Sponsorship Spotlight: Sierra Leone Premier League

A new season is set to commence for the Sierra Leone Premier League on February 26th with 14 clubs slated to compete for the league's top spot. In leading up to the kick off, the league office has received a financial boost from Africell.

Africell, a West African telecommunications company, has agreed to become the title sponsor of the league with a pledge of $23,500 USD. This is not the first foray of the company in soccer sponsorship as the company serves as a sponsor for the Gambia National Soccer Team.

New York Cosmos Take Another Shot at Once-in-a-Lifetime

A few years ago, a friend invited me to see a documentary on the New York Cosmos. I must admit. I found the movie, Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos to be quite entertaining. It was a cinderella story of an American soccer club that appeared out of nowhere, did the unthinkable by signing the best player in the world and then crashed out of existence in a larger-than-life fashion.

Who would've thought that a club once valued at less than $10 (at its demise) would rise from the ashes to do the unthinkable yet again? It seems that Pele, a former player and the Greatest Player to ever touch a ball, has faith in the Cosmos most recent campaign. Add former USMNT player Cobi Jones and King Eric, as in the famed Manchester United Eric Cantona, to the mix overseeing the acquisition of talent, and one could say this club has a powerhouse recipe to turn the American sports fan into radical soccer fans in a throwback to its glory days of the late '70s.

We will keep you posted on this story as it continually develops. Do you think the New York Cosmos can revive themselves and do the unthinkable in 2011? Tell us your thoughts.

Sports In Translation (5): Advice for Soccer Players Going Abroad

Your networking, planning and learning have equipped you with the tools to have a rewarding time overseas. Now, you should begin thinking about life after this journey. It may seem like you are heading from A to Z before even boarding the plane, but you may want to keep your eyes and ears open for ways that this experience can provide dividends long after it is over.

Consider thinking about the following questions:

• What do I expect to gain from this athletic experience?
• How can I utilize THIS experience to further my future athletic goals?
• Are there other ways that I can harness this experience to generate additional income?

If you have not created a written plan for your athletic career, these three questions can help you develop an outline that will get your wheels turning. More importantly, it will make you aware of the small actions that you can take during your experience abroad. These measures are sure to serve as a huge springboard for accomplishing your larger goals.
For instance, your unique slant on your athletic activities abroad can peak the interests of American print and new media journalists. Notifying these sources of your experiences, whether through blogging, vlogging, interviews and cool videos, can increase the awareness of your brand in the sports industry and serve as the foundation for cross-cultural consultant opportunities.

Within your athletic endeavor, there are unlimited opportunities. A commitment of hard work and service to others can leave a remarkable impression. These actions can be as simple as showing up to trainings early or offering to let teammates practice their English with you after a practice session. Who knows the playing, coaching or goodwill offers that will stem from these actions?

Additionally, the slightest inconvenience or fascination, with a local product or practice, can be a new stream of income in disguise. Don’t just look at them superficially. Turn those complaints and new discoveries into an export or import endeavor.
Sports is a business, and as an active participant, you owe it to yourself to make the most of your international endeavor. Immerse in your new culture with the assistance of a great support network. Invest in your athletic career and your new community by sharing your skills and talents. Tap into this life changing experience to uncover larger athletic opportunities and new streams of income.

Sports In Translation is now available as an electronic download for $3.99 on Amazon.com.

Sports In Translation (4): Advice for Soccer Players Going Abroad

It’s often said that 80% of our worries never come true. Unfortunately, it is easy for your imagination to run wild if you don’t have the exact answers to the questions that many people may ask you about your trip.

• Where will you be staying?
• What will you eat?
• What is the crime rate like there?
• What are you going to do in your spare time?
• Do you know anyone there?

Without a knowledge base, questions like these can have you visualizing a dark room, without running water, food or friends!

Creating a local support network is the foundation for crafting a daily routine that mirrors the best expectations that you want to come true. It is now time to harness the power of your imagination to make this experience, regardless of its length, uniquely your own. With that being said, take the time to ask yourself these basic questions.

