I listen to several different football podcasts and try to read as much about the beautiful game as possible (while trying not to get fired from my other job that actually pays me money). In the past few days I have noticed a disturbing trend in the coverage of Manchester United's newest player, Dimitar Berbatov.

Click to continue reading...

Seems Man Utd are paying for their moneymaking trip to Africa. Wayne Rooney has picked up an unnamed mystery virus that will almost certainly keep him out of Man Utd's first Premier League game. "I doubt Wayne will be fit for the start of the season," said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. "It's a virus he picked [. Click to continue reading...

The Independent has a great story written by West Ham's Robert Green about his recent trip to Africa for charity work. I encourage all of you to read it. Playing professional football you surround yourself in a bubble. For 11 months of the year you don't have a choice of truly experiencing real life. Click to continue reading...

Every now and again I like to update everyone on my progress towards my original goal of getting to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup.

So how am I doing? Good, I suppose.

The World Cup's a few years away and although I have time, the steps need to be taken now in order to assure I'll be there cheering on Brazil, Spain and the USA. Click to continue reading...

It's almost here! Can you feel it?
Ok, not *almost* here, but on its way ... slowly but surely, the opening of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is creeping up on us.

How am I getting there? I have somewhat of a clue (look at some of my previous posts on this subject under 'Trip to Africa') but I'm still not entirely sure. For the purposes of intrigue and mystery (and because I have no answer to this), I'll just say that more time is now being freed up to concentrate on this. Click to continue reading...

On this day of personal reflection (please see my previois entry), here are some news items I've scrounged up from the Internet.

(***A small note about about my news scrounging: Trust me, I'm no fan of copying & pasting someone else's writing on this blog. But, I think it serves a valuable purpose.

One, you get a one-stop outlet for quick bites of African football news. Click to continue reading...

It's been some time since I updated you on my travels to South Africa 2010 and the World Cup Final on July 11, 2010.

It's been a good and bad journey so far.
The good has been the wealth of knowledge I've gained about Africa, its people and the wonderful game of football.

The bad has been the unbelieveable task I face of getting to SA 2010. Click to continue reading...

You'll notice by the long title of this post that I've a lot to cover ... let's get to it.

- Item: Mozambique eyes World Cup tourism windfall

We all knew the World Cup would help out the country of South Africa.
What wasn't as evident was how the tournament would help out the rest of the continent.
Sure, it would instill a sense of confidence & pride. Click to continue reading...

Three tidbits on the world of African football from your hard-working friend at this blog, who's still wondering how he'll end up in Johannesburg for the Final.

- The crime situation in South Africa continues to be an issue as the World Cup Finals approach in three years time.

Data from the South African Police Service released on Tuesday showed murders, carjackings and bank robberies rose in South Africa in the past 12 months, dealing a blow to efforts to reduce one of the world's highest crime rates before the country hosts the Finals. Click to continue reading...

So now I know where I'll be in approximately three years time, July 11th, 2010.

Sitting in the sun at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, sipping on a Castle, chatting with Zola and Desmond Tutu, watching the Final game of the madly successful African World Cup.

FIFA's executive committee let the world know Wednesday that the final game of the World Cup will be held in the legislative capital city, in the 94,700-seat stadium. Click to continue reading...