World Cup Trophy reaches Kenya

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki Thursday officially received the Coca-cola and FIFA World Cup Trophy after it arrived in the country.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, sponsored by Coca-Cola, is an epic journey that commenced in Egypt about two months ago.

Speaking after unveiling and receiving the trophy at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, Kibaki said the arrival of the trophy was a historic moment and heralded great things to come in the promotion and development of sports in the country.

The President urged young and upcoming football stars and the national team, Harambee Stars, to dream big so that Kenya could take its rightful place as a great soccer nation.

Kibaki disclosed that his government had formed a committee to work on the modalities of inviting teams which have qualified for the FIFA World Cup to train in Kenya, before going to South Africa.

The President pointed out that Kenya, which had an excellent communication network, was easy to access from any part of the world and was only a few hours away from South Africa by air. "I encourage teams qualifying for the World Cup to take advantage of Kenya's strategic location, excellent climate, sports facilities of international standards, hospitality as well as great tourism sites, and train in the country on their way to the World Cup," President Kibaki said.

He said the 2010 World Cup tournament, being held for the first time in Africa, provided Kenya with an opportunity to benefit from the large number of teams and fans taking part in the competition.

Kibaki said the Trophy Tour, which will cover 53 African countries during a 70-day trip, would allow thousands of fans to enjoy a rare close-up view of the FIFA World Cup trophy.

"In particular, I note that the Trophy will spend three days in our beautiful country. This is a clear demonstration of the confidence that Coca-Cola and FIFA have in the Government and the people of Kenya, given the fact that the trophy has only spent one or two days in other countries," the President said.

Speaking during the same occasion, Prime Minister Raila Odinga thanked Coca Cola for sponsoring the trophy tour to Kenya, a gesture which enabled sports fraternity the rare opportunity to view and interact with the symbol of world football supremacy.

Raila appealed to the soft drinks company to consider extending sponsorship to local soccer clubs to enable them advance the standard of football in the country. He congratulated South Africa for qualifying to host the 2010 World Cup and wished success to African representatives.

The trophy, on a 70-day tour of 52 African nations, will end in South Africa on 3 December where next year, 32 countries will compete for the FIFA World Cup. Football fans will also have a chance to see the trophy at the Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, on Saturday and take a souvenir photo.

Advanced driving training for SA Police

The Gauteng South African Police Service (SAPS) wants to see 3000 of its members graduate in advanced driving courses by March, in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Around 940 operational members have already received training, with a pass rate of 65%. Members who fail may attend the course a second time.

Yokohama Driving Dynamics is responsible for the training, which is conducted at the Gerotek facility, near Pretoria, using vehicles supplied by General Motors South Africa (GMSA).

SAPS provincial supply chain management senior superintendent Tinus Swart says the training aims to improve police members’ reaction time in reaching incidents, while also reducing the cost of civil claims filed against the police, as well as general 
accident bills.

The goal is for another 6 000 police members to receive training following the global sports event.

Swart says the training started in March this year, but that a drop in fuel consumption in the Gauteng police fleet is already apparent.

However, he notes that it is still too early to do a true 
assessment of the benefits 
garnered from the training.

Yokohama Driving Dynamics owner Grant McCleery says the SAPS course includes several 
modules, such as skidpan driving, theory, high-speed driving, defensive driving, as well as how to pull over and search a vehicle.

West Rand flying squad superintendent Cornell de Lange tells Engineering News, while out on the skidpan testing the effects of ABS braking in wet conditions, that the “training should have been implemented a long time ago”. 
“My observation is better – [as well as] my awareness. It feels as if I can handle an emergency situation much better while out in my vehicle”.

GMSA sold around 3 000 vehicles to the SAPS last year, mostly Chevrolet Optras and Isuzu KB pick-ups.

The Yokohama Driving Dynamics academy won the training contract in an open tender

Morocco fails to get WC Q-result overturned

Morocco, held 0-0 at home by Togo in a World Cup qualifier in June, have failed to get the result of the match overturned.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Thursday it had rejected Morocco's appeal to be awarded a 3-0 victory on the grounds that Togo fielded an ineligible player.

CAS also confirmed that FIFA, soccer's world governing body, was right to award a 3-0 forfeit win to Gabon over Togo in an earlier match in African region Group A.

Although Morocco have no chance of making next year's World Cup, the decision has damaged their chances of reaching the African Nations Cup finals. The same qualifying competition is used for both tournaments.