• What are some of the things that I like to do in my spare time?
• What are some of the experiences that I would like to have?
• What are some of the foods that I like to eat?

You may find the three questions listed above a little unusual. However, a great way, to aid in your acclimation into a new environment and avoid long periods of feeling homesick, is to sprinkle your new experiences with a big dose of home.

If you take the time to look at my Facebook page, I am extremely open about my hobbies. Shopping for designer bargains, enjoying the beach, playing soccer and generally having a great time are high on my priority list. Therefore, these activities are experiences that I make a point to seek out when I train and play abroad.

After a few weeks of living in Rio, I was informed that a teammate and her husband owned a women’s boutique in Ipanema. It was a like a dream come true! Full of locally designed and produced apparel, I returned home with some absolutely fabulous finds.

While in Bermuda, our host made sure that I partied at all of the best clubs. I love great music, excellent company and lots of dancing. It was yet another activity that I love to do when I am at home, but it was new and exciting to attend parties and clubs in another country.

I provided you with those two examples so you can understand that your adventure can be what you make of it. Your international encounter can include familiar experiences, but within a new environment, they can take on a new perspective and energy that you may not be able to receive while in the United States.

Your fresh environment can provide you with entirely foreign encounters that can add color to your new routine. As you learn about your destination’s culture and from those in your network, you will be able to plan to participate in activities that may be of interest to you.

Regardless of your interests, there are more people just like you ready to take part. Your local contacts, social networking friends and athletic associates are excited and willing to share all of the one-of-a-kind aspects of their culture with you. All you have to is to make your interests known.

Prior to my departure, I make a few restaurant visits. There are just some dishes that I know I will not be able to find when I go abroad. However, there are some surefire ways to make your favorite snacks work double time for you. Upon closer inspection of my luggage bag, you are sure to find some cold candy bars, fruit snacks, trail mix, cereal bars and cracker packs. I get no greater feeling than watching foreign language television and eating a few handfuls of trail mix before bedtime!

The availability and export taxes levied on your favorite snacks are unpredictable. Bringing something as small as your favorite candy bar or non-perishable pack of snack crackers can go a long way in making you feel better during a moment of missing home.

I must confess that the first 14 days of my stay in Rio de Janeiro included a daily trip to the grocery store to purchase an American candy bar and soda. Although I rarely partake in these foods while at home, they seemed to be a welcome sight for sore eyes during my transition. Each time the cashier rang up my purchase, I couldn’t help but think about how much money I could’ve saved if I would’ve packed those candy bars in my bag. Now every time that I travel, I have a few on hand just in case!

Moreover, your snacks can serve as a diplomatic peace offering to your athletic associates and newfound friends. Finding room in your bag to add a few extra dry snacks to present as random gifts will bring smiles, gratitude and new conversation to any environment. It provides the recipient with an opportunity to experience a little taste of your culture.

My peanut butter crackers and fruit snacks are huge conversation pieces. After a long training session in Barranquilla, I passed a few packs to my trainer and the other footvolley players at the session. The unexpected treats helped to keep everyone’s hunger at bay during our long bus ride. Moreover, the “cookies” from America were a topic of conversation for many future training sessions!

Sports In Translation is now available as an electronic download for $3.99 on Amazon.com.

Picture of the Day: Milan FC (Accra, Ghana)

Our picture of the day was sent to us courtesy of Sneijder, a member of Milan FC in Accra, Ghana. Sneijder & company defeated their opponents 2-1 over the weekend. Congratulations lads!

If you want to submit images or video of your club in action, please send it to eatsoccer@gmail.com. All videos clips should be in the form of a Youtube link,and the footage should be 3 minutes or less.

Qatar Makes It Rain On FC Barcelona

Two weeks ago, the tiny nation of Qatar took the soccer world by storm with its host selection for the 2022 World Cup. The country’s proposal included financial investments in infrastructure that put its bidding committee in quite a class of its own.

