World Cup 2010 Blog: “2010 African Footballer of the Year Nominees” plus 1 more |  |
| 2010 African Footballer of the Year Nominees Posted: 11 Dec 2010 04:06 PM PST After having the long list leaked and the short list announced, the final list of nominees for CAF’s 2010 African Footballer of the Year have finally been announced. And the nominations for Africa’s 2010 Footballer of the Year go to… Didier Drogba (Côte D'Ivoire/Chelsea) If you read my earlier post on the nominations, you probably aren’t surprised by the names appearing on the final list. The award’s current title holder, Drogba, enters this year’s race as the underdog. His exploits that helped Chelsea reclaim the EPL title in May slightly pale in comparison to the double domestic and European titles won by Eto’o with Inter or the achievements in the World Cup by Gyan’s Ghana.
The winner is chosen by the national coaches from CAF member nations and will be announced on December 20th in Cairo.
        |
| Qatar: Revolutionizing the way we hold the World Cup Posted: 11 Dec 2010 03:02 PM PST When FIFA voted to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it was promoted as “bringing football to a new world and a new culture” as well as bringing the World Cup to the “entire Middle East.” And now, it seems that sentiment might be taken quite literally by the game’s governing bodies as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar may very well change the way have ever held the tournament before… World Cup 2022: Qatar & Friends With numerous media outlets focusing on the size of Qatar – and their ability to credibly host such a large event in such a small space – FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, has offered one of his famous ideas… Get the neighbors involved! Inspired by Australia’s proposal, which suggested that some matches could be held in nearby New Zealand. However, he failed to mention any concrete suggestions of countries who could share the burden with Qatar.
This suggestion, Blatter mentioned, would help fulfill FIFA’s ambition to expand access for fans across the globe.
Qatar 2022: Winter Games But the size of the country isn’t the only issue that Qatar is having to defend itself against since winning the bid to host the games in 2022. The weather – and the health dangers it potentially poses to players and fans – has also received attention in the press. Extreme temperatures? What about all those cool, high-tech plans in the Qatar proposal to air condition all the stadiums? Well, it turns out that – in the words of Asian Football Confederation General Secretary, Peter Velappan – is “not a solution.” And the extreme heat – which tops 104 degrees – could potentially deter nations from participating. The threat of European nations boycotting the tournament is not exactly a great way for the international football community to embrace football’s newest frontier…so now the game’s international bodies are putting on their best thinking caps to troubleshoot the issue… Franz Beckenbauer, who sits on FIFA’s executive committee, said earlier this month that making a one-time change to the European league to allow the World Cup to be played in winter in Qatar was a cheaper solution than air-conditioning all stadiums. UEFA President, Michel Platini, has suggested that he would be comfortable with a proposal to shift the 2022 World Cup to winter instead of its traditional time in the summer to avoid extreme temperatures.
Why not? Well, just off the top of my head there are a few reasons: Champions League, Europa League, EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga… Oh, those minor competitions? Those can be addressed later..after all we have 12 years!
But, even if the games are held in the summer, Platini doesn’t think the criticism about weather holds much weight….especially when it comes from those arguing in favor of a US proposal!
Platini also indicated his support for FIFA’s decision to grant Qatar the tournament and making the international community more inclusive of nations and fans outside of football’s traditional strongholds.
    |
| You are subscribed to email updates from International Football News - World Cup Blog To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Posts