The story began when Togo fielded Abdul Mamah against Gabon, despite his being suspended for picking up two yellow cards in earlier matches.

FIFA awarded Gabon a 3-0 win although, coincidentally, this was the same as the result on the pitch.

Mamah then played in the subsequent game against Morocco, who argued he should have been serving the suspension against them after failing to do so against Togo.

However, CAS said: "The FIFA rules do not mention that a player who fails to serve a one-match suspension is automatically suspended from the following match."

Morocco, who host Cameroon in their final group game on Saturday, are bottom of the group with three points from five games, two behind Togo.

Maradona to face disciplinary committee on 15-Nov

Argentina coach Diego Maradona faces a FIFA disciplinary hearing on Sunday as a result of his furious outburst after last month's victory over Uruguay.

The 1-0 win ensured Argentina qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Maradona, under pressure in the run-up to the match, directed an expletive-laden tirade, broadcast on live TV, at reporters and critics after the game. FIFA could hit him with a stadium ban, which would run into the World Cup, when they meet in Zurich on Sunday.

"The Fifa disciplinary committee, chaired by Marcel Mathier, will grant the head coach of Argentina a hearing, which will take place the day after the international friendly match between Spain and Argentina in Madrid," said a Fifa statement.

Following Maradona's outburst, Fifa president Sepp Blatter said there was "no alternative" but to ask Fifa's disciplinary committee to open a case.

However, the head of the Argentine Football Federation, Julio Grondona, claimed: "If it were another coach or player, the matter would not have had such importance. Everybody knows he's a temperamental person and he's already said he won't speak like that again."

Maradona has refused to apologise to the press for his actions in interviews on Argentine radio and television.

FIFA is investigating whether Maradona's comments breach Article 58 of the organisation's disciplinary code. The relevant passage reads: "Anyone who offends the dignity of a person or group of persons through contemptuous, discriminatory or denigratory words or actions concerning race, colour, language, religion or origin shall be suspended for at least five matches.

Maradona is a football icon in Argentina following his success as a player, but his time as the national team's coach has been hugely controversial, with Argentina having struggled to reach the 2010 finals in South Africa.As a player, he produced a series of stellar displays to guide them to victory in the 1986 World Cup and then helped them reach the final, which they lost to Germany, four years later.But his time as coach has included a 6-1 defeat in Bolivia and a 3-1 home loss to Brazil.Going into the final two qualifying matches, a poll showed that the majority of Argentina fans thought Maradona was unfit to coach the national team.But Argentina won both games to book their ticket to South Africa

Qualifier preview: Nigeria vs Kenya

Kenya last featured at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, and victory for them over a much favoured Nigerian team on Saturday could well seal their qualification for the 2010 event in Angola.

They have so far recorded three points from five matches and lie a point behind third-placed Mozambique. They will therefore need to win and hope Mozambique do not do same in Maputo if they are to earn a berth in Angola.
However, the Kenyans' build-up to this all-important tie has been anything but plain sailing. There has been a much-publicised fallout between Football Kenya and coach Antoine Hey.
Hey has stayed away from training after two players, Dennis Oliech and Edgar Ochieng, were imposed on him by the local football authorities. In Hey's place, a set of local coaches have been training the team. It now appears that Hey is in his last days as Kenya coach.
"The coach has had his way in the last five matches and we have seen the results. The fans have been calling for the changes. It is time to bring in everybody in a last ditch effort to qualify for Angola."
Overlooked for last month’s World Cup qualifier against Tunisia, Oliech has been a significant influence at Auxerre, who are in the top bracket of the French league this season.
He remains Kenya’s top scorer in the qualifiers. Last year he netted four times as Stars cruised past the second round of qualifiers, securing famous victories against, amongst others, Guinea. He has scored only once in the second round of the qualifiers, but it is worth noting that no one else in the team has scored more than one goal.
By his own standards, Oliech’s form has not been impressive, but an apparent fall out with coach Hey is thought to have contributed to his poor performances.
Oliech at one time criticised Hey’s appointment and threatened not to honour call-ups if former coach Francis Kimanzi was not reinstated.
Denmark-based midfielder Emmanuel Ake has also been recalled by Kenya, while the Harambee Stars will be without MacDonald Mariga and Robert Mambo due to injury. However, a 5-0 spanking by Kuwait in a friendly earlier this month has certainly not done their confidence a world of good.