Now the oil rich nation seems to be still hungry and on another soccer spending binge. This week a Qatar “foundation” was able to buy what many thought was the untouchable-the front of Barca’s shirt. The club was a lone outlier in not selling its most coveted piece of real estate. When other clubs took the cash, Barca went in the opposite direction and gave away cash to UNICEF for use of the organization’s name.

Barca had embodied it’s tag line of “more than just a club.” Now, the storied club may just become another impulse by for national investors that would to blow off steam, spend some cash and turn the global soccer community on its ear.

A Winter 2022 World Cup In Qatar? Beckenbaur Proposes Alternatives

According to Goal.com,"Franz Beckenbauer has confessed that he would like to see World Cup 2022, which has been awarded to Qatar, staged in January and February.

Concerns have been raised from several quarters about the intense summer heat of the Arab state, and the former Bayern Munich and Germany star has echoed those suggesting that one way around the problem would be to play the competition in the winter.

“We should think about a solution in January and February. There will be pleasant temperatures around 25°C,” the member of Fifa’s executive committee explained to Bild on Saturday morning. “Why would it not be? The calendars of the major European leagues should be changed in 2022. It would not have too great an impact and would represent an alternative to the enormous expense of providing cool spaces and stadiums for fans.”

Beckenbauer also expressed his surprise that Australia was eliminated in the first round of bidding for the competition, a sentiment he echoed with regard to England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup, which was ultimately handed to Russia."

In other Beckenbaur news, the German legend has announced that he will be stepping down from his FIFA Executive committee post in March. He cites personal reasons fo his departured. German football federation chief, Theo Zwanziger is going to run for the post.

US Virgin Islands' Bold Soccer Move

Investing in a midlevel Italian soccer club would not be up for discussion by many towns on the opposite side of the globe. However, the recent legislative showdown in the US Virgin Islands could prove to serve as a case study for many tourist towns. On September 20th, Senator Wayne A.G. James garned enough support to override the governor’s veto on legislation that would provide a $50,000 sponsorship to the Montescudaio football club.
This legislative landmark had its humble beginnings with the suggestion of Italian architect Alessandro Sonetti. He had mutual friends in government in the Italian village of Montescudaio and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Consequently, he proposed the formation of twin city alliance. A formal ceremony was held in the town of Montescudaio and while attending the ceremony, Senator Wayne A.G. James conceived a brilliant idea to put forth a sponsorship deal for the local soccer club.
With the statistics to support his idea, Senator James realized that this move would be an amazing marketing effort to capture a larger share one of his nation’s most coveted imports-Italian tourists. Traditionally, Italian tourists arrived during the low season, visited the island nation longer and patronized its top end establishments.
When word of the pending sponsorship first hit the media waves in early August, the US Virgin Islands receive millions of dollars of free publicity. It was reported in Times Square, the Vatican’s FM station and Yahoo! Finance. Now that the legislation has passed, Senator James can claim a victory for his idea and his country’s bottom line.

Equatorial Guinea Soccer Makes History: 2010 Youth Olympics

How often do we hear about Equatorial Guinea's soccer program?

The Spanish speaking, African nation has made quite a name for itself at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Its women's team recently defeated Iran, and headed to the finals to face off with Chile.

A double boost for the nation. The success of the women's team has peaked the interest of the nation's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and National President of the Youth Federation of the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE), Nguema Obiang Mangue. He has been attending and supporting the women's soccer matches at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games in an effort to promote and support culture and sports in his country.

Keep a close eye on team captain, Judit Ndong and her squad. Despite their defeat on yesterday to Chile 4-1, I don't think this is the last that we have heard of them.

MobiTv Let's You Watch the Match on the Go

I love the Internet, and, with sites such as Ustream and Justin.tv, I can view live matches right on my laptop. No more televisions for me!

However, I can’t take the laptop everywhere, and there were quite a few times during World Cup 2010 that I had to miss a few matches because I was out and about.
Well, I know that I wasn’t alone, and Mobitv has created the perfect solution. The company brings live content to a broad range of mobile devices. This past summer they provided a large number of American soccer fans with the opportunity to view 100 million minutes of World Cup soccer coverage.

