borders.

It is believed that 16 percent of the population is living with HIV in South Africa.

World Cup, Olympics harm housing: UN

A UN human rights expert blamed football's World Cup and the Olympic Games for forcing thousands out of their homes, as host cities sought "beautification" often at the expense of poor residents.

Raquel Rolnik, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had recently taken steps to try to protect housing during the bidding process for the 2016 Games.

In contrast, world football's governing body FIFA appeared to have done little to address housing concerns and had shunned UN queries since 2005, she added. "I urge FIFA to open up, to be more transparent," Rolnik told journalists.

According to AFP, the UN expert acknowledged that the Olympics had brought redevelopment and created subsidised housing in some instances, notably in Athens and Moscow.

But sporting mega events often started off with evictions and local authorities rarely allowed the poor to return, Rolnik said in a report.

"Very rarely does the majority of the new housing stock go to those who need it the most," she told journalists.

The UN expert warned in a report that the economic benefits of staging such events are not spread evenly, as cities gave priority to "beautification over the needs of local residents".

She highlighted the removal of 20,000 people from the Joe Slovo settlement in Cape Town to make way for rental housing for this year's World Cup in South Africa, saying they were moved to "impoverished areas".

"All the commitments for affordable housing were left behind and were not prioritised," as 2010 World Cup stadium projects fell behind schedule, said Rolnik.

With the Vancouver Olympics, local authorities squeezed housing plans as they ran into financing problems, she added.

In Britain, 400 people were forced out of the Clays Lane estate, which was demolished to make way for the 2012 Olympic Park in east London.

The report noted that several thousand athlete lodgings in London are subsequently meant to be turned into affordable housing.

Rolnik also cited evictions in Barcelona prior to the 2002 Olympic Games, in Beijing before the 2008 Games, and of 35,000 families in New Delhi before this year's Commonwealth Games in October, as well as pressure on the homeless in Atlanta (1996), Seoul (1988) and Vancouver.

South Africa 2010: Parreira takes Bafana Bafana home to Brazil

FIFA 2010 World Cup hosts, South Africa, have taken a squad of 29 predominantly local-based players on a month-long tour of Brazil to prepare them for the June tournament.

Ranked 81st in the world, Bafana Bafana are considered to be one of the weakest among Africa’s six representatives for the world’s biggest soccer showpiece, which begins on June 11.

In a bid to achieve his difficult contractual task of taking the hosts to their first ever appearance in the second round, Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira decided to take the Bafana players to a tour of his native country, where he hopes to instil soccer basics and add some Brazilian flare into their style of play.

As most European leagues have reached their home straight, Parreira named only two foreign-based players into his provisional squad on Thursday, barely 24 hours after he had seen his charges grind to a disappointing 1-1 draw with lowly Namibia at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium.

According to The Zimbabwean, Bafana will camp in Brazil – playing friendly matches against some of that country’s top sides, for close to a month, after which they will hold another training camp in Germany early next month.

“I do not want to be disrespectful to small sides, but we badly need to play big sides like Denmark and Argentina to gauge our progress,” said Parreira late last week. “After Brazil and the camp in Germany, we will have a stronger base, be fitter and much better prepared than we were against Namibia where I had one day to work with the squad.”

After play four training games against Brazilian club sides, Bafana will meet Paraguay, whom they beat 3-0 on home soil in 2008.

The Brazilian, who won the 1994 World Cup and reached the 2002 quarterfinals while still coaching Brazil, is optimistic of realising an improved performance from the South Africans after the tour.

“The camp in Brazil was not easy to organise, but it will lay the foundation for our World Cup preparations,” he said. “I did the same with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the past and the camps were all successful.” “You cannot walk into a supermarket and buy experience. This is the only way — going to Brazil and Germany and learning.” Parreira said his philosophy was simple: “I want Bafana to learn to play it simple. We need to give a face and identity to South African soccer.”

Drawn in Group A, Bafana open the World Cup with a tough game against Mexico at the Soccer City stadium, in Johannesburg on June 11. They will also have to go past Uruguay and France before they progress to the second round.

South Africa 2010 Official Video: Waving Flag with Knaan and David Bisbal

Only the Slovakia National Team...

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup field rounded out, Slovakia stand alone as the sole nation making their debut in the competition. Only once before, a World Cup had just one debutant. According to Infostrada, in 1950 England were the only team to qualify for the tournament as a debutant.

Fewest debutants at a FIFA World Cup

# World Cup Debutants

1 1950 England

1 2010 Slovakia

2 1962 Bulgaria, Colombia

2 1966 Portugal, North Korea

2 1978 Iran, Tunisia

3 1954 South Korea, Scotland, Turkey

3 1958 Northern Ireland, Russia, Wales

3 1970 El Salvador, Israel, Morocco

3 1986 Canada, Denmark, Iraq

3 1990 Costa Rica, Ireland, United Arab Emirates

3 1994 Greece, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria

South Africa 2010 ball and background: Jabulani

Jabulani which means “to celebrate” in isiZulu. The new adidas ball will be the only ball used during the tournament that starts in June.