Nigeria have thus far recorded nine points from five matches, two fewer than Group 2 leaders Tunisia, meaning they have to beat Kenya in Nairobi on Saturday to stand any chance of qualification. Of course, they also need Mozambique to do them a turn against Tunisia to make their dreams come true.
Coach Shuaibu Amodu has come under fire as Nigeria find themselves in a tight corner. The Super Eagles were previously perceived to have a relatively easy pathway to South Africa.
Amodu has been blamed for poor tactics and team selection, even when his side recorded a perfect record in the previous qualifying round.
The Eagles will again be without striker Ikechukwu Uche, who is suffering from a long-term knee injury, while Danny Shittu, Sani Kaita, Yusuf Mohammed and Adefemi Olubayo are also sidelined.
Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel is fit again after an ankle injury sidelined him for several weeks. He is expected to start against the Harambee Stars.
Lokomotiv Moscow striker Peter Odemwingie has been the outstanding player for Nigeria in their last two games, and he has also expressed confidence of victory in Kenya.
“We cannot take the Kenyans for granted because they have not beaten us for a long time now," he stated. "We must therefore play as a group to win the match. Don’t forget that despite the fact that we beat them 3-0 in Abuja, they were not an easy side. Besides, they want to be part of the African Nations Cup next year and I believe that will be their biggest motivation.
"We also want to go to the World Cup, but we must show more determined than they will if we want to win. With a win, and God help us, we might just find ourselves at the top of the group ahead of Tunisia."

Ronaldo to miss Portugal play-offs

Ace striker Cristiano Ronaldo will miss both of Portugal’s World Cup play-off games against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Nov 14 and Nov 18, due to an ankle injury.

Ronaldo has travelled to his homeland to have his ankle injury assessed, despite Spanish club Real Madrid claiming their player would not be fit enough to play.

Portuguese Football Federation doctors checked the winger’s fitness after he flew into Lisbon on Tuesday and agreed with Real Madrid’s diagnosis.

Madrid had initially balked at allowing their 80 million pound man to travel ahead of Portugal’s first-leg clash on Saturday. The Portuguese Football Association said they wished Ronaldo a good and rapid recovery from an injury he picked up while playing for Real Madrid in a Champions League game against Marseille on 30 September.

He has not played in seven games for the Spanish club since, but did figure in Portugal’s World Cup qualifier against Hungary on 10 October where he aggravated his ankle problem.

German keeper commits suicide

Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke was killed after being hit by a train at a level crossing, speculated as a suicide by police. His death was announced on Tuesday by the president of his Bundesliga club Hanover 96.

Enke's advisor Joerg Neblung confirmed on Tuesday night that Enke, who died early Tuesday evening after being hit by a train at a railway crossing near his home, had committed suicide.

Hanover 96 president described the death of the 32-year-old as a tragedy. "You expect many things, but not something like that. I do not know how and why it happened, but I do not think that it had anything to do with football," he said.

"He was unstable, but he did not show that to the outside world and he managed to mask it."

Germany coach Joachim Loew and manager Oliver Bierhoff informed the German players of Enke's death at their training camp in Bonn, where they are preparing for two friendly internationals against Chile and Ivory Coast on Saturday and Nov 18.

Enke, who had become Germany's number one goalkeeper after Jens Lehmann retired at the end of last year's Euro championships, had to miss Germany's last four internationals with a bacterial bowel infection, but had just returned to the game and had played in Hanover's 2-2 draw against SV Hamburg on the weekend.

He had not been selected for the games against Chile and Ivory Coast, but Loew had indicated that Enke was still one of the favourites to be Germany's first choice goalkeeper at the World Cup finals in South Africa next year.

It was not immediately known if Germany's international matches would go ahead as planned. Enke played his first game for Germany on March 28, 2007 during their 1-0 defeat against Denmark. It was to be his only defeat in the national dress as the team won five and drew two of the seven subsequent matches in which he played.

He last played for his country Aug 12 in the 2-0 victory against Azerbaijan.

Enke was first called into the Germany squad for the 1999 Confederations Cup, but was not fielded in a match by then coach Erich Ribbeck.He was next nominated by Loew seven years later, sitting on the bench in Germany's 2-0 victory against Georgia.

Enke's two-year-old daughter Lara died two years ago from a heart defect. He leaves his wife and an eight-month-old daughter whom the couple adopted earlier this year.