I perused Mobitv’s blog today, and I noticed that they give their customers a heads up on the live sports programming for each week. If you are a Premier League fan, you can catch Arsenal vs. Blackpool on Saturday at 7:00 a.m. courtesy of ESPN Mobile.

Craig Johnston's Martydom: Issues Open Letter About Jabulani

A few hours ago I finished watching the movie Pelham 123, which stars Denzel Washington and John Travlota. It was a thrilling storyline where Garber (Denzel makes a dangerous choice to pursue Ryder (Travolta).

Former Liverpool player and inventor of the highest selling soccer boot of all times (Predator), Craig Johnston is engaging in his own Pelham 123. Johnston believes that the horribly perfect Jabulani ball must be destroyed, and he is willing to risk reputation and FIFA blacklisting, if it can preserve the beautiful game. Take a read of his open letter to President Blatter which was distributed via Leaders In Football:

"OPEN LETTER TO BLATTER ON JABULANI BALL"
4:37pm Thursday, 8th July 2010


Dear Mr Blatter,

If a sponsor came into your office before the World Cup and said. ' We are going to give you a new, perfectly round match ball...the players wont like it at all...and there will be more mistakes made than in any other World Cup...'

'There will be less goals scored...less free kicks scored...less passes complete...less control by players....and roughly 70% of crosses and shots on goal will miss wide and go way over the crossbar...'

What would you say to them..?

My name is Craig Johnston. I am risking my reputation and goodwill within certain football circles by writing this open letter to yourself and anybody else who is interested in the Jabulani ball issue and why its endorsement by FIFA could ruin the game as we now know it.

I am however not only writing with the problem, but also an easy solution to the problem...

I am a former football player with Liverpool Football Club in England, and I am also known for inventing the adidas Predator football boot, the adidas Traxion sole system...and the research and testing done on previous World Cup footballs.

I am a big supporter of the FIFA Goal initiatives, and we have met many times over the years, on various football issues. I have also presented to you, the executive committee and the FIFA Technical team many innovations in football and specifically youth development over the years.

I am therefore writing to you as a friend of football, a friend of FIFA. I am also writing to you as someone who actually knows what they are talking about when it comes to World Cup footballs and their flight characteristics.

A lot of things have been said and written about the new Jabulani Ball...but the word disaster is on a lot of players and managers lips...

Pazzini -Italy "The Balls are a disaster, both for goalkeepers and for attackers."

David James-England " Dreadful and Horrible..."

Fabio Capello-Manager England " The worst Ball I have ever seen."

It is very alarming that the best players and teams in the world are struggling to control this ball to their own satisfaction.

What is even more alarming than the players' assessment of the 'bad ball', however, are the statistics of ' bad play'.

What this means to the quality of this tournament in South Africa is quite shocking.

The statistics are showing that it is the worst passing, shooting and controlling of the ball of any World Cup in history of the competition.

That cannot be ignored...and it cannot be fixed up later..as we are being told..

The problems with this ball will not go away and they need to be understood by the FIFA Technical department and addressed immediately...before there are any more on field disasters.

I know you and FIFA are under pressure at the moment. The issues such as Goal Line Technology and poor refereeing decisions are not as important compared to the Jabulani Ball issue and the poor quality of play that it is causing.

There was a furious global public reaction to Frank Lampard's goal against Germany that was denied by the officials...

By my calculations we have been denied at least 10 more goals that were not scored in this World Cup so far, because of the erratic and unstable flight of the Jabulani football..but nobody is jumping up and down...yet...!

Who is taking responsibility for denying us these goals and bits of magic?

To get a goalmouth call wrong and make a mistake happens once or twice a year.

To get the actual football itself wrong, affects every single touch, pass or shot that a player makes, in every single game.

And there are an awful lot of mistakes happening at this showcase tournament.

Daniel Agger-Denmark- Dead Ball expert "It makes world Class players look like drunken sailors"

The erratic behavior of this ball is ruining the flow of the game and downgrading the quality of play.