11 is a big number that relates to the “Jabulani” ball as it sports an impressive 11 different colors. This was chosen for the 11 players who take the field for every team during the tournament, the 11 official languages of South Africa, (isiZulu is spoken by 25% of the people), and the 11 South African tribes that make the country extremely diverse.

Jabulani and its family tree: Info and photos.

Feelings

• England enjoys

• Cristiano Ronaldo not

• Coaches Dixit
  

• Is it Africa time?

• 32 possible elevens

FIFA South Africa 2010 World Cup Anthem by Knaan - official video and lyrics

Ooooooh Wooooooh


Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets are, exaliftin , as we lose our inhabition,
Celebration its around us, every nations, all around us

Singin forever young, singin songs underneath that sun

Lets rejoice in the beautiful game.

And together at the end of the day.

WE ALL SAY

When I get older I will be stronger

They'll call me freedom Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back

When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom
Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh hohoho

Give you freedom, give you fire, give you reason, take you higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets are, exaliftin, every loser in ambition,
Celebration, its around us, every nations, all around us

Singin forever young, singin songs underneath that sun

Lets rejoice in the beautiful game.

And together at the end of the day.

WE ALL SAY

When I get older, I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom
Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back

When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom
Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes

Wooooooooo Ohohohoooooooo ! OOOoooooh Wooooooooo

WE ALL SAY !

When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom
Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back

When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom
Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes

Wooo hooooo hohohohoooooo

And everybody will be singing it

Wooooooooo ohohohooooo

And we are all singinit

World Cup South Africa 2010 schedule - Groups, matches, dates, cities, stadiums, results

Group A Match Date Venue Results

1 11 June Johannesburg South Africa - Mexico

2 11 June Cape Town Uruguay - France

17 16 June Tshwane/Pretoria South Africa - Uruguay

18 17 June Polokwane France - Mexico

33 22 June Rustenburg Mexico - Uruguay

34 22 June Mangaung/Bloemfontein France - South Africa

Group B Match Date Venue Results

3 12 June Johannesburg Argentina - Nigeria

4 12 June Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth Korea Republic - Greece

19 17 June Mangaung/Bloemfontein Greece - Nigeria

20 17 June Johannesburg Argentina - Korea Republic

35 22 June Durban Nigeria - Korea Republic

36 22 June Polokwane Greece - Argentina

Group C Match Date Venue Results

5 12 June Rustenburg England - USA

6 13 June Polokwane Algeria - Slovenia

22 18 June Johannesburg Slovenia - USA

23 18 June Cape Town England - Algeria

37 23 June Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth Slovenia - England

38 23 June Tshwane/Pretoria USA - Algeria

Group D Match Date Venue Results

7 13 June Durban Germany - Australia

8 13 June Tshwane/Pretoria Serbia - Ghana

21 18 June Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth Germany - Serbia

24 19 June Rustenburg Ghana - Australia

39 23 June Johannesburg Ghana - Germany

40 23 June Nelspruit Australia - Serbia

Group E Match Date Venue Results

9 14 June Johannesburg Netherlands - Denmark

10 14 June Mangaung/Bloemfontein Japan - Cameroon

25 19 June Durban Netherlands - Japan

26 19 June Tshwane/Pretoria Cameroon - Denmark

43 24 June Rustenburg Denmark - Japan

44 24 June Cape Town Cameroon - Netherlands

Group F Match Date Venue Results

11 14 June Cape Town Italy - Paraguay

12 15 June Rustenburg New Zealand - Slovakia

27 20 June Mangaung/Bloemfontein Slovakia - Paraguay

28 20 June Nelspruit Italy - New Zealand

41 24 June Johannesburg Slovakia - Italy

42 24 June Polokwane Paraguay - New Zealand

Group G Match Date Venue Results

13 15 June Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth Côte d'Ivoire - Portugal

14 15 June Johannesburg Brazil - Korea DPR

29 20 June Johannesburg Brazil - Côte d'Ivoire

30 21 June Cape Town Portugal - Korea DPR

45 25 June Durban Portugal - Brazil

46 25 June Nelspruit Korea DPR - Côte d'Ivoire

Group H Match Date Venue Results

15 16 June Nelspruit Honduras - Chile

16 16 June Durban Spain - Switzerland

31 21 June Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth Chile - Switzerland