SA to host Mega sports conference ahead of WC

Travel and Tourism sector has emerged as one of the 21st century's critical drivers of economic growth, job creation, and development of communities, regions, and nations. The "Tourism Economy," a vital source of employment, revenue, investment, trade, and unity, has recently been recognized as a powerful stimulus for recovery from the global economic crisis.

As a reflection of the importance of the travel and tourism sector to unlock the growth potential of nations and the role of major sporting, business, and cultural events to re-inspire tourists to travel to global destinations, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the South African Government announced on October 30, 2009 that the T&T world's first international Tourism, Sport, and Mega-events Summit will be held in Sandton, South Africa from February 24-26, 2010.
The summit will provide a forum for active discussion, debate, and direction around the leverage of mega-events as a vital force for sector growth and advancement in national development strategies.

A number of major global events will be held in 2010, including the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Commonwealth Games in India, the World Exhibition in Shanghai, and the Winter Games in Canada.
With this taken into consideration, the UNWTO seeks to align the global Travel and tourism sector's leadership to create a framework for leveraging sport and other mega-events (including cultural and entertainment events, exhibitions, and business conventions) for economic growth. This process must take into account the economic, social, and environmental consequences for host nations and the massive multimedia opportunities for nation branding and export promotion.

South Africa's Department of Tourism and Department of Sport, as well as CNN International as a global media partner, will be working in partnership with the UNWTO.

As stated by Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO: "This important meeting reflects the increasing economic and social impacts of sport, mega-events, and tourism. It will establish new lines of thinking on operations, economics, and sustainability. We are delighted to be working with South Africa - particularly in 2010 which will see a great sporting mega-event in the FIFA World Cup, which promises so much for Africa."
The summit will be held parallel to the annual Meetings Africa, Africa's top business tourism exhibition hosted annually by South African Tourism.

World Cup's big belly

With up to half a million well-heeled tourists due to visit South Africa next year for at least five weeks during the World Cup, food and drink suppliers can expect a boom.

It is estimated that these visitors will eat more than 30 million meals over a five week period, mostly benefiting hotels, restaurants and fast food outlets and their suppliers.

Breakfast alone for these hungry fans will require about 116.5 million tons of cereal, 93.2 tons of bread, almost 70 tons of bacon, 4.7 million eggs, 311 777 litres of milk and 116 510 litres of yoghurt.

This of course is over and above what South Africans will eat while the tournament is on. For example, residents are likely to eat about 12.5 million eggs, based on a rough estimate of egg consumption using 2007 data from the International Egg Commission. This does not include eggs used in processed food.

So not only does South Africa have to ramp up production, but it has to get food supplies to restaurants, hotels and fast food outlets at the right time and in the right quantity.

It also means that food safety standards need to be strictly adhered to, so that a boom does not turn out to be a bust.

DuPont has warned that South Africa needs to have proper systems in place to test food quickly and accurately as the cost for producers of recalling a product and losing production time can be high.

A 2006 study by Washington State University estimated the cost for contaminated product recall is $540 000 (R4.2 million) but it can be as high as $7m. The average cost of litigation for a contaminated product is $200 000.

That is not to mention the unquantifiable cost to South Africa's reputation if a whole lot of tourists come down with food poisoning.

Bahrain longing for last slot

Coach Milan Macala admits it would be a "dream" for his Bahrain side to secure their first ever World Cup appearance when they take on New Zealand needing a scoe draw to book a place in South Africa on November 14.

Bahrain narrowly missed out on reaching the 2006 tournament in Germany when they lost a similar two-legged encounter with Trinidad & Tobago.

They now have the chance to make amends for that heartbreak when they travel to Wellington for a potentially historic encounter with the Oceania qualifying zone champions.

Bahrain were held to a goalless draw in the first leg in Manama but Macala highlighted exactly what it would mean to the tiny Gulf state if they can return home with a ticket to next summer's finals.

"I'm living this dream like any other Bahraini who wants to qualify to the World Cup for the first time ever," said the Czech. "We will work very hard to achieve this dream and qualify for the World Cup.

"If we made this dream come true then it will be a big achievement for this tiny kingdom and it will help football in Bahrain to advance up the world rankings."

Macala saw his side waste a host of chances in the stalemate on October 10 at the National Stadium but the 66-year-old remains positive his men still have all the tools to get the job done, promising they will attack Ricki Herbert's men from the opening whistle.

