Soccer Coaching

On Friday the 11th of June 2010 the whole of africa will join the many soccer fans the world over as the day an African has the honor to host the FIFA World Cup. It’s been 80 years that FIFA World Cup host countries have been in either Europe or the Americas. How is the country to hold the Cup selected?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. South Africa nearly won the 2006 bidding against Germany with a final tally of 12 votes to 11. All countries that bid for the 2010 World Cup were African including South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. South Africa won by four points to Morocco resulting in this unforgettable event. The reasons mentioned are all technical, but you might ask if the country has the ability to host such a huge event? Personally, I’d say “definitely”, these are my reasons:

* They’ve got a great team- that simple fact makes them deserving to have the great privilege of hosting the cup.If you’d ask me, having a World Cup in a country whose team isn’t even above average would be a disgrace. Look back at the countries that held the Cup-1950 (Brazil), 1978 (Argentina), and 1990 (Italy), some of the best teams in the world. Adding South Africa to the list would make sense.

* 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. Who could want more?

* Good weather- South Africa is well known for it’s good weather-aside from the wildlife. The World Football Tournament coincides with South Africa’s winter time. Not to worry though, your favorite players won’t end up freezing to death since the winter temperature in South Africa is warmer than most countries summer temperature! The average temperature is predicted to be 20 degrees celsius at midday which is better for an athelet’s body compared to higher temperatures. Good weather means higher stamina and endurance..

* Africa- civilization as we know it has been thought to have begun in Africa and many African coutries hold soccer dear to their hearts. Could you think of a better venu for the world to unite? Also, during the Mandela era, football was a cause of unification and a force for the apartheid resistance. 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.

The whole world should be happy that an event of this magnitude is being held in Africa for the first time and no matter how many issues regarding safety have popped up in the past four years, I think the 2010 FIFA World Cup deserve to be held in South Africa.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is awaited by the entire world. After a lot of discussion, bidding and finally votation, South Africa is the selected venue for the 2010 World cup. South Africa and Mexico are the first in line on the 2010 soccer calender being the first teams to compete.Many forecast that it will be likely for the final world cup winners football game to have an African nation involved yet 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. For four years now, South Afica has been building new awesome stadiums just for this tournament. The most stunning are listed below so take a look all you ‘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. The roof produces a translucent glow when lit.
* Green Point Stadium- will  hold the first six round matches, one second-round, one quarter and one semifinal match.The original stadium was demolished and reconstruced in 2007.

o Capacity:70,000 o Location: Cape Town o Design: located between the ocean and has the beautiful mountains as a backdrop. Also equiped with sound proof material. Roofing is a unique retractable glass roofing of about 4,500 tons.

* Mbombela Stadium- comes from the Siwala world meaning “many people together in a small space.” o Capacity: 40,000 o Location:Nelspruit o Design:  has a ‘jungle’ like theme with zebra stripped seats and a roof structure that resembles  a giraffe. * Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium-Will be hosting five first round matches, one second round, one quarter final and the third place playoff. Name taken from the municipality name not the x-president Nelson Mandela.

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- the main venue for the tournament holding both the opening and final World Cup games.A very historical stadium and also the largest in Africa.

o Capacity:94,500 o Location: Johannesburg o Design:gets its design from an African Pot or calabash.

The 2010 Football World Cup is surely one to go in the history books with all these cool stadiums. Wouldn’t you want to just book the next flight to Africa to witness this event?