Archive for November, 2009

The competition that began in front of 60 supporters on the Pacific island of Samoa on 25 August 2007 was wrapped up early on Thursday morning (CET) in Montevideo, when Uruguay completed the line-up of teams that will compete at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. As always, the lengthiest football tournament in the world offered up a wealth of facts and figures.

No fewer than 853 matches were played across the six confederations to determine which 31 of the 200 participating countries (more than ever before) would vie for world football’s crown alongside hosts South Africa next year.

There was an encouraging growth in attendance figures. Some 20 million fans – an average of almost 23,000 per match – flocked to the stadiums, creating a new attendance record in the history of the FIFA World Cup™ preliminary competition.

However, there was a downward trend in the number of goals scored, with the total of 2,344 – or 2.75 per match – representing the lowest average since the preliminary competition for the finals in Italy in 1990.

Network to televise 40 Live Matches in Portuguese; 24-7 Game-around-the-game news and information coverage in Spanish

As part of ESPN’s multilanguage coverage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa in the U.S., ESPN Deportes, the all-sports Spanish-language network, will provide Portuguese-language telecasts of more than 40 live matches of the World Cup. The telecasts will complement the network’s comprehensive Spanish-language news and information coverage of the quadrennial sports event (June 11 – July 11, 2010). ESPN, Inc. owns the rights for all FIFA events in all languages, except Spanish in the U.S. through 2014.

ESPN’s English-language coverage presented live and in high definition, will be featured on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com. Univision has the exclusive Spanish-language rights to 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

“There’s a thriving Portuguese-speaking community in the U.S. that lives and breathes soccer,” said Lino Garcia, general manager, ESPN Deportes. “With Brazil, undoubtedly one of the most followed soccer teams in the world, and Portugal qualifying last week, we are leveraging our multilanguage rights to better serve the passionate Portuguese-speaking fans. We will also continue to provide our core audience the most in-depth news and information coverage that they have come to expect from ESPN Deportes.”

This will mark the first time ESPN will televise the World Cup in Portuguese in the U.S. ESPN360.com, the company’s broadband network, will also offer coverage of the World Cup matches in Portuguese, in addition to other languages to be announced at a later date. During the group stage, ESPN Deportes will focus on matches featuring Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Mexico and the USA.

In addition to live match coverage in Portuguese, ESPN Deportes will surround the games with its leading news and information franchises, including SportsCenter and Futbol Picante, offering fans the most comprehensive Spanish-language news and information coverage throughout the month-long soccer showcase. ESPN Deportes’ news and information shows will have significant presence from South Africa and up to 10 reporters generating content from site. Coverage of the event will include SportsCenter segments, nightly, pre- and post-match shows, with additional studio programming originating from Johannesburg.

Highlights of planned 2010 World Cup News and Information Shows:

– SportsCenter (12 -1 p.m.; 4:30-6:00 p.m.; 11-12:00 a.m. and 1-2 a.m.) three editions daily – a 90-minute news, highlights and analysis program aired at the conclusion of the last match of the day – and two live one-hour editions to wrap-up all the news and information of the day;
– Jorge Ramos y su banda (1-2:30 p.m.; 3-4 p.m.) ESPN Deportes Radio’s soccer talk-show (simulcast on ESPN Deportes) will originate from South Africa and feature co-hosts Jorge Ramos and Hernan Pereyra with live guests, entertaining discussions of the day’s sports news and analysis. The program will be broadcast on ESPN Deportes Radio (simulcast on ESPN Deportes) each day in-between the early matches and at the conclusion of the last match of the day( only on ESPN Deportes Radio);
– Fuera de Juego (6-6:30 p.m.) will present significant portions of the live international soccer program from Johannesburg;
– Sudafrica al dia (6:30-7:00 p.m.) will air during the tournament and feature hits from site on relevant news surrounding all the action from South Africa;
– Juego Cruzado (7 p.m.) the network’s program modeled after Around the Horn will feature the show’s daily panelists opining from newspaper newsrooms in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Mexico;
– Cronometro (7:30 p.m.) the network’s program modeled after Pardon the Interruption will originate entirely from South Africa featuring co-hosts Jose Ramon Fernandez and David Faitelson debating the hottest topics of the day throughout the tournament;
– Futbol Picante (8-9 p.m.) the network’s Mexican soccer news program will be aired daily and follow Mexico’s National Soccer team and their
journey through the World Cup.

World Cup Coverage on ESPN:

In the United States, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will combine to present high definition coverage of all 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa June 11 – July 11, 2010. Beyond its English-language exclusive coverage in the U.S., ESPN Inc. is a World Cup rights-holder in Brazil (ESPN Brazil) and in the ESPN Star Sports (ESS) territories of India, Pakistan, The Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Middle East and in the ESPN Star Sports (ESS) territories of India, Pakistan, The Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Middle East.

