Player of the year nominations in Women category are:
Nadine Angerer (Germany)
Sonia Bompastor (France)
Cristiane (Brazil)
Inka Grings (Germany)
Mana Iwabuchi (Japan)
Simone Laudehr (Germany)
Marta (Brazil)
Birgit Prinz (Germany)
Kelly Smith (England)
Abby Wambach (US)
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Friday, 30 October 2009
FIFA player of the year nominations (Men)
The following is the men’s and women’s short list for the World Footballer of the Year award, announced Friday by the ruling body FIFA.
Men’s:
Michael Ballack (Germany)
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
Iker Casillas (Spain)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Diego (Brazil)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Michael Essien (Ghana)
Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
Steven Gerrard (England)
Thierry Henry (France)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Kaka (Brazil)
Frank Lampard (England)
Luis Fabiano (Brazil)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Carles Puyol (Spain)
Franck Ribery (France)
Wayne Rooney (England)
John Terry (England)
Fernando Torres (Spain)
David Villa (Spain)
Xavi (Spain)
Men’s:
Michael Ballack (Germany)
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
Iker Casillas (Spain)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Diego (Brazil)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Michael Essien (Ghana)
Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
Steven Gerrard (England)
Thierry Henry (France)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Andres Iniesta (Spain)
Kaka (Brazil)
Frank Lampard (England)
Luis Fabiano (Brazil)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Carles Puyol (Spain)
Franck Ribery (France)
Wayne Rooney (England)
John Terry (England)
Fernando Torres (Spain)
David Villa (Spain)
Xavi (Spain)
New Zealand to go all out against Bahrain
New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert named a full-strength squad on Thursday for the second leg of their Asia/Oceania World Cup qualifying match against Bahrain on Nov. 14.
The winner of the match will qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. The squad named on Thursday also formed the matchday squad for the first leg in Manama on Oct. 10, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
Captain Ryan Nelsen was selected after it was confirmed he had not been affected by the H1N1 flu that quarantined three of his Blackburn Rovers club mates in England.
Plymouth Argyle striker Rory Fallon has also been named in the hope he will recover in time from a calf strain he sustained against Ipswich Town last week. "Rory is making very good progress and I spoke to Ryan last night and he's in good health so as we stand we've got no injury concerns or medical problems," Herbert said in a statement.
"It's never easy to go with final squad for the most important game but I think there has been consistency with this group of players that has gone through Jordan and Bahrain and we just feel it's important to keep that intact," Herbert said.
The majority of the squad have again been drawn from the domestic league and Australian A-League, with the six Wellington Phoenix players appearing on their home ground at Westpac Stadium.
The game has been sold out, with capacity increased to 35,000 with the addition of 500 temporary seats approved by world governing body FIFA. Local media reported the additional 500 tickets sold out in four minutes.
More than 17,000 tickets were sold in less than a week after the first leg in Manama.
It will be the largest crowd to watch a soccer match in New Zealand, surpassing the 31,853 David Beckham's LA Galaxy side drew for a friendly against the Phoenix in Dec. 2007.
The New Zealand squad assembles in Wellington on Nov. 10.
The winner of the match will qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. The squad named on Thursday also formed the matchday squad for the first leg in Manama on Oct. 10, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
Captain Ryan Nelsen was selected after it was confirmed he had not been affected by the H1N1 flu that quarantined three of his Blackburn Rovers club mates in England.
Plymouth Argyle striker Rory Fallon has also been named in the hope he will recover in time from a calf strain he sustained against Ipswich Town last week. "Rory is making very good progress and I spoke to Ryan last night and he's in good health so as we stand we've got no injury concerns or medical problems," Herbert said in a statement.
"It's never easy to go with final squad for the most important game but I think there has been consistency with this group of players that has gone through Jordan and Bahrain and we just feel it's important to keep that intact," Herbert said.
The majority of the squad have again been drawn from the domestic league and Australian A-League, with the six Wellington Phoenix players appearing on their home ground at Westpac Stadium.
The game has been sold out, with capacity increased to 35,000 with the addition of 500 temporary seats approved by world governing body FIFA. Local media reported the additional 500 tickets sold out in four minutes.
More than 17,000 tickets were sold in less than a week after the first leg in Manama.
It will be the largest crowd to watch a soccer match in New Zealand, surpassing the 31,853 David Beckham's LA Galaxy side drew for a friendly against the Phoenix in Dec. 2007.
The New Zealand squad assembles in Wellington on Nov. 10.
Fabio defends England
Fabio Capello has brushed off criticism from Sir Alex Ferguson regarding England's upcoming friendly with Brazil in Qatar, claiming his international players will enjoy a lighter burden of work than most.
England travel to the Middle East to face the five-time World Cup winners on November 14 but the mid-season jaunt has not been warmly received by Manchester United manager Ferguson.
Without directly mentioning the Qatar friendly, Ferguson has expressed his concern at the "intrusion" of playing a game "in some unknown country" at a busy time of the season for clubs.
But Capello hopes that the game against Dunga's Brazil will be valuable preparation for England's campaign at the finals next summer and has highlighted the fact that a number of countries are actually playing two games during the upcoming international break.
"I don't understand what this is all about," Capello said. "Most other countries are playing two games but we are only playing one match and returning the players on Sunday, four days earlier than the other countries.
"We did this out of respect to the players and their clubs at such a busy time in the fixture calendar."
