Will Soccer Heed Doctor's Orders?
by Paul Gardner (Commentary | Soccer America - May 28)
Just over a week ago I was talking of the refereeing clampdowns that invariably accompany each World Cup, wondering what would be clamped down on this time. more details | go to article

More World Cup Tickets To Go On Sale Friday
by Thandisizwe Mgudlwa (Article | Yahoo - May 26)
Another 150,000 World Cup tickets will go on sale Friday, including tickets for the World Cup final. more details | go to article

FIFA To Crack Down On Dangerous Tackles
by Associated Press (Article | Yahoo - May 26)
FIFA medical chief Michel D’Hooghe wants referees at the World Cup in South Africa to crack down on players who commit career-threatening tackles during matches. more details | go to article

Teams Face Doping Tests Before, During World Cup
by Raf Casert (Analysis | Yahoo - May 26)
FIFA will be testing eight players from each of the 32 teams during out-of-competition controls ahead of the World Cup. more details | go to article

The Real World Cup Prize? Broadcast Rights
by Eric Pfanner (Analysis | New York Times - May 24)
In less than three weeks, 32 soccer teams from around the world will square off for the chance to lift the World Cup trophy in South Africa. Thirty-one of them will go home empty-handed. more details | go to article

Was Lord Triesman On To Something? Just Ask Jennings
by Matt Bell (Profile/Interview | Independent - May 23)
Matthew Bell meets the journalist who's dedicated 20 years to exposing corruption in sport more details | go to article

South Africa Pushes To Make The Cup Its Own
by Celia W. Dugger (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 23)
The official mascot of Africa’s first World Cup — a stuffed leopard with spiked green hair — was made in China. The official World Cup anthem, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” was written by the Colombian pop star Shakira. The official restaurant? McDonald’s. more details | go to article

Russian Referees Have Been Bribed, Beaten And Even Murdered... Corruption Is Still At A Very High Level
by Ian Gallagher and Will Stewart (Profile/Interview | Daily Mail (UK) - May 22)
Lord Triesman’s World Cup bribery allegations have been given credence by Russia’s leading football analyst, who claims his country is unfit to host the tournament. more details | go to article

Lineker's Gesture Was Understandable But Triesman's Loose Words Were Mind-Boggling
by James Lawton (Commentary | Independent - May 22)
A straightforward business you might say, Gary Lineker's resignation as a Mail on Sunday columnist after the newspaper's decision to publish the taped results of Lord Triesman's "entrapment" by a young woman apparently hell-bent on exploiting their relationship. So why am I a little uneasy that Lineker's gesture launched him into the instant status of English football's No 1 patriot? more details | go to article

World Cup Betting Preview Group C+D
by J.R. Eskilson (Analysis | Goal.com - May 21)
Will the Queen smile in June? And what can Germany do without their captain? more details | go to article

FIFA Official: Bribery Claims Probably Not True
by Associated Press (Preview | Yahoo - May 20)
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he doesn’t think there is any truth to the comments made by David Triesman alleging a conspiracy to bribe referees in South Africa. more details | go to article

World Cup A 1-Month Ad In US For 'Beautiful Game'
by Nancy Armour (Analysis | USA Today - May 20)
From California to the Carolinas, from soccer aficionados to those who can just about pick David Beckham out in a tabloid photo, the World Cup is generating some serious buzz in the United States. more details | go to article

A Dubious History Of Pre-World Cup Clampdowns
by Paul Gardner (Commentary | Soccer America - May 19)
Every four years, as the World Cup rolls into sight, we get the news that the rules of the game are not quite as good as they ought to be. And so we learn that a minor change is necessary for the tournament to be played properly. Either that, or the referees are told that they need to be particularly diligent in enforcing a rule that is already in existence. more details | go to article

Lord Triesman Investigation Must Be Swift, Insist FIFA After 'Crazy' World Cup Bribe Allegations
by No Author Listed (Preview | Daily Mail (UK) - May 19)
Triesman was secretly recorded telling a friend that Spain would support Russia's bid for the 2018 World Cup in return for help bribing referees in South Africa. He has since resigned as chairman of the FA and England's 2018 bid. more details | go to article

The FA's 2018 Team Can Survive Lord Triesman's Gaffe, Says UEFA President Michel Platini
by No Author Listed (Profile/Interview | Daily Mail (UK) - May 19)
The UEFA president, in Zurich for the International FA Board meeting, said: ‘I have a good friendship with Lord Triesman and I want to help him in his bad moment, for him as a person. I want to support my friend in this big problem. England is a great country and it can recover and survive this.’ more details | go to article