This is an absolute disaster for the purists...and it cannot continue in this manner.

Just listen to the players ....just look at the statistics...they are very very damning of this ball.

Robinho-Brazil "The guy who designed this never played Football."

The fact is that the Jabulani ball with its new materials and new construction methods simply does not behave in the same predictable aerodynamic manner as the old ball we have all been using perfectly well for 40 years previously...

The players are all saying that the Jubalani has a mind of its own...

I have a trained eye and have been watching these things for years. If you watch carefully, and know what you're looking for, you can see it move erratically, even on television...

I have seen hundreds of basic trajectory miscalculations so far in this World Cup where the ball usually ends up going out of play. Surprisingly, nobody has made a big deal out of it yet...but football people who really watch for the art and craft are starting to notice...like the players...like the managers...like the purists...like the statisticians...its all starting to add up.

I have outlined the more scientific reasons for the balls unpredictable behavior in a separate section below...please read it and you will understand the problem immediately....then count the on-field mistakes...

In short, the new ball does not translate a lot of the backspin, topspin or sidespin...all of the special language that a player normally applies to a ball to make it behave properly in the air.

Why is this so important...?

This language is the real art and craft of the footballer and of the game..

This is what we really pay all of our money to see. This is what makes these guys so different from us...this special language is the genius.

Asking players to Shoot or pass with this new Jabulani ball is like asking Picasso to paint a picture without bristles on his brush...to paint without the usual texture and without all of the feeling...

I have spent 3 weeks in South Africa at the World Cup and I have seen the Jabulani ball move more than 2 feet in the air in some instances when it is not supposed to move in the air. I have also seen the ball go absolutely straight at other times when clearly the player has tried to put a bend on it of 2 feet or more.

Luis Fabiano-Brazil "All of a sudden it changes trajectory on you...I think it is Supernatural.."

Unfortunately the ball is also very nervous and jumpy to the touch when controlling it close to the body and when dribbling it.

Julio Cesar- Goalkeeper Brazil "A Ball you would buy in a Supermarket..."

So the ball is a disaster... and because of it there have been many mistakes...more than any World Cup ever...I really believe that FIFA cannot continue to endorse this ball...

Why...?

Because by endorsing this ball, FIFA are endorsing every mistake that that has been made by the players using it during this World Cup...

By endorsing this ball, FIFA are endorsing the removal of the players' art and craft at the very top end.

The most frightening thing however is that by endorsing this ball, FIFA are allowing a sponsor to alter the very dynamics of how the game is played... and for the worse. Not just in this competition, but going forward...into schools and youth leagues the world over..

Players are very clever and are adapting already technically and tactically to the balls idiosyncrasies...

The German team knew exactly what they were doing when their goalkeeper kicked the ball deep into the edge of the England Penalty box, up and over the English defense for an unchallenged 1st goal. No other ball could ever have traveled that far...

That is also called Route One Football and soon everyone will be doing it because the ball is encouraging it...

To change the dynamics and the craft of the game like this is not a call that a vested interest sponsor should be allowed to make...they have got it horribly wrong already...

Mr. Blatter, I know you are horrified about the poor play because I know you are a football man. We have heard the excuses from FIFA but who is really making these critical footballing decisions about the players craft..?

The governing body of a sport needs to be independent from the sponsors products. FIFA should have been far more diligent in their own tests....and should have binned the Jabulani ball before the competition..

This is what a very respected goalkeeper said a week before the competition started.

Tim Howard-USA Goalkeeper "It's tragic that you're going to see good players look foolish. Defenders are having a tough time judging it, strikers are having a tough time judging crosses as well and for goalkeepers it's murder so what can we do?''

"I think you're going to see some really weird and unfortunate goals.''

From day one I have been saying that there is a simple solution and back up plan for this World Cup. You can easily apply exactly the same Jubalani ball graphics onto the traditional construction of your sponsor's previous Buckminster construction World Cup balls.

Two of the best footballs ever made were made by your sponsors...The Fevernova and the Tricolor Ball from the Asian World Cup and French World Cup's respectively...

