Show Your Support for Uncle Sam
If you are from the United States (or just fond of U.S. Soccer) and are a proponent of bringing the World Cup back to these shores, then make yourself useful by paying a visit to the World Cup Bid website at www.GOUSABID.com and signing the online petition to bring the World Cup to the good ole U.S. of A in 2018/2022. U.S. Men’s National Team captain Carlos Bocanegra and U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati delivered the bid book to FIFA in Zurich last Friday are counting on you!
Images In and Around Johannesburg, South Africa
For those who haven’t gotten enough of the World Cup, there is an interesting photo spread in Time Magazine by Benedicte Kurzen. Her photo spread captures the city and surrounding townships as they gear up for the upcoming World Cup. Included are images of two stadiums (Soccer City and Orlando Stadium), a small shop in Cosmo City, Maponya Mall in Soweto, a vegetable market at an Urban Renewal Area in Kliptown and a nice skyline image from Africa’s tallest building, the Carlton Center in Johannesburg’s Central Business District.
(Via Time Magazine)
A Former Soccer Power Returns to the World Cup Stage
After winning the World Cup in 1930 over Argentina and in 1950 over Brazil at the Maracana, Uruguay has steadily slipped from the pantheon of great football nations. In addition to the two World Cup crowns, this tiny nation of less than four million people has won fourteen Copa America championships. One fan, Hugo Ramos, remembers the good old days when La Celeste was considered one of the best national teams in the world. Ramos is hoping that La Celeste can regain some of their swagger in South Africa. In order to be considered seriously, the team will have to emerge out of their group, which contains France, regional rival Mexico and the World Cup host South Africa.
(Via The Vancouver Sun)
A Nation of Immigrants Divided
The outcry over Arizona’s new immigration law continues to grow. From the sporting community, the first blow came from the state’s own basketball team, the Phoenix Suns, who wore ‘Los Suns’ jerseys to honor their Latino fan base for Cinco de Mayo. Now two of Mexico’s biggest football clubs, Pachuca and Club America have pulled out of a July 7th friendly that was to take place in Glendale, Arizona. In addition to the cancellation of the soccer match, U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati recently said that the law could cost Phoenix, which is listed as a potential host city in the USA’s bid to host the 2018 /2022 World Cup.
(Via Imagine 2050 and NY Daily News)
FIFA’s Impact on Women’s Rights
In a move designed to bolster their bid for the 2022 World Cup, Qatar announced plans to launch a women’s football league by the end of 2010. I wonder if the Qatar Football Association would have shown this level of forward thinking had they not decided to bid for the games. Nonetheless, this is a big win for the women’s game in a region of the world that has long held beliefs against the notion of female sports.
(Via The Canadian Press)
