Soccer Formations

On Friday the 11th of June 2010 the whole of africa will join the many soccer fans across the globe being the day when Africa gets to hold the prestigious FIFA World Cup. For eighty years now the FIFA World Cup host countries have been in either Europe or the Americas. Just how is the location for a FIFA World Cup decided?The latest selection policy is that any country can bid for the world cup as long as their continental confederation hasn’t hosted it in the past two years which makes a Africa very eligible. In the 2006 bidding, South Africa against Germany, the final count being 12 votes to 11. For the 2010 World Cup however, all countries that bid were African the top three being South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. Morocco lost to South Africa by four events making this a momentous event. Technically, this is why South Africa is hosting this years World Cup but is the counntry able to hold such a big event? If you’d ask me, I’d say they surely are, here are my reasons:

* I love their team- it’s a fact, the definitely deserve to hold the cup. Wouldn’t holding the Cup in a country who’s team isn’t even that good be a total let down? Remember back in 1950,1978 and 1990 when Brazil, Argentina and Italy hosted the world cup? First class teams! If South Africa was added to the list, nobody would mind.

* You should see the stadiums- as part of their preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa has constructed four brand new mind-blowing stadiums.One has a detractable glass roof, another with spectacular lighting, then there’s the ‘zebra’ inspired stadium located nearby the many game parks, and finally one that resembles the South African flag. What more could you ask for?

* The perfect weather-  if there’s one thing South Africa is known for-aside from its wildlife, it would be the weather. It will be winter time when the World Football Tournament will take place. South Africa’s winter temperature at midday is warmer than most countries daily summer temperature so no need to worry that your favorite players will get frozen. The average temperature will be around 20 degrees Celsius at 12pm noon.Lower temperatures are known to be better for athlete’s bodies.Good weather equals higher tempo.

* The continent alone- soccer is no doubt in every African’s heart and Africa is known to be the place where civilization begun. So what better place to have countries from the four corners of the earth meet? More so since South Africa has used soccer as a means of unity and force against apartheid in  the Mandela era. Having Soweto be the venue for the finals will add meaning and make the even even more memorable for the reason that Soweto has been the heart of South African soccer.

Despite any controversies in the past four years regarding safety, in my opinion,South Africa is the perfect place for the 2010  FIFA World Cup and  the whole world should be very proud that  this is the first time that a sporting event of this magnitude is being held in the continent.

On Friday the 11th of June 2010 the whole of africa will join the many soccer fans across the globe being the day when Africa gets to hold the prestigious FIFA World Cup. For eighty years now the FIFA World Cup host countries have been in either Europe or the Americas. Just how is the location for a FIFA World Cup decided?The latest selection policy is that any country can bid for the world cup as long as their continental confederation hasn’t hosted it in the past two years which makes a Africa very eligible. In the 2006 bidding, South Africa against Germany, the final count being 12 votes to 11. For the 2010 World Cup however, all countries that bid were African the top three being South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. Morocco lost to South Africa by four events making this a momentous event. Technically, this is why South Africa is hosting this years World Cup but is the counntry able to hold such a big event? If you’d ask me, I’d say they surely are, here are my  reasons:

* I love their team- it’s a fact, the definitely deserve to hold the cup. Wouldn’t holding the Cup in a country who’s team isn’t even that good be a total let down? Remember back in 1950,1978 and 1990 when Brazil, Argentina and Italy hosted the world cup? First class teams! If South Africa was added to the list, nobody would mind.

* You should see the stadiums- as part of their preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa has constructed four brand new mind-blowing stadiums.One has a detractable glass roof, another with spectacular lighting, then there’s the ‘zebra’ inspired stadium located nearby the many game parks, and finally one that resembles the South African flag. What more could you ask for?

* The perfect weather-  if there’s one thing South Africa is known for-aside from its wildlife, it would be the weather. It will be winter time when the World Football Tournament will take place. South Africa’s winter temperature at midday is warmer than most countries daily summer temperature so no need to worry that your favorite players will get frozen. The average temperature will be around 20 degrees Celsius at 12pm noon.Lower temperatures are known to be better for athlete’s bodies.Good weather equals higher tempo.

* The continent alone- soccer is no doubt in every African’s heart and Africa is known to be the place where civilization begun. So what better place to have countries from the four corners of the earth meet? More so since South Africa has used soccer as a means of unity and force against apartheid in  the Mandela era. Having Soweto be the venue for the finals will add meaning and make the even even more memorable for the reason that Soweto has been the heart of South African soccer.

Despite any controversies in the past four years regarding safety, in my opinion,South Africa is the perfect place for the 2010  FIFA World Cup and  the whole world should be very proud that  this is the first time that a sporting event of this magnitude is being held in the continent.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is awaited by the entire world. After much deliberation, bidding and voting, South Africa came out as the location for the 2010 World Cup. The Soccer wall calender for 2010 has a lot install with the initial battle between South Africa and Mexico.Many forecast that it would be probable for the final world cup winners football game to have an African country involved however this is yet to be seen. For those who won’t have the privilege of following the tournament, you might be wondering on what kind of stadiums the  football all stars will be performing their soccer tricks. Actually South Africa took the opportunity to host the Cup very seriously and for the past four years  have been busy constructing the fantastic stadiums. The following are a few for all ‘soccerholics’:

*Moses Mabhida Stadium- constructed on the site of the former Kings Park Soccer Stadium, this teflon-coated, glass-fibre roofed stadium was officially opened on November 2009.

o Capacity: 70,000 o Location: Durban o Design: constructed to resemble the South African Flag.Has an arche with a highest point being 347 ft signifies the unity that now exists from a once devided country. Has a translucent glow if lit.
* Green Point Stadium- was demolished in 2007 and reconstructed for the FIFA World Cup in 2009.Scheduled to host six first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final and one semifinal match.

o Capacity:70,000 o Location: Cape Town o Design: has a noise-reducing exterior cladding and is situated very near the ocean and has the mountains as a the backdrop. Has a retractable glass roof weighing 4,500-tons.

* Mbombela Stadium- a  Siwala world meaning “many people together in a small space.” o Capacity: 40,000 o Location:Nelspruit o Design:  has giraffe looking roof designs and seats that resemble the stripes of a giraffe. * Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium-not to be confused with the former president Mandela but the Nelson mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.Will be hosting five first round matches, one second round, one quarter final and the third place playoff.

o Capacity: 50 000 o Location:Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth o Design:nicknamed ‘the sunflower’ has a roof with a series of petal like looking structures.

* Soccer City Stadium- scheduled to hold all the main events both the opening and final match.The largest stadium in Africa.

o Capacity:94,500 o Location: Johannesburg o Design:very lit during the night and resembles an African pot.

The 2010 Football World Cup is surely one to go in the history books with all these cool stadiums. Doesn’t it just makes you want to book the next flight straight to the heart of Africa?