Indonesia's soccer chiefs are to clamp down on clubs after a shambolic season during which teams played without home grounds and rules regarding coaching qualifications were flouted. All Super League clubs for the 2009-2010 season will need to have a proper home ground, professional management, an under-21 squad and a fully licensed head coach, the Indonesian League Body (BLI) said. "There will be no wandering clubs for next season ...
Australian football officials launched their bid Sunday to host either the World Cup in 2018 or 2022, saying they felt it was a realistic goal. "Hosting the World Cup would provide Australia with an unparalleled opportunity and give Australia a lasting and living legacy for generations to come," Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy told the bid launch at Parliament House, the country's seat of government. "On the world stage, there is no event with the same level of global appeal or audience reach as the FIFA World Cup." Lowy was joined by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Socceroos Mark Schwarzer and...
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger says there is no chance of an Asian country winning the World Cup in South Africa next year. Wenger is in Kuala Lumpur as an ambassador for Castrol, who are one one of the main sponsors for the World Cup next year. He said that although Asian footballing countries have made significant improvement in recent years, it would be almost impossible for them to be a real threat. “Naturally, I will be at South Africa for the World Cup next year. The favourites for the Cup? Well, it would be the usual suspects. The main two contenders from...
ROKK TALK by Lazarus Rokk - June 4, 2006 GUTEN Morgen, Malaysia, welcome to the winter FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. It’s so cold in some host cities here, that the prospect of a “White World Cup” may not be all that outlandish as it would seem. And that won’t be much fun, as apart from having to cope with the cold and the rain, all the gorgeous women – particularly the samba queens – who will be arriving from 31 countries around the world will be covered from head to toe. Like it or not, they make every World Cup more attractive...
SIVAJI the "BOSS" is a well known movie in the Indian Industry, and when super star Rajnikanth acted in the movie he truly carried out the role of the BOSS" very well. From June 14-28, South Africa who will hosting the FIFA Confederations Cup, will also have a new boss who will oversee the progress and development of the FIFA World Cup. FORMER FAM Head of Research & Development and AFF Technical Assistant Windsor John has been appointed by FIFA as the Confederations Cup "SUPREMO". Windsor will be in South Africa for 1 month to oversee the entire running of the...
Brazil midfielder Kaka finalized his move to Real Madrid on Monday, marking the end of a "soap opera" that will usher in a new phase of his career in Spain. "Now the soap opera is over," said Kaka, decked out in a yellow Brazilian national term jersey after a practice session ahead of Wednesday's Brazil-Paraguay qualifier in the northeastern coastal city of Recife. "The only leftover details were the medical exams, and I've done them. The negotiations are closed and I have sealed my transfer to Real Madrid." Real Madrid announced the signing of the attacking midfielder from AC Milan earlier Monday....
LIFE on Planet Football must be going back to normal again as its 4.5 billion inhabitants, inarguably suffering from withdrawal symptoms, savour those magical moments of the greatest show on earth – The FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. The rest of the world would remember this World Cup more for that Zinedine Zidane-Marco Materazzi incident but my thoughts would be on those up-close-and-personal moments with players and coaches as a FIFA media officer. I don’t know what thoughts were running in Zidane's head as he trooped down the stairs (where I stood just two feet away) leading to the locker room. He was...
USS New York It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center. It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft. Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, 'those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,' recalled Navy Capt....
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) fully utilised its finances for the promotion of the game, inviting a battalion of 11 Pakistani officials, five of them as ‘guests,’ for Congress meeting in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. According to a top Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) official, apart from three delegates – PFF secretary Col Ahmad Yar Lodhi (retd), executive committee members Saeed Khan (NWFP) and Salahuddin Dogar (Punjab) – AFC especially invited five more officials as guests. Those who went as AFC guests were either PFF or provincial association officials. Among the so-called guests were Col Rana Shujaat Ali, Khadim Ali Shah, Ayaz...
There is a certain irony that Thierry Henry exorcised the biggest disappointment of his career by joining the ranks of those who inflicted it. Only three years ago, he left the Stade de France in a huff complaining that Barcelona had offered nothing after beating his Arsenal side 2-1, but the 31-year-old France striker was in a far better mood last night as he contributed to the Spanish champions regaining the European crown. “Arsenal are in my heart and blood and the Champions League defeat with them was the biggest disappointment of my career, but tonight I am happy,” Henry said....