England travel to the Middle East to face the five-time World Cup winners on November 14 but the mid-season jaunt has not been warmly received by Manchester United manager Ferguson.
Without directly mentioning the Qatar friendly, Ferguson has expressed his concern at the "intrusion" of playing a game "in some unknown country" at a busy time of the season for clubs.
But Capello hopes that the game against Dunga's Brazil will be valuable preparation for England's campaign at the finals next summer and has highlighted the fact that a number of countries are actually playing two games during the upcoming international break.
"I don't understand what this is all about," Capello said. "Most other countries are playing two games but we are only playing one match and returning the players on Sunday, four days earlier than the other countries.
"We did this out of respect to the players and their clubs at such a busy time in the fixture calendar."
Monday, 26 October 2009
British princes to attend 2010 World Cup
Princes William and Harry, who are football-mad, plan to join 60,000 England fans during the 6,000-mile trip to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.
According to The Sun, Prince William, the Football Association's president, will play an important role in trying to support Britain's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
Harry, 25, hopes to flag up the plight of Lesotho, the small HIV/Aids-plagued kingdom landlocked by South Africa.
He founded charity Sentebale there to help kids orphaned by the disease.
A source said: "Plans are still being drawn up, but both princes will be given time off from their military duties to attend.
"They love football and are keen to be there to support England, but also see this as the perfect opportunity to focus attention on Lesotho. They are also expected to play in a football match in Lesotho," he added.
The brothers' visit will coincide with William's 28th birthday.
According to The Sun, Prince William, the Football Association's president, will play an important role in trying to support Britain's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
Harry, 25, hopes to flag up the plight of Lesotho, the small HIV/Aids-plagued kingdom landlocked by South Africa.
He founded charity Sentebale there to help kids orphaned by the disease.
A source said: "Plans are still being drawn up, but both princes will be given time off from their military duties to attend.
"They love football and are keen to be there to support England, but also see this as the perfect opportunity to focus attention on Lesotho. They are also expected to play in a football match in Lesotho," he added.
The brothers' visit will coincide with William's 28th birthday.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Cape Town airport ready for 2010 World Cup
South African Cape Town International Airport is ready to cope with the anticipated influx of soccer fans during next year's World Cup when Terminal 2010 - the new multi-million-rand central terminal building - opens, the Cape Argus reported on Sunday.
A mass simulation exercise with 500 participants, including airport staff, porters and dummy passengers, was held last week to test the readiness of the new terminal ahead of the opening next Saturday.
The dry run also allowed for the new baggage-sorting system to be tested. The same baggage system flopped when it was used for the first time on the opening day of Heathrow's Terminal 5 in London last year.
During a media preview yesterday, Adele Klingenberg, Cape Town infrastructure and planning manager for Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), said test runs would continue to check whether all the systems were ready when the new terminal goes live.
She said stakeholders and staff would be taken on tours next week to familiarise themselves with the new five-storey terminal. "All the systems will be tested before the terminal building is opened on November 7," said Klingenberg.
Bharat Bhika, ACSA's project manager, said the new terminal was similar to the one at OR Tambo International Airport, but with "a Cape Town touch " and "nicer".
The 1.5 billion rand (187 million U.S. dollars) terminal has 120check-in counters, 20self-service check-in machines, eight air bridges, 11 bus gates, and an automated baggage-sorting system.
The combined domestic and international terminal will boast a number of popular retail outlets and shops, a food court, and a public viewing deck from which families can watch aircraft land and take off.
On the ground floor, a few meters from the main entrance, a transport plaza - where passengers will be able to catch a bus or taxi - is being built.
It is set to be completed by March and will be connected to the city's Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) network once it is launched.
Two subways are being built on the ground floor to enable pedestrians to avoid motorists on the airport's new arrivals level. Many of the systems would be new, so teething problems were expected, said airport spokeswoman Deidre Hendricks.
A mass simulation exercise with 500 participants, including airport staff, porters and dummy passengers, was held last week to test the readiness of the new terminal ahead of the opening next Saturday.
The dry run also allowed for the new baggage-sorting system to be tested. The same baggage system flopped when it was used for the first time on the opening day of Heathrow's Terminal 5 in London last year.
During a media preview yesterday, Adele Klingenberg, Cape Town infrastructure and planning manager for Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), said test runs would continue to check whether all the systems were ready when the new terminal goes live.
She said stakeholders and staff would be taken on tours next week to familiarise themselves with the new five-storey terminal. "All the systems will be tested before the terminal building is opened on November 7," said Klingenberg.
Bharat Bhika, ACSA's project manager, said the new terminal was similar to the one at OR Tambo International Airport, but with "a Cape Town touch " and "nicer".
The 1.5 billion rand (187 million U.S. dollars) terminal has 120check-in counters, 20self-service check-in machines, eight air bridges, 11 bus gates, and an automated baggage-sorting system.
The combined domestic and international terminal will boast a number of popular retail outlets and shops, a food court, and a public viewing deck from which families can watch aircraft land and take off.
On the ground floor, a few meters from the main entrance, a transport plaza - where passengers will be able to catch a bus or taxi - is being built.
It is set to be completed by March and will be connected to the city's Integrated Rapid Transit (IRT) network once it is launched.
Two subways are being built on the ground floor to enable pedestrians to avoid motorists on the airport's new arrivals level. Many of the systems would be new, so teething problems were expected, said airport spokeswoman Deidre Hendricks.
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