World Cup sponsor McDonald’s won’t be supplying food at World Cup stadiums and fan parks around South Africa during the tournament. It’s chosen to instead focus its sales efforts on its 132restaurants in South Africa, where it hopes to get a sales boost of as high as 35 percent in the leadup to the World […]
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Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Charlie Davies is 'closer and closer to being back'
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Charlie Davies says the next three weeks will be important in his bid to return to action this seasonwith French club Sochaux and hopefully make the U.S. World Cup team. (Davies news conference He has resumed training at Sochaux and spoke on Friday, five monthsafter the serious car accident in Virginia that left […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
ESPN Blunders Badly with a Booth Full of Brits
By Paul Gardner Message from ESPN: Americans still don’t know anything about soccer, so they’ll have to be taken by the hand and have it explained to them … by, whoelse, the Brits. There is no other way to read the utterly insensitive announcement from ESPN that the four main play-by-play announcers for its World […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Mexico stymied in Charlotte
[WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN] In Mexico’s final match before Coach Javier Aguirre selects 18 domestic-based players to enter aspring training camp for the World Cup, the Tri had to settle for a 0-0 tie with Iceland before a crowd of 63,227 in Charlotte, N.C. Mexico’s best chances came on headers by Miguel Sabah and Adolfo Bautista, […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Eriksson to lead Ivory Coast's Elephants
[WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN] Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was fired as Mexico’s national team coach during World Cupqualifying, could be headed to South Africa all. Eriksson, who coached England at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, was named the Ivory Coast national team coach, replacing Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic.
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Fear of World Cup fan shortage
In the latest update on fears that fans aren’t lining up to attend this summer’s World Cup in South Africa, Mike Cohen reports that three months before the June11 kickoff, about 100,000 international air tickets have been sold, the international visitor estimate has been cut to 350,000 from 450,000, and the expected contribution to economic […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Davies seems to get better by the day
Steven Goff reports that just five-plus months since being severely injured in an auto accident near U.S. national team forward Charlie Daviesbegan light jogging Monday with his French club, Sochaux. He will continue to work with a physiotherapist for two to four weeks, and if all goes well, participate in full sessions. As Davies’ outlook […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Governing body rakes in the dough
[FIFA] How rich is FIFA? Despite a worldwide recession, soccer’s international governing body made a profit of $196 million on revenues of $1.059 billion in2009 and increased its reserves to more than $1 billion. FIFA made so much money it will distribute some of it to its confederations ($2.5 million apiece) and national federations ($250,000 […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Holden and Feilhaber on the mend
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Midfielders Benny Feilhaber and Stuart Holden, the mostrecent U.S. national team regulars to be injured, are improving. Feilhaber has resumed training with Danish club AGF after receiving treatment for his ankle injury in Brazil, while Holden is againwalking without crutches. Feilhaber will rejoin the AGF first team next week after spending several weeks […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Algerians Belhadj and Chaouchi suspended
[WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN] Algeria is paying the price for the transgressions of its players in the 4-0 loss to Egypt in the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations.Portsmouth outside back Nadir Belhadj, one of the key Desert Foxes, will miss the opening 2010 World Cup game against Slovenia after being given a two-match banfor […]