ESPN, through the 15 localized editions of SportsCenter, the network’s flagship sports news and information brand, also provides the most comprehensive coverage of marquee sports events around the world. Each SportsCenter edition will provide extensive coverage of 2010 FIFA World Cup for fans in their respective markets, including:

– U.S. (English)
– ESPN Deportes in the U.S. (Spanish)
– ESPN 2 (Dos) serving the U.S., Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean (Spanish)
– ESPN’s pan-regional network in Latin America (Spanish)
– ESPN+ serving the Southern cone of Latin America (Spanish)
– ESPN Brasil (Portuguese)
– TSN Canada (English)
– ESS pan-Asia (English)
– ESS India (Hindi)
– ESS Hong Kong (Cantonese)
– ESS Taiwan (Mandarin)
– J Sports ESPN (Japanese)
– ESS Malaysia (Malay)
– ESPN South Africa, Israel (English)
– ESPN Australia (English)

Source: ESPN Deportes

On 20 November2009, the second phase of ticket sales for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ will come to an end.

This means that football fans around the world only have a limited time to secure a seat for the FIFA World Cup™ in 2010 in South Africa before the third and main ticketing sales phase starts on 5 December – the day after the Final Draw. A total of 668,525 tickets have been sold to date, 356,285 of those in the host country. This total accounts for 82.5% of the inventory available in this sales phase. Tickets can still be purchased online via FIFA.com and also at FNB branches across South Africa. The US (84,034) leads the way in terms of tickets sold in other countries, followed by the UK (48,274) and Germany (25,024).

At this stage, individual match tickets are mainly available for matches at Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium (including a small amount for the opening match) and at Durban Stadium. With the exception of Brazil and England, Team-Specific Tickets (TSTs) are still available for all of the other qualified nations.

Depending on which of the three different TST series fans apply for, their TST may include between three and seven matches, including the final. These tickets are allocated to the team’s venues automatically, meaning fans can buy a ticket to follow their team throughout the tournament without having to wait to see where it will play. In the current phase, no more category four tickets, which are exclusively reserved for South African residents, are available.

“This phase is a great opportunity for fans who are captivated by the prospect of experiencing the unique atmosphere of the World Cup first-hand to purchase their tickets, particularly TSTs, before the customary scramble after the Final Draw,” advises Horst R. Schmidt, chairman of the FIFA Ticketing Sub-Committee.

“The next phase of ticket sales will see an increase in interest across the globe once fans know not only that their national team has qualified but also where their team will play as a result of the Final Draw, which will take place in Cape Town on 4 December,” emphasises 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan.

The third sales phase, which will last for 49 days, will start on 5 December and end on 22 January 2010, during which time tickets will be available for all categories and all matches.

Fans can also purchase authorised travel packages through participating tour operators appointed by FIFA through MATCH. These tour operators offer flight-inclusive ticket and accommodation packages. The list of all tour operators can be found on FIFA.com.

In recognition of Visa’s valued sponsorship, www.FIFA.com prefers Visa for all transactions online.

The Grammy award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, Beninoise singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo and one of South Africa’s greatest music exports Johnny Clegg will provide a star-studded line-up for the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ in Cape Town on 4 December (19.00 local time/18.00 CET).

The 90-minute live show at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) promises a whole host of stunning African-inspired visual and acoustic treats with international appeal. These will include guest appearances by some of the biggest names in sport as they descend on South Africa for the eagerly anticipated Final Draw to decide whom and where the 32 qualified teams will be playing.

With the Final Draw being broadcast to no fewer than 200 countries around the world, this will mark another unprecedented milestone in the history of the FIFA World Cup. The Final Draw in Germany, December 2005 attracted a cumulative television audience of 134.5 million and was shown live in 137 countries. “We are very proud to be a part of the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. It is an incredible opportunity,” said Beverly Bryer, founder and manager of the choir. The choir will perform alongside Johnny Clegg, a well-known campaigner against the injustice of apartheid in South Africa who has been instrumental in putting the new South Africa on the map.

“The FIFA World Cup Final Draw has developed into a major live show that is followed with great excitement by millions of people across the world. It will reignite the 2010 FIFA World Cup fever not just in the host country but also in the qualified countries, where excitement is mounting as we draw nearer to next year’s FIFA flagship event,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, who will conduct the draw.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has once again been appointed by FIFA for the production of the Final Draw show, while HBS (Host Broadcasting Services) will deliver broadcast signals worldwide in its capacity as overall Host Broadcaster. After producing two successful world-class draw shows at the Preliminary Draw in November 2007 in Durban and the draw for the FIFA Confederations Cup in November 2008 in Johannesburg, the SABC has again commissioned the expertise of Combined Artists to enhance the show.

“This Final Draw has all the ingredients to capture the imagination of the watching world. We look forward to finally welcoming the 32 qualifying countries to Africa to share in the rhythm and energy of our continent, and are certain that this event will provide the perfect prelude to Africa’s first FIFA World Cup,” said Danny Jordaan, CEO of the FIFA World Cup Organising Committee.