SA not doing enough for World Cup: FIFA

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    The 2010 Soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee is not doing enough to promote South Africa to the world, said FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke."South Africa should now start sending out information to the world on what they can expect from this country during both the Confederations and World Cups," Valcke told reporters on Wednesday."We should be starting with the six teams that have already qualified for the Confederations Cup (Italy, Spain, Brazil, United States, Iraq and Egypt).


    It is important for this country to promote itself. It will be too late after the Confederations Cup."He also told the media to forget about FIFA president Sepp Blatter's reported Plan B.Blatter told the media in Vienna last month that FIFA had a Plan B in case South Africa was hit by a natural disaster and could not host the 2010 showpiece."But, no matter where we host the World Cup, there will be questions about that country's ability to stage the event. We expect the same questions to arise when Brazil hosts the World Cup in 2014.


    We are confident of South Africa's ability to stage a successful World Cup," said Valcke.He told press that the world governing body would discuss the recent crisis in Zimbabwe with the United Nations, but added that there were no plans to suspend Zimbabwe at this stage."It is a political matter. We only suspend member countries if the government interferes with the football association of that country, but we will meet the UN on Zimbabwe," he said

    ESPN-STAR gets telecast rights of 2010 football World Cup

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    Football's world governing body, FIFA, has renewed its broadcasting agreement with ESPN-STAR Sports, giving the network exclusive South Asian telecast rights of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Under the terms of agreement, ESPN-STAR will have the exclusive rights to show over 275 international football games including the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup both to be held for the first time on African soil in South Africa. In addition, ESS will bring other FIFA World Cup events for men, women, youth, Futsal and Beach Soccer to fans in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal.
    The 2010 World Cup will be played from June 11 to July 11. ESS coverage will include live matches accompanied by English and Hindi commentary for all 64 games, daily pre-shows during match days, a daily review show as well as special lead-up programming. "This agreement is a testament to our commitment of building the game of football by presenting it in the most innovative and entertaining manner to millions of fans in the Indian subcontinent," ESPN-STAR Sports Managing Director Manu Sawhney said.
    Commenting on the renewed agreement, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said, "It ensures that images of our events including the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be seen by the widest possible audience across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka." The network also held exclusive broadcast rights for the recently concluded UEFA European Championship which besides having the telecast right of Barclays Premier League, FA Cup and the Spanish Primera Liga.

    ESPN wins FIFA World Cup broadcast rights

    ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has bagged the exclusive broadcast rights to telecast FIFA’s international football events, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in the Indian Sub-Continent. The deal is estimated at over $40 million. ESS edged out Ten Sports, owned by Dubai-based Taj Television, after a two-month long bidding process.

    The deal gives ESS exclusive rights to show over 275 international football games, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup, both to be held for the first time on the African soil in South Africa. In addition, ESS will bring other premier FIFA World Cup events for men, women, youth, Futsal and Beach Soccer to fans in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal. ESS managing director Manu Sawhney said, “We are extremely delighted to continue our partnership with FIFA with whom we share a very special relationship.

    This agreement is a testament to our commitment of building the game of football by presenting it in the most innovative and entertaining manner to millions of fans in the Indian Sub-Continent.” ESPN Software India MD RC Venkateish said, “ESS has played a key role in propagating international soccer in India and the results have begun to show. Soccer viewership has shown a consistent increase. For instance, the reach of Barclays Premier League has grown at more than 40% per annum since 2005. The broadcast rights of over 275 international football games, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup, will ensure that Indian soccer enthusiasts continue to get world-class soccer action on their TV screens.”

    The FIFA franchise has always been sought after by broadcasters, but one has never witnessed such a premium for the sport in the Indian Sub-Continent in the past. The FIFA World Cup 2006, for instance, fetched a measly $9 million while the World Cup in 2002 went for just $3 million. The sudden rise in bids is attributed to the fact that soccer is gaining ground in India. ESPN Star had bagged the exclusive rights to telecast the championship in the Indian Sub-Continent in 2006 while Ten Sports was the official broadcaster in 2002. Meanwhile, the UAE has won the rights to stage the 2009 and 2010 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup, beating Japan, Australia and Portugal.

