True Passion for the Game

Although far from the crowds, lights, and vuvuzelas of the World Cup, amputees from civil war torn Sierra Leone and Liberia still live out there dreams of soccer glory. Read their story here.

Will Altitude Be Factor at World Cup?

Brazilian football team Flamengo are playing a South American cup match in Bolivia. Their opponents, Real Potosi, are based in the high Andes and the stadium is nearly 4000 metres above sea level. In lashing rain, Flamengo fall 2-0 behind. Many of their players need bottled oxygen to alleviate the effects of altitude. Though they eventually fight back for a 2-2 draw, Flamengo announce after the game that they will no longer play matches at altitude.

So began football's "high altitude controversy". Flamengo's case was taken up by the Brazilian Football Confederation, which complained to the world governing body FIFA that venues in the high Andes were not suitable for football. In May 2007, FIFA ruled that "in the interests of player health", international matches could no longer be played above 2500 metres.

If Brazil thought that meant victory, they were not reckoning on a comeback by Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, who complained to FIFA that this would put a stop to international matches in their national stadiums. In response, FIFA suspended the ban pending further studies.

Fast-forward to June 2010 and altitude is again an issue in football. The World Cup in South Africa will be the first for 24 years to stage games at venues significantly above sea level. The main stadium, Soccer City in Johannesburg, is at 1701 metres. That's not quite the high Andes, but it is still high enough to have an effect. Six other venues are at altitude (see map). Will it have a bearing on the tournament?

Read more at New Scientist.........

The World Cup, Apps for that

Technology is set to meet soccer at a smartphone intersection when the World Cup begins June 11. This is a leap forward in technology with a clutch of iPhone apps that will enable fans to track games, watch highlights and glean information on players and teams.

Apple’s United States App Store offers a collection of World Cup and soccer-related programs. Nearly all of the apps (some of which also run on the iPad, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Palm, Android and other devices) provide team-by-team analysis, match schedules, background on the stadiums being used for the tournament and a promise to provide real-time scoring updates once the tournament begins.....Read more here



World Cup Soccer In Africa: Who Really Wins?

For four action-packed weeks in June and July 2010, the largest international television audience ever to follow a single event will be watching the FIFA Soccer World Cup in South Africa. But what will happen after the trophy is lifted, the caravans move on, and the dogs stop barking?

International heavyweights like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, construction workers, FIFAs Communications Director, street traders, politicians, and sports celebrities wade into the debate. National pride, corruption and even murder feature in this astonishingly candid film which peels back the glossy media veneer to expose the real concerns of ordinary South Africans: hopes about jobs, the eviction of school children to make way for construction company offices, the removal of an inconvenient community.

Via The Original Winger

Monday Links: Colin Cowherd- A threat or a promise?

Colin's not one of my favorite radio guys (I like Dan Patrick nationally and Steve Mason- bred in Toledo, now an LA star on 710 ESPN).  But Colin would love to hear that; you either like him or not, and that's what makes him compelling as a radio guy.

So I'm thrilled and elated that he is promising to spend more time on soccer- both because he's increasingly interested, and because he thinks the market wants it.  Like Bill Simmons, the great ESPN scribe who has been injecting a bit more soccer into his stuff lately and recently appears on a soccer blog (don't remember which- if you have it link it below), this can only be a good thing overall.

EDIT: Check out the July 8th podcast of Bill Simmons and Cowherd talking international futbol.

Other Monday links:

• FIFA puts out a call for 15,000 volunteers for World Cup South Africa 2010.  10% are from off-the-continent, so there's 1,500 chances to get involved!  The application link is included.
• I Speak Soccer- the must-see (meaning I must see it!) documentary from globetrotting Terry Kegel, has a cool feature on its site:  a map with inlaid stories of pickup games all over the world. Check it out and add yours.
• We Tweet: Follow us on Twitter here!
• We love to ask our Q&A guests what they think the USMNT's starting XI will be for game 1 of the 2010 World Cup.  Ives Galarcep at Soccer By Ives - arguably the US soccer media insider with the best combination of access and analysis - offers his take as of this week at SoccerByIves (about halfway down the long and informative Q&A post). In a nutshell, from the back: Howard/ Bocanegra/Onyewu/DeMerit/Spector/Donovan/Bradley/Jones/Dempsey/Altidore/Davies.  Its a great looking lineup and one that's heavily influenced by Confederations Cup success.
• Cool story from Anthony Gainey of the Roanake Rapids (NC) Daily Herald on how "Soccer is a cultural experience." At a local soccer camp conducted by some British transplants, Ian Mathias, Nathan Bird and Pete Atkinson, the kids learn not only the fundamentals of the sport, but about the culture in other countries where it's played.  A simple and very doable way of making soccer a "teachable moment."

And finally, please remember our first T-shirt Design Competition is open. Details here.   The winner gets $100 in gear from SoccerFanatic.com!