32 21 June Johannesburg Spain - Honduras

47 25 June Tshwane/Pretoria Chile - Spain

48 25 June Mangaung/Bloemfontein Switzerland - Honduras

World Cup South Africa 2010 Qualifying: TV live stream links

Feel free to add links

Time / City / Match

Europe

09/09/09 17:15 Toftir Faroe Islands Lithuania

09/09/09 17:20 Uherske Hradiste Czech Republic San Marino

09/09/09 18:30 Ta'Qali Malta Sweden

09/09/09 19:30 Vaduz Liechtenstein Finland

09/09/09 19:45 Belfast Northern Ireland Slovakia

09/09/09 19:45 Cardiff Wales Russia

09/09/09 20:00 Zenica Bosnia-Herzegovina Turkey

09/09/09 20:00 Minsk Belarus Ukraine

09/09/09 20:00 London England Croatia

09/09/09 20:00 Andorra La Vella Andorra Kazakhstan

09/09/09 20:30 Tirana Albania Denmark

09/09/09 20:45 Budapest Hungary Portugal

09/09/09 20:45 Maribor Slovenia Poland

09/09/09 20:45 Hanover Germany Azerbaijan

09/09/09 20:45 Bucharest Romania Austria

09/09/09 21:00 Ramat Gan Israel Luxembourg

09/09/09 21:00 Yerevan Armenia Belgium

09/09/09 21:30 Chisinau Moldova Greece

09/09/09 21:30 Riga Latvia Switzerland

09/09/09 22:00 Merida Spain Estonia

South America

09/09/09 15:00 La Paz Bolivia Ecuador

09/09/09 18:00 Montevideo Uruguay Colombia

09/09/09 19:00 Asuncion Paraguay Argentina

09/09/09 20:30 Puerto La Cruz Venezuela Peru

09/09/09 22:00 Salvador De Bahia Brazil Chile

North, Central America and Caribbean

09/09/09 19:00 San Salvador El Salvador Costa Rica

09/09/09 19:11 Port Of Spain Trinidad and Tobago USA

09/09/09 20:00 Mexico City Mexico Honduras

Africa

09/09/09 15:30 Yaounde Cameroon Gabon

Asia

09/09/09 22:15 Riyadh Saudi Arabia Bahrain

International friendly matches

September 8

20:30 Ireland - South Africa

September 9

12:00 Angola - Cape Verde

12:00 Japan - Ghana

16:00 China - Senegal

21:00 Qatar - Oman

21:30 Iceland - Georgia

21:30 Jordan - New Zealand

September 10

12:00 Norway - South Africa

World Cup Qualifying Schedule: TV live streaming links - September 5th, 6th

Europe

Time / City / Match

05/09/09 15:00 Glasgow Scotland - FYR Macedonia

05/09/09 17:00 Kyiv Ukraine - Andorra

05/09/09 19:00 Chisinau Moldova - Luxembourg

05/09/09 19:00 St. Petersburg Russia - Liechtenstein

05/09/09 20:00 Copenhagen Denmark - Portugal

05/09/09 20:00 Budapest Hungary - Sweden

05/09/09 20:00 Lankaran City Azerbaijan - Finland

05/09/09 20:00 Yerevan Armenia - Bosnia-Herzegovina

05/09/09 20:30 Basel Switzerland - Greece

05/09/09 20:30 Bratislava Slovakia - Czech Republic

05/09/09 20:30 Chorzow Poland - Northern Ireland

05/09/09 20:30 Zagreb Croatia - Belarus

05/09/09 20:30 Graz Austria - Faroe Islands

05/09/09 20:30 Sofia Bulgaria - Montenegro

05/09/09 21:00 Ramat Gan Israel - Latvia

05/09/09 21:00 Kayseri Turkey - Estonia

05/09/09 21:00 Saint-Denis France - Romania

05/09/09 21:30 Nicosia Cyprus - Republic of Ireland

05/09/09 22:00 La Coruña Spain - Belgium

05/09/09 22:00 Tbilisi Georgia - Italy

South America

Time / City / Match

05/09/09 15:30 Medellin Colombia - Ecuador

05/09/09 15:30 Lima Peru - Uruguay

05/09/09 18:30 Asuncion Paraguay - Bolivia

05/09/09 21:30 Rosario Argentina - Brazil

05/09/09 21:30 Santiago De Chile Chile - Venezuela

North, Central American and Caribbean

Time / City / Match

05/09/09 18:11 Sandy USA - El Salvador

05/09/09 19:00 San Pedro Sula Honduras - Trinidad and Tobago

05/09/09 20:00 San Jose Costa Rica - Mexico

Africa

Time / City / Match

05/09/09 14:30 Blantyre Malawi - Guinea

05/09/09 15:30 Libreville Gabon - Cameroon

05/09/09 15:30 Kigali Rwanda - Egypt

05/09/09 17:00 Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire - Burkina Faso

06/09/09 15:00 Maputo Mozambique - Kenya

06/09/09 15:30 Lome Togo - Morocco

06/09/09 16:00 Cotonou Benin - Mali

06/09/09 17:00 Abuja Nigeria - Tunisia

06/09/09 17:00 Accra Ghana - Sudan

06/09/09 22:00 Blida Algeria - Zambia

Asia

Time / City / Match

05/09/09 22:00 Manama Bahrain - Saudi Arabia

Friendly matches

05/09/09

12:00 Namibia - Swaziland

13:00 Korea Republic - Australia

14:00 Holland - Japan

16:00 Oman - Korea DPR

16:00 Uzbekistan - Iran

18:30 England - Slovenia

20:30 Angola - Senegal

20:30 Jordan - Malaysia

20:45 Germany - South Africa

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