Annenburg Foundation Scores a Goal with Eco Friendly PITCH: AFRICA

On yesterday at the Port of Los Angeles, the Annenburg Foundation unveiled a life size model of PITCH: AFRICA. PITCH:AFRICA is the first ever water harvesting and filtering soccer space. Designed by Atopia Research the goal is to bring clean water to regions of Africa where the resource is scarce. In tropical regions of the content, rainy season can yield up to five feet of water. This amount is enough to provide 1,000 people with adequate supply for one year. The Annenburg Foundation is working closely with the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project to select an adequate location for the first pitch. To see Los Angeles area soccer players trying some of their moves out on the model, click here.

World Cup Freebie: Ziggy Marley's Africa Land

Inspired by the World Cup 2010 being held in Africa, reggae icon Ziggy Marley has collaborated with his brother Stephen Marley and African mega star Angelique Kidgjo to create his latest single, Africa Land.

The uplifting lyrics are set to a dancehall beat with an undertone of African elements. It will be released initially to African radio with free downloading available at www.ziggymarley.com and www.tuffgongworldwide.com.

This free download is the first of several free songs that Ziggy will be releasing from his collection entitled, The Wild and Free Singles.

World Cup 2010: Yes, I Can!

The call has been put out. The FIFA World Cup 2010 needs volunteers! Are you up for the challenge? If you can speak excellent English and one additional language, you can answer the call to action. Here’s an overview of the open call courtesy of Chad Thomas at African Soccer Renaissance. Make sure you check out his international radio show on SABC 2000.

“FIFA is looking for nearly four times as many volunteers as at last month’s FIFA Confederations Cup 2009.The Confed Cup required the services of 4 000 volunteers from approximately 40 000 applicants. For next year’s 2010 FIFA World Cup the total numbers required has been upgraded to a massive 15,000 people.The volunteer programme for the FIFA World Cup is a global initiative, as 70% of volunteers will come from South Africa, 20% from the rest of Africa and the remaining 10% from the rest of the world. Anyone who is 18 or older on 1 March 2010 and has a good command of the English language can apply to be a volunteer.

Volunteers will be required in virtually all sectors pertaining to the World Cup, namely: accreditation, administration, environmental services, welcome and information services, information technology and communication, language support, rights protection programme, logistic services, marketing, media volunteers, protocol services, spectator services, ticketing volunteers, transportation, hospitality and ushering services, and finally volunteer management.Those interested in volunteering for language support will need to have a solid command of English, as well as one of either: French, German, Portuguese, Spanish or an assortment of other languages.Applications will close on 31 August 2009.

Pre-selected, i.e. short-listed, candidates will be notified after November 2009 (but by no later than 31 January 2010) for interviews in the host city they have indicated a desire to work in. These interviews will be conducted during January and February 2010 in said host cities.The successful volunteers chosen from this interview process will then be taken through extensive training in March and April 2010 in all nine of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

As is usual with volunteer programmes, the volunteers will not receive a salary for their work, but will however be given a stipend on the days they work to cover any possible expenses they may incur on the day. They will in turn also go home with the knowledge (and lifelong memories) that they were an essential part of the greatest sporting event not only in Africa, but the entire world.”

Volunteering has its perks. Believe me. I put it to the test with the World Football Challenge last night at the Georgia Dome…