Soccer Footwork Drills

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is awaited by the entire world. After much deliberation, bidding and voting, South Africa came out as the location 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 theorize that it would certainly be possible for the final world cup winners football game to have an African nation involved yet this is yet to be seen. Many may not have time to follow the whole tournament, so if you’re wondering what sort of world-class stadiums our favorite teams will be doing their soccer tricks. Well South Africa really took to heart their being the 2010 hosts and over the years constructed five totally new stunning stadiums.Here’s a peek for all you ‘soccerholics’:

*Moses Mabhida Stadium- formally the Kings Park Soccer Stadium that is now a beautiful teflon-coated stadium with a glass fiber roof.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. Has a translucent glow if lit.
* Green Point Stadium- was demolished in 2007 and reconstructed for the FIFA World Cup in 2009.Scheduled to host six first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final and one semifinal match.

o Capacity:70,000 o Location: Cape Town o Design:has sound proof material and is situated very near the ocean and has beautiful mountains in the background. Has an amazing retractable glass roof weighing about 4,500 tons.

* Mbombela Stadium- derived from “Mbombela” which is the  siSwati word for  “many people together in a small space.” o Capacity: 40,000 o Location:Nelspruit o Design:  a very ‘wild’ looking stadium which gets inspiration from the many surrounding national parks. * 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 largest stadium in Africa. Will hold the first and last matches of the Cup.

o Capacity:94,500 o Location: Johannesburg o Design:very lit during the night and resembles an African pot.

With all these stadiums, this year is surely to be a Cup to remember. Doesn’t it just makes you want to book the next flight straight to the heart of Africa?

On Friday the 11th of June 2010 the whole of africa will join the many soccer fans across the globe being the day when Africa gets to hold the prestigious FIFA World Cup. It’s been 80 years that FIFA World Cup host nations have alternated between Europe and the Americas Exactly how is the venue for the cup decided upon?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 had a narrow loss against Germany in the 2006 bidding with 12 votes to 11 as the final tally. 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. If South Africa was added to the list, nobody would mind.

* 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 will be held during South Africa’s winter season. Don’t worry, our favorite players won’t freeze to death, South Africa’s winter temperature at midday, is warmer than most countries daily 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..

* The continent alone- soccer is no doubt in every African’s heart and Africa is known to be the place where civilization begun. So what better place to have countries from the four corners of the earth meet? More so since South Africa has used soccer as a means of unity and force against apartheid in  the Mandela era. 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.

Despite any controversies in the past four years regarding safety, in my opinion,South Africa is the perfect place for the 2010  FIFA World Cup and  the whole world should be very proud that  this is the first time that a sporting event of this magnitude is being held in the continent.