Footballupdates.org

The Fifa president- Sepp Blatter has revealed that the Republic of Ireland have requested for  an extra spot for next year’s World Cup to be held in South Africa!

Earlier during their return leg play-off match versus France, Ireland had lost to an extra-time goal which was assisted by France captain Thierry Henry after he had handled it. More about that match can be read here.

Blatter said:

“I will bring it to the attention of the Executive Committee”

The executive committee will hold an emergency meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday, to discuss if they should go ahead with the idea of extra match officials during the World Cup.

Blatter also added that Costa Rica have a case because Uruguay scored an offside goal during their play-off’s. Costa Rica would also have to be taken into consideration if extra places are decided upon.

Indianfootball.com:

McDowell’s Unveils the First Ever Nationwide Hunt for India’s Best Freestyle Footballer.

It is a competition with a difference. A competition to find India’s best freestyle footballer. McDowell’s Celebration which has been known for its patronage of Indian football has upped-the-ante this time by bringing to India, one of the most exciting and popular forms of extreme football in the world today. Under the McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy platform, a nationwide hunt was launched today to find one Indian who can challenge the best in the world when it comes to freestyle football.
Speaking at the event, Ashok Capoor, Deputy President, United Spirits Limited, said, “McDowell’s Celebration is the proud pioneer of dynamic football formats in India. Freestyle football is catching up as a rage amongst football aficionados across the world. Now with the launch of a nationwide hunt for India’s best freestyle footballer, McDowell’s has taken football fever to another level. McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy is a natural outcome of this pursuit. Never before has the country witnessed such a massive display of international football talent apart from the exciting hunt for Indian amateur freestylers.”

To herald the event, McDowell’s literally rolled the leather out of Bangalore, by inviting six of the world’s best Freestylers to kick off the competition and mesmerize audience with their dazzling “dribblery”. The names of Peter Kovacs – from Puskas’ Hungary , Nam The Man – from Robby Keane’s Ireland, Palle – the freestyle champion from Ljungberg’s Sweden, Daniel Rooseboom – the Dutch numero uno from Van Nistelroy’s home town, Nori-top freestyler from Nakamura’s Japan and Jesus Gomez Moreno – from Rauls’ Spain, are among the best in freestyle football that the world has produced and this time they kicked off their India tour with a touchdown at UB city in Bangalore.

What followed in terms of sheer skill was mind-blowing and a true visual treat. From “Crossovers”, to “Around the World” to “Hop the World”, the freestylers unleashed a volley of tricks which left everyone wanting for more.

After having successfully partnered the “Green Maroon” brigade of Mohun Bagan AC for a decade, McDowell’s has been successful in bringing this new soccer format to the Indian shores, be it through five-a side Futsal or Freestyle soccer.

McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy-hunt for India’s best freestyle footballer

The nationwide competition is open to anyone who has the drive and the enthusiasm to display his freestyle football skills and get fame and recognition. The winner will also get a chance to interact with the celebrity freestylers and learn more tricks from them.

“We are encouraging amateur Indian freestylers to post their videos on www.freestylefriendzy.in to seek votes for their skills and also help popularize the sport further,”

added Capoor.

The international freestylers will engage and interact with the local freestylers across 21 cities in India, with the finale to be held in the mecca of Indian football, Kolkata on December 18, 2009. The final winner will receive a free ticket to one of the most sought after league matches in London and other attractive prizes.

McDowell’s Celebration will soon launch India’s first Freestyle Training Video with the visiting freestyle champions. The video will be available at major sports and music outlets.

What is Freestyle Football?

Also known as street style, Freestyle Football is extremely popular in North America, Europe and parts of Asia. A very popular sport amongst the youth, it is perceived to be cool, hip and fun.

The celebrity freestylers will dribble, juggle and display tricks which will leave you spellbound. So look out for the McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy arriving in your city soon.

For more information on McDowell’s Freestyle Friendzy, please visit www.freestylefriendzy.in

Fifa.com: The glare of the global football world will be on the Cape Town International Convention Centre at 7pm next Friday 4 December 2009, when the 32 teams who made it through to Africa’s first FIFA World Cup™ and their legions of fans find out exactly where they will be playing – and who they will be playing against.
And when the Final Draw is beamed to millions of homes in more than 200 countries next week, a magnificent Draw Hall and stage fit for the magnitude of the occasion stands ready to play host to the dramatic proceedings.
It’s taken 3600 hours of manpower to set up the sprawling Draw Hall and 950 square metres of timber to construct the stunning African-inspired Draw stage – which already stands ready to host the eagerly anticipated event.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa’s Cape Town Venue Manager, Teral Cullen, has been the operational head of the mammoth operation that is the Final Draw – and as the excitement mounts and the event draws nearer, she’s confident things are well in hand.
“Over the last 10 days everyone involved has put in an enormous effort. They’ve really put their noses to the ground and worked flat out, with many late nights and early mornings. The Draw Hall and stage is complete and rehearsals have already started. And with a week to go we’re very confident with our preparations, we’re ahead of schedule and ready for this event,” said Cullen.
She added that while the Final Draw is being delivered by a large team of 3 254 people in total, including security personnel, volunteers, event staff, contractors and entertainers, the co-operation between all parties has been outstanding.
“There has been tremendous teamwork and communication between the city and provincial authorities and FIFA and the Organising Committee. There’s been excellent communication in particular between ourselves and FIFA in terms of assessing the requirements for this event and delivering on it. All parties involved sense we’re building something special and we’re set for and working hard to deliver a spectacular event,” said Cullen.
To date, 27 of the 32 coaches have confirmed their attendance, including well-known coaches such as Brazil’s Dunga, Portugal’s Carlos Queiroz, England’s Fabio Capello, Italy’s Marcello Lippi, Spain’s Vicente Del Bosque and of course South Africa’s Carlos Alberto Parreira have confirmed their attendance for the Final Draw.
The Final Draw in Numbers:

• 3254 people involved in the operation of the Final Draw
• 1587 safety and security people including authorities and private security staff
• 400 Host City staff
• 80 entertainers
• 500 staff of contractors
• 380 Volunteers
• 110 Organising Committee staff
• 207 FIFA staff
• Nearly a year of preparations
• The set design and complete project folder for the draw project is 5Gb big
• Stage artwork alone amounts to 1.5Gb
• Printed material for the set is approx 1100 Sq meters
• Black reflective Vinyl flooring on the set is approx 500 Sq Meters.
• The set structure consumed around 6.5 tons of steel
• The four columns consist of around 1200 meters of 50mm round tubing
• The ceiling rings used around 1400 of 25 square tubing and 200sq meters of fabric
• Around 240 sheets of wood for custom stage levels
• Onset light boxes currently contains 500 fluorescent tubes
• Covering the stage light boxes is 800Kgs of tempered glass sheets
• Covering the front light boxes are 40 sheets of opal Perspex
• Most of the set was built, printed and finished in Cape Town, by Cape town companies. Only the steel columns, and parts of the headers were manufactured in Johannesburg by a specialist welder
• 5000 hours of production of the video material to be used during the show
• 18 live broadcast units to be used
• Live broadcast of the show to more than 200 countries and territories
• 3600 hours manpower to set-up the draw hall
• 950 sq meters timber
• 56 x 5 litre tins of paint used
• 1,2km steel handrails