Football is the world's game, but like any sport, it's appeal is not fully universal. The Internet, meanwhile, has proven that two things are more popular than all else: pornography and cats. And since mixing pornography with football would run against numerous public indecency laws in various parts of the world, that means football executives have no choice but to add cats to the game in order to push it to the next level.

Can you still really play two sports at the elite level in Australia?
Ellyse Perry thinks so and with great support from Matildas Coach Tom Sermanni over the years she has done so.
But her recent decision to play cricket for Australia and miss the semi and final of the W-League season left me wondering where now for Ellyse?

Sporting Kansas City will again offer a series of youth soccer camps in 2012 for boys and girls of all ages. Camps will be offered to the experienced player ready to take it to the next level as well as the player who is newly developing their skills. Campers who attend sessions at our training center in Swope Park will have the opportunity to observe the Pros at practice.

In September, I wrote how Fox Sports choice to show Barclay's Premier League games on tape delay was a brilliant idea. Two weekends ago, Fox took it the next level by showing Manchester United vs. Arsenal live as a lead into the NFL Conference Championship Games. Sure the rating where not great. According to ESPN, the match was seen by 1.

(This entry is formulated based on the transcript of the media release issued by the Football Association of Singapore)
"I'm stepping down" said Johan Gouttefangeas(facing front)
SINGAPORE, 30 JANUARY 2012 – The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced today that Mr Johan Gouttefangeas will step down as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the S.

There has been an increase for televisions in homes every year up until last year. Hulu.com is one of the reasons 2011 marked the first time ever since television was created that less people claim to have a TV in their home than the previous year.

U.S. Men's National Team head coach JURGEN KLINSMANN:
On Jermaine Jones and what went in to decision to make captain:
"It was certainly a difficult situation for Jermaine with the suspension in Germany. I spoke with his coach and the club and we agreed it was beneficial to all of us to have him come in.

Post Match Quotes from USSoccer.com


U.S. Men's National Team head coach JURGEN KLINSMANN:
On Jermaine Jones and what went in to decision to make captain:
"It was certainly a difficult situation for Jermaine with the suspension in Germany.

Ricardo Clark headed home Jermaine Jones' corner in the 7th minute of stopping time to help the United States to a 1-0 victory over 10-man Venezuela before 22,403 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The American's win was its third in eight matches since Jurgen Klinsmann took over from Bob Bradley as coach last year.

Being a professional has less to do with getting paid, and more to do with the proper attitude and approach. The adjustment for young professionals making a jump to the next level from college normally starts with how quickly they can apply that approach, and adapt to those demands.
Craig Merz of MLSsoccer.

Five MLS matches on NBCSN this summer will be proceeded by the Olympics, which the network hopes will attract scores of new American soccer viewers.

After securing MLS rights, NBC looks to take soccer in America to the next level - Goal.com

Other things include shoulder programming, on site pre/half/post for every game, and cross promotion from other NBC networks.

Magic Earlier this week we brought you the video of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger playing guitar while West Brom boss Roy Hodgson was head-banging. Well, Hodgson was clearly so into the music that Wenger has now invited him to join the band as drummer. Somebody has taken this to the next level and put together [.

Anfield Rd: Kick It Out: Allegations should be proven "beyond reasonable doubt"

When Liverpool announced they were not going to appeal the Luis Suárez verdict they did so after coming under a huge weight of pressure from various individuals and organisations. One of Liverpool's main objections to the decision was the way it was reached and in particular the burden of proof considered adequate.

Quiet rumours about a Tottenham move for Manchester City's Carlos Tevez have been appearing in the press since the start of the season and while there was a brief acceleration in the stories after the Argentinean's alleged refusal to come on as sub in Munich, most Spurs fans have rightly ignored them.

Featured image: Earl Gardner

Editor's note: At the end of the 2010 season, we posted a series of season reviews of every Philadelphia Union player. Over the next several weeks PSP continues with a review of the 2011 season.

Some players get passed over because teams don't think they have the size or the speed to make it at the next level.

Talent identification in youth soccer is an ongoing debate among the coaching community. What characteristics separate those players who will succeed at the next level from those who will struggle? Factors such as physical size, speed, fitness and technical ability are all important attributes of success.

Liverpool continue to display green shoots of progress under Kenny Dalglish, and 9 months into the Scot's second coming Anfield his side look capable re-joining European football's elite for the first time since the 2009/10 season.
But frustratingly for the Anfield faithful, Liverpool have demonstrated something of a soft underbelly this season, dropping points against Swansea, Norwich and most recently Fulham as the lost ground to Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal in the race for a precious Champions League spot.

Chelseadaft - A Chelsea fans blog has become one of the leading Chelsea blogs on the planet. With a Google PR of 4 and growing it's time to take this website to the next level.
So I am posting an open invite to any companies interested in becoming a main sponsor for the site.
The site has huge potential and it's an opportunity to work with me in making it the number one!

One of the main focuses of every Development Academy event is referee training and development. From seminars to on-field training from professional referees, the Academy games are used to identify promising referees and put them on the track to reaching the elite levels.

Referees use the Center to relax, rehydrate and exchange ideas during the Showcase.

Kicking off our Wednesday column is the Brazilian trio of Thiago Silva, Robinho and Pato who are seen here passionately dancing to "Ai se eu te pego" ("Oh, if I catch you", a cheeky tune by by Michel Teló) on a train. This video has been going viral, so you absolutely must see it for Pato's cringe-worthy dance moves, which he has been known for since his days at Internacional.

News reports are dominated by one story today and that concerns Tottenham's intention to de-list from the Stock Exchange after posting record annual profits.

The Statement on the club website from Daniel Levy reads,

"It is clear to us that increasing the capacity of the club's stadium is a key factor in the continued development and success of the club and will involve the company in considerable additional capital expenditure," a club statement read.