    FIFA World Cup 2010

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    Tournament details : Host country - South Africa, 11 June - 11 July, 32 teams (from 6 confederations), Venue(s) 10 (in 9 host cities)

    The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, an international tournament for football, that is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010 in South Africa. It will be the first time that the tournament has been hosted by a nation in the Confederation of African Football, leaving the Oceania Football Confederation as the only FIFA Confederation never to have hosted the event.

    Host selection : Main article: FIFA World Cup hosts

    Africa was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a new policy to rotate the event between football confederations (This policy was later abandoned in October 2007). Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup:     Egypt, Libya / Tunisia (co-hosting) , Morocco, South Africa.

    Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements.

    After one round of voting, the winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zurich. South Africa was awarded the rights to host the tournament, defeating Morocco and Egypt.

    Results:     South Africa 14 votes, Morocco 10 votes, Egypt 0 votes, Tunisia withdrew on 8 May 2004 after joint bidding was not allowed, Libya bid was rejected: bid did not meet the list of requirements and joint bidding was not allowed.
    Qualification : Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

    As the host nation, South Africa qualifies automatically. However, South Africa is the first host since 1934 to participate in World Cup qualifiers. This is because the CAF qualifiers will also serve as the qualifying tournament for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, for which South Africa must qualify separately. Like the previous tournament, the defending champions Italy do not qualify automatically.

    The preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban, South Africa, on 25 November 2007
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    The Final draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be staged in     Cape Town, South Africa, in December 2009 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

    Qualified teams : CAF South Africa (host)

    Venues : In 2005, the organizers released a provisional list of thirteen venues to be used for the World Cup: Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg (two), Kimberley, Nelspruit, Orkney, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria (two), and Rustenburg. This was narrowed down to ten venues which were officially announced on 17 March 2006 by FIFA:

    Five new stadiums are to be built for the tournament (three match venues and two practice grounds), and five of the existing venues are to be upgraded. Construction costs are expected to be R8.4bn.

    The official 2010 FIFA World Cup poster.
    In addition to the stadiums being built and upgraded, South Africa is also planning to improve its current     public transport infrastructure, and implement special measures to ensure the safety and security of local and international tourists attending the matches in accordance with standard FIFA requirements.

    Rumours of tournament being moved
    Rumours have circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country.     Some people, including Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt and, reportedly, some FIFA executives, have expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa’s preparations. However, FIFA officials have repeatedly expressed their confidence in South Africa as host, and have stated that the event will not be moved, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter re-iterating that "Plan A... Plan B... Plan C is that the 2010 World Cup will be staged in South Africa". Blatter has stated that there is a contingency plan to hold the World Cup elsewhere but only in the event of a natural catastrophe, and that the 2006 World Cup in Germany also had a similar contingency plan.

    Despite reassurances by FIFA that the event would only be moved in the case of natural catastrophe, rumours continue to circulate about possible relocation of the event.    These rumours have been criticised by South Africa's Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi, saying that some have targeted the event to reflect their persistent negativity towards South Africa and Africa.

    Controversies : According to an article in Le Monde diplomatique, "More than $8bn has been budgeted for the building and upgrading of infrastructure for the football World Cup in 2010, including 10 stadiums and a high-speed train... But almost none of the building or the money can be accessed by the poor who live in shantytowns without proper water, sanitation or electricity."

    Schedule : All times are South African Standard Time (UTC+2).

    Group stage tiebreakers
    In world football, there are various methods used to separate teams with equal points in a league. For the World Cup tournament, FIFA uses the following system.

    The ranking in each group is determined as follows:
    a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;
    b) goal difference in all group matches;
    c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.
    If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows:
    d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
    e) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
    f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
    g) drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

    The teams placed first and second (shaded in green) qualified to the round of 16.
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