Blatter: South Africa A Good Choice As WCup Host
by (Article | Yahoo - March 3)
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says there is no doubt that South Africa is a good choice as a World Cup host. more details | go to article
De La Hoya Adds Punch To U.S. Bid Effort
by (Press Release | Soccer America - March 2)
The USA Bid Committee has its share of politicians and executives, soccer and otherwise, on its board of directors, but it also has celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment. Oscar De La Hoya, who joined the board of directors, fits into both categories. more details | go to article
Valcke: African Fans Not Priced Out
by (Article | ESPN - March 2)
FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke has rejected claims that African football fans are being priced out of the World Cup in South Africa. more details | go to article
FIFA Denies African Fans Priced Out Of World Cup
by (Article | BBC - March 2)
"It will be a real African World Cup," Jerome Valcke told the BBC. Most stadiums would be sold out, he added. However, fans in the African countries that have qualified say tickets are being sold on the internet, to which they have limited access. more details | go to article
FIFA May Get Into Line With Dropping Offside
by (Article | London Times - March 2)
Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, football’s governing body, may be considering scrapping the offside rule, as hockey did more than a decade ago. more details | go to article
African World Cup Ticket-Buying Experiences
by (Commentary | BBC - March 2)
BBC News website readers have been reacting to Fifa's denial that African football fans are being priced out of the World Cup in South Africa. more details | go to article
International Boxing Legend Oscar De La Hoya Joins Teams To Bring FIFA World Cup To United States In 2018 Or 2022
by (Press Release | USSF - March 1)
Boxer Oscar De La Hoya – who won 10 different world titles spanning six different weight categories, as well as a 1992 Olympic gold medal – has formally accepted an invitation to join the Board of Directors for the USA Bid Committee in its effort to bring the FIFA World Cup™ to the United States in 2018 or 2022. more details | go to article
St. Pete's Salkicic Solid Against Mexico
by (Result | Tampa Bay Tribune - February 25)
St. Petersburg's Tarik Salkicic was hoping to get to play in front of his home fans in Wednesday's curtain-raiser as the U.S. Under-17s played Mexico. more details | go to article
St. Louis To Host UN Soccer Game For Haiti
by (Preview | Yahoo - February 25)
St. Louis will host an international soccer game to benefit sports and education programs in the city and in Haiti. more details | go to article
FIFA: Unsure Where Teams Based For WCup In Safrica
by (Article | Yahoo - February 23)
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he still doesn’t know where all 32 World Cup teams will be based during the tournament in South Africa. more details | go to article
Pele Says World Cup Games Should Have 5 Officials
by (Profile/Interview | Yahoo - February 22)
Pele says FIFA should field a match official behind each goal to assist the referee at the World Cup and avoid scandals like Diego Maradona’s infamous handball at the 1986 tournament. more details | go to article
The Asian Threat
by (Analysis | Soccer America - February 19)
By almost any standard, the United States should be a cinch to land one of the World Cups up for bid: 2018 or 2022. It has everything: stadiums, infrastructure, organization and a home market of soccer-crazy fans. more details | go to article
Sepp Blatter Braced For A World Cup That Will Define His FIFA Legacy
by (Profile/Interview | Guardian - February 19)
Nestling in the snowy hills above Zurich, Fifa's opulent HQ is a long way from the promised atmosphere at a World Cup in South Africa that will go a long way to deciding the future of Sepp Blatter, the governing body's president, and therefore the shape of the global game. more details | go to article
Tickets Sales Lag With Four Months To Go
by (Article | Soccer America - February 18)
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke confirmed what had been reported for weeks. World Cup ticket sales are suffering. Twenty percent of VIP tickets for luxury boxes have been sold. And the number of expected visitors to South Africa for the World Cup has been revised downward by as much as 100,000. more details | go to article
FIFA Admits World Cup Ticket Prices Too High
by (Article | Telegraph - February 18)
Thousands of extra World Cup tickets will be offered to South African residents to ensure all matches are sold out following disappointing sales to overseas supporters, said Fifa on Thursday. more details | go to article
FIFA Suspends Bradley The Younger…sort Of
by (Profile/Interview | New York Times - July 8)
Bob Bradley is often characterized as cool, calm and collected as he directs his United States national team players during games and training sessions. Not quite dispassionate, but decidedly even-keeled, dare we say a bit boring. more details | go to article
Blatter: South Africa A Good Choice As WCup Host
by (Article | Yahoo - March 3)
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says there is no doubt that South Africa is a good choice as a World Cup host. more details | go to article
M. Bradley Suspended Four Games, On Probation, Available For USA-Mexico
by (Profile/Interview | Sports Illustrated-Fan Nation - July 7)
U.S. starting midfielder Michael Bradley has been suspended for four games by FIFA, soccer's governing body, for "committing acts of misconduct against opponents and match officials" in the U.S.'s 2-0 upset of Spain on June 24, a FIFA spokesman has confirmed to SI.com. more details | go to article
FIFA May Get Into Line With Dropping Offside
by (Article | London Times - March 2)
Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, football’s governing body, may be considering scrapping the offside rule, as hockey did more than a decade ago. more details | go to article
Hawk-Eye Ready For Premier League Testing
by (Article | Yahoo - July 8)
The Premier league is set to test Hawk-eye technology in football with a view to remove doubts over goal-line decisions, the chief of the company that makes the product has said. more details | go to article
Television Is The Only Credible Goal-Line Aid
by (Commentary | Telegraph - March 16)
The low esteem in which the International Football Association Board, notionally the game's supreme law-making body, is held not only in this quarter but by Fifa's leading lights was starkly emphasised by events last weekend in Scotland. more details | go to article
Hawk-Eye Set To Extend Its Influence To Contested Goals
by (Article | London Times - August 17)
Goalline controversies could become a thing of the past after the Premier League declared the HawkEye technology ready for inspection by Fifa. more details | go to article
A Guide To ESPN's SPI Ratings
by (Press Release | ESPN - December 7)
The SPI rating is designed to provide the best possible objective representation of a team's current overall skill level. In particular, the SPI ratings are intended to be forward-looking: They measure a team's relative likelihood of victory if a competitive match were to be held tomorrow. more details | go to article
ESPN Formulates World Cup Game Plan
by (Analysis | Broadcasting & Cable - November 30)
Network to build massive broadcast center in Johannesburg more details | go to article
Brazil Moves To Top Of FIFA Rankings; US At No. 12
by (Article | Yahoo - July 1)
Brazil ended Spain’s one-year reign as the world’s top soccer team and the United States moved up two spots to No. 12, the highest ranking for the Americans in three years. more details | go to article
From Athens To East Rutherford
by (Analysis | MSG - September 13)
I was only gone for 35 days but a lot changed during that period. I come back to find a MetroStars team struggling to score and win. I return to a league which saw the LA Galaxy fire a Head Coach who was in first place at the time. On the other side of the coin, a coach who was almost fired( Greg Andrulis) has his Columbus Crew in first place in the eastern conference of MLS. more details | go to article