I stumbled upon this article that describes Ghana national team coach Milovan Rajevac's new pursuit of Italian striker Mario Balotelli. Balotelli, an Inter Milan forward, is widely regarded as one of the top young talents in the world. Having been born in Italy to Ghanaian nationals, Mario is eligible to play for both national teams.

I'll have some Tuesday TV a little later, but first let's see how everyone is putting the USMNT's chances to advance from World Cup 2010 Group C play:- ESPN/Nate Silver (48%)- Castrol Index (73%)- The mighty, might Voros (64%)- BigSoccer poster NoSix (63%)And the "+1" comes in the form of Climbing the Ladder's MLS Plus/Minus season totals.

FIFA met today, and we now know a lot more about what's coming Friday. First....unexpectedly, FIFA based its 2-8 rankings on current FIFA rankings instead of a formula where previous World Cups are weighted equally with current FIFA rankings. I say 2-8 because you can't really tell me that S.

A heavy dose of reality crashed down upon African hopes of a maiden Fifa World Cup title after Friday's draw pitched the continent's most-fancied teams in challenging groups.

In the build-up to the Cape Town draw, where locals flooded the city centre for the most colourful of street parties, most of the talk centred upon Ghana and Ivory Coast spearheading Africa's unlikely quest.

I have traveled in Southern Africa several times for business, and I am always struck when I talk to South Africans about Nelson Mandela. When talking to black South Africans, they look at Mandela as a hero and the father of their country, but they also have a more nuanced view and remain frustrated at some of the pothole-type problems that plague everyday life in their emerging country.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced its five man shortlist for the 2009 African Footballer of the Year award. The five players (in alphabetical order) are: Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire & Chelsea) Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon & Internazionale/Barcelona Michael Essien (Ghana & Chelsea) Seydou Keita (Mali & Barcelona) Yaya Toure (Cote d'Ivoire & Barcelona) CAF has profiles of all five [.

Who Will Advance From World Cup Group D?(answers)

Who do you think will advance from Group D in the 2010 World Cup? It's definitely a difficult group featuring one of the best teams in Africa, Ghana, as well as the gritty determinism of Serbia, the machine-like Germany and the underdogs Australia.

In the build up to the draw for the first World Cup to be held in Africa, you can guarantee that one piece of information will be cited time and time again - that no European nation has ever won the tournament outside its home continent.

It's one way of looking at it - a Eurocentric way.

World Cup fans, prepare to hear this song ad nauseum for the next seven months. K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" is the Official Anthem of World Cup 2010.

Related posts:

1. Italy 2010 World Cup Football Shirts: Leaked Photos Photographs of what looks like Italy's new home and.

Didier Drogba teamed up with Bono yesterday to raise funds for HIV-positive children in Africa.
It's part of a campaign by Nike to sell red football boot laces for the U2 frontman's AIDS Charity Red.

Zamparini il provocatore. Oltre che mangiallenatori, il presidente del Palermo interviene sulla questione riguardante Balotelli e tutte le polemiche sorte dopo i cori "razzisti" nei suoi confronti. Ebbene, il numero uno dei rosanero non vuole assolutamente sentir parlare di razzismo. Si tratta solamente di.

The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is set to kick off in about 30 minutes and we will update the proceedings as the groups fill out. After they're done, I will attempt to make the fastest sweet 16 prediction in the world.Get your refresh button ready, the lottery basket starts spinning at 10 minutes before the top of the hour.

A seleção portuguesa, de Cristiano Ronaldo e cia., instalará seu quartel-general durante a Copa do Mundo da África do Sul na província de Gauteng - norte do país -, anunciou neste sábado a Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (FPF). A capital administrativa, Pretoria, e a econômica, Johannesburgo, estão localizadas nesta província.

Um dia depois do sorteio dos grupos da Copa do Mundo de 2010, a Federação Chilena de Futebol anunciou a escolha do local de concentração na África do Sul. A entidade decidiu manter o grupo na região nordeste do país, na cidade de Nelspruit, estrategicamente próxima do local de estreia.

I've been asked when the third promised Top 5 List will drop. This one requires a lot of research, so it will probably be a week, give or take. The good news is it will actually be two lists...#1 - Everton is close to winning the loan race for Landon Donovan. From what I can gather, there are at least two other mini-loan offers.

Much has been written about January's African Cup of Nations' effect on the title race in the Premier League. Quite a few of the teams vying for the title will lose key players during the month long tournament. Chelsea stand to suffer the most, losing Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Solomon Kalou.

The governing body of football in Europe, UEFA has revealed their Euro 2010 logo recently. Euro 2012 will be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine and some of the biggest teams and players will take part in it to become the champions of Europe. The theme of the logo looks different; let me explain:

The presentation video of revealing the Euro 2012 logo is more like the beginning of an animated Warner Brothers' movie and less like a presentation video of revealing the Euro 2012 logo.

Stefan Lovgren, a documentary filmmaker who has worked on a many previous films about Africa, is now making one about football in Africa. It focuses in particular on one football academy in Ghana to tell a broader story about African football, the hopes and exploitation of footballers, and the broader context surrounding the history 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Photo by J.Star on Flickr

A note in preface: The story here is a bit of a divergence from my usual weekly post. With Christmas coming and the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola not far behind (kicking off January 10th) I've been thinking about the 2002 Christmas I spent in Angola when working on my dissertation research.

Ricorso accolto, Pandev è libero di poter scegliere una nuova squadra in Serie A e Lotito è costretto a pagare le spese legali. Questo è quanto emerso dalla sentenza emessa dal Collegio Arbitrale sul lodo riguardante il giocatore macedone, separato in casa con la Lazio. "E' stato accolto il ricorso di Pandev al collegio arbitrale della Lega calcio, che ci ha dato ragione.

After finishing with my World Team of the Year, I taste-tested a couple of star-studded benefit matches for you.Friends of Ronaldinho (for needy children in Brazil)Champions for Africa (for UNICEF and to fight African poverty)- Greg Seltzer

Mancano solo i dettagli e Goran Pandev - che è libero da vincoli contrattuali dopo aver vinto il ricorso contro la Lazio - potr raggiungere il risultato prefissato ed indossare i colori nerazzurri dell'Inter. Pronto, infatti, un contratto di 5 anni per il 26 enne fuoriclasse macedone, grande colpo di mercato per la societ di Moratti, alla ricerca del sostituto di Eto'o, il quale sar assente per un mese perchè impegnato in Coppa d'Africa.