By Shane Badger
The Rochester Lancers were in high spirits last night as they kicked off their home season with a meet the fans party. The entire team as well as management, and the entire Lancer Dancer squad made themselves available to fans for signatures and questions during the three hour party.

The Eden Hazard rumours persist this morning amidst claims that Spurs a preparing a £45m January bid for the Belgian midfielder and his compatriot – Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen.

Since the rumours started, prices for Hazard alone have varied from around £20m to £35m and while all the usual suspects – Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City etc etc have been linked, some of the stories suggest that Spurs are in pole position and that Harry Redknapp is trying to convince the board that Hazard is the man to cement Champions League football for next season.

photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

You can add Brek Shea to the list of MLS players who will be training abroad this offseason.

Following the U.S. men's national team's upcoming friendlies against France and Slovenia, Shea will train with Arsenal of the English Premier League for a month, FC Dallas announced on Thursday.

Hazard puts Prem giants on alert as Lille star says: 'I'm ready to leave'

Belgian playmaker has said he is ready to quit Lille and 'make it to the next level'

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-10-31 13:07:54 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Danny Koevermans needed little time to adjust to MLS, and his performance in Toronto FC's regular-season finale was the latest piece of evidence of that.

The bruising Dutch Designated Player came up with a goal and an assist in Toronto's season-ending 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution to put a cap on an impressive few first months in MLS and take home SBI MLS Player of the Week honors.

Leicester City have confirmed the sacking (by mutual consent?) of former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson after the Foxes won just two of their last seven games their latest defeat coming against Millwall 3-0 at the week-end seemingly the result which broke the camels back so to speak. And already former Foxes boss Martin O'Neill is favourite to take up the hotseat he left in 2000 for Celtic, with the Filbert Street Thai owners ready to spend whatever it takes to bring the Foxes to a return to the promised land(Premier League).

As Euro 2012 draws ever closer, the speculation over Harry Redknapp's future continues and during the course of the weekend, several stories emerged resurrecting the link between Spurs and former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti hasn't managed since leaving Stamford Bridge at the end of last season and speaking on Radio 5 live, the Italian reiterated his desire to stay in England.

Jenna MillerEclipse Select Communications
CHICAGO -- Eclipse Select Soccer Club U-17 midfielder Jenna Miller did not need another year to make her collegiate decision. Miller, a native of Winnetka, Ill., and a junior at New Trier High School, has announced her verbal commitment to play for the University of Illinois women's soccer program beginning in 2013.

Via a really well written Jason Quick piece. I wish he would write Timbers more often. In addition to this stuff, there's some quality stuff on Paulson himself. Great article. Juicy article.

There has been some fairly scary (to me, anyway) financial talk in the past, but Paulson sounds really ambitious in this article:

"We are already looking at three to four guys who will be big, big additions in this offseason.

Love Mile Jedinak and all he's achieved but to take the Socceroos to the next level we need a better, more skilled midfielder.
Neil Kilkenny is not it.
Carl Valeri has done a fantastic job for Australia over the last couple of years, like Vinny Grella and Jason Culina at their peak in 2006, his contribution has perhaps gone undervalued.

On the heels of the first US win under Jurgen Klinsmann, fans were left disappointed with a loss last night to Ecuador. While the Americans looked good at times, they were doomed by one bad miscue from out of form Tim Ream. They showed signs of the system Jurgen is trying to implement, as they played much more 1-2 touch balls and quick passes than US fans are used to seeing.

Dirk Kuyt confident Steven Gerrard & Luis Suarez can push Liverpool to the next level

The Dutch forward paid tribute to the tenacity of his captain, and praised the impact of the Uruguayan, who has adapted well to the Premier League since leaving the Eredivisie

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-09-29 07:23:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Support Bellamy's African dream

'Craig Bellamy's African Dream' airs for the first time on ITV Wales at 7.30pm BST tonight – and the striker is calling upon football fans to help take this unique project to the next level.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-09-13 14:59:24 from: Liverpool FC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Liverpool's great start to the season was ruined by Stoke City at the weekend, but the club is still on track to achieve its ultimate goal of finishing in the top 4. In fact, the club's stats over the last 22 league games indicate that a top 4 finish is there for the taking, especially if current league form is maintained for the rest of the season.

With the Champions League starting again tomorrow night and Michael Ballack making an "emotional" return to Stamford Bridge, I thought I would re post an article I wrote back when the day it was confirmed that Ballack was leaving us was announced (so remember all of the below is back then).
Ballack spoke about tomorrow and said:

"I was very happy.

Golden Ball anyone? 3four3 will be looking to hand out some hardware to the nations best college player.

I've seen numerous lists of top college players/pro prospects in the last few weeks and quite frankly they've made me laugh. The same robotic big athletic players are being hyped up and called the nations top players.

Jamie Lawrence Academy 4 UKFF 3

An extremely proud and historic day for UK Football Finder occurred on Saturday 3rd September 2011. At one of the oldest senior clubs in the country, Colliers Wood FC, a new era began as members from UK Football Finder came together to form a side to compete against the Jamie Lawrence Football Academy – the academy of an ex Premier and International footballer.

Today's post was written before the late night news that we are in the process of signing Brazillian left back Andre Santos.

This is a huge two days for Arsène Wenger and Arsenal.

At the time of writing, no further signings have been announced despite speculation linking us with Leighton Baines, Alex, Kaka, Andre Santos, Yossi Benayoun and the usual suspects like Cahill and Samba.

Jack Coleman will be a big part of the Hoosier's season this year. (Photo via USSoccer.com)

With each year that the MLS academy system is around, college teams will get a little richer for a couple years. That is certainly the case this season as several college teams are blessed with loads of talent from the MLS academy system.