"I'm confident of our chances and the spirit of the players, who played well in the second half of the first leg," he added. "We had many chances in that game and this will give us a good motivation and the players know their responsibilities well.

"We didn't play well in the first half of the first leg. At half-time we asked the players to apply the tactics that we showed them and we managed to create a lot of scoring chances.

"We will not be afraid of our opponents. Our main aim is to score early in order to put pressure on our opponents, who will be playing at home and in front of their own fans."

Bahrain will prepare for the crucial contest in Australia and Macala hopes to have his squad together from Sunday, although he will definitely be without prolific striker Ala'a Hubail, who has torn the cruciate ligament in his right knee.

"We have put a preparatory schedule according to the availability of our players who are playing abroad," he said. "I hope that all the foreign-based players will join us before November 8.

"We have experienced this situation before and we have adapted to it. We are going to prepare the team for the game against New Zealand in addition to the game that we have against Yemen four days later."

N Korea awards team for qualifying for WC

North Korea bestowed awards on players and coaches of its national football team for advancing to next year's World Cup finals, their first entry in more than four decades, state media said Tuesday.

Yang Hyong-sop, vice president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, awarded the merit citations and medals in a ceremony on Monday, said the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, an official radio channel.

The football players "brought glory to the homeland and encouraged our military and people who are in a great struggle to build a thriving nation," the report said.

Among the award winners were Kim Jong-sik and Kim Jong-su, director and a vice director at the Commission of Physical Culture and Sports Guidance. They received merit citations of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung and current leader Kim Jong-il, respectively, it said.

The team coach, Kim Jong-hun, and players also received honorary titles of "people's athletic" or "merited athletic," the report said.

North Korea qualified for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa for the first time since 1966. In that World Cup in Britain, North Korea beat Italy on the way to the quarterfinals before losing to Portugal.

As part of preparations for the finals next year, North Korea will hold a friendly with a Brazilian professional club, Club Atletico Sorocaba, at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Thursday.

In early October, North Korea traveled to the western French city of Nantes to face off with second-league club FC Nantes. The match ended in a scoreless draw.

Orlando submits bid for 2018 WC

The United States Soccer Federation has submitted a bid with the hope of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup . The United States previously hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1994, as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1999, and 2003. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama wrote a letter to FIFA President Sepp Blatter in support of the American bid.

Roughly $14 million will be needed to make sure Orlando's Citrus Bowl is up to snuff if Central Florida is to host a World Cup match, but the investment would likely pay off, big time.

The World Cup happens every four years. So far, the USA Bid Committee has pared down the list of prospective host cities to twenty-seven. Orlando is one of four in Florida to make the cut.

The reason why this is such a big deal is that the World Cup is huge for tourism. Having the World Cup in Orlando could be more of an economic impact than the Super Bowl.

If Orlando scores the World Cup, three to five games would be played here. The rest would be spread out across the country. Each match produces a local economic impact of around $100 million.

FIFA is expected to announce its world cup picks next year. Ultimately, if Orlando makes the cut, the City Council will have to vote again to make it happen.

Cristiano Ronaldo: South Africa has home advantage

Cristiano Ronaldo has predicted that South Africa will be a force to reckon with in 2010 World Cup. He mentioned that they should learn from his country who, against all odds, made it to the final of the 2004 European Championships on home soil.

“It will be difficult, but they are playing at home, so motivation will be high,” . “I can give you an example, in 2004, Portugal played at home. No-one was talking about us, but we went all the way to the final. Maybe South Africa can also surprise at the World Cup.”

Concerning his thoughts on Bafana, the Real Madrid star said, “I have played against South Africa. They are a good side. They try to play all the time and never change how they want to play the game.

“They have good players – I know very well [Steven] Pienaar, who I faced in the English league. But it’s not just him. They have many good, sharp, strong players. They can surprise.”

Ronaldo was cagey when asked about what he expects from the first African World Cup, saying for now his thoughts are on helping Portugal get through their two-legged play-off with Bosnia-Herzegovina later this month.

“I’ve never been to South Africa before, but we have not yet qualified, so I’m only thinking about Bosnia for now," he said. "It will be very difficult. Bosnia are a good team and we have to respect them. After that, if we have qualified, we will start thinking about the World Cup.”

However, Ronaldo does believe an African team can challenge for honours, adding, “Africa always has good, strong teams with great character. It will be very interesting. I look forward to seeing how they perform at the World Cup.”