The normal Buckminster construction has given us every glorious moment of football we can ever recall...

As players and as fans...it set the standard for the very craft and soul of the game...it has proven reliable, predictable...dependable...

This new Jabulani ball is unnatural, unpredictable, unreliable ... and it is totally unacceptable how this ball has been endorsed by FIFA for this tournament and going forward..

The sponsors and FIFA marketing seem to be the tail that has been wagging the FIFA dog...and so far they have got away with it...

The only people that can make the call to radically change the dynamics of the ball and therefore the game itself.... are the players....

And no....not the players that are already being paid by the sponsors...!

For me, probably the post prophetically damning statement about the Jabulani ball comes from the English midfielder Joe Cole.

"It took a bit of skill out of the game...but it's the same for everybody."

Wow...what an unbelievably sad statement...

I am not employed by anyone...and I am not looking for a job...I also know I won't make any new friends at FIFA, in-fact, I will probably be blacklisted, but it's a price I am willing to pay.

I owe it to the game to speak up...so does anyone that believes in skill and craft as the ultimate attributes for a footballer.

Mr Blatter, and FIFA...this has been a fabulous World Cup in many many ways, and you all need to be congratulated.

I am sure that the ball designers, manufacturers, sponsors and testers of the Jabulani ball will not have been as honest and straight with you as I have in this letter....and that is the big problem.

But why would they...?

They are making hundreds of millions of dollars already out of this perfectly round football..

So, having had the benefit of understanding the problem, I will ask you the simple question one more time...

If a sponsor came into your office before the World Cup and said... 'We are going to give you a new, perfectly round match ball...the players wont like it at all....and there will be more mistakes made than in any other World Cup...'

'There will be less goals scored...less free kicks scored.....less passes complete....less control by players....and roughly 70% of crosses and shots on goal will miss wide and over the crossbar...'

What would you say to them..?

Craig Johnston, Ex Footballer with Middlesbrough FC and Liverpool FC England

France's Long Shot to Round 16: One Fan Copes

With a recent loss to Mexico and a tie with Uruguay, the French have found themselves as quite a longshot for the Round of 16. Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka must have saw it coming because he cursed his way back to an early flight at the order of the French Football Federation.

Disappointment like this can bring out the worst in people. However, there is another reaction that French fans can draw from. Checkout one of their fellow supporters coping with France's predicament while attending the Midsummer Music Festival in Atlanta, GA.

What's All the Noise? The Sounds of the Vuvuzelas

I have been receiving lots of phone calls and emails from friends who are complaining about the "buzzing" noise that is serving as the background music for all of the 2010 matches.

It is the vuvuzela. The Vuvuzela is a long, plastic horn that is blown in stadiums all throughout South Africa by football (soccer) fans. They have been associated with occasionally producing noise-induced hearing loss.

So...what is one to learn from this? It is a unchangeable variable in this year's competition--but for fans of other sports it maybe yet another useful tool to incorporate into your taunting arsenal for away games!

To purchase your vuvuzela, go to Eurosport.

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.

Soccer In The Streets Heads to South Africa

In case you missed the latest episode of Eat Soccer Radio, we had the good fortune of haveing Jill Robbins, Executive Director of Soccer In the Streets, join us. She provided some invaluable information for those listeners who want to begin grassroots soccer programming in their area of the world. Also, she let everyone know that a delegation from their program will receive a once-in-a-lifetime experience to participate in 2010 World Cup programming in South Africa. A journey that far doesn't come without a NICE price tag so pitch in and help these deserving youth on their transatlantic voyage! Click here to learn more about SITS and submit your donation.

P.S. To listen to the interview with Jill Robbins, click on the audio player above.

BBVA Compass Wants Soccer Aces

Who wants their big shot to play in Europe? On April 10th, you can seize the opportunity in Houston, Texas. Houston Baptist University will be the site for pro soccer hopefuls who want to land a spot on the new reality show entitled Soccer Aces.

Soccer Aces is an international reality show that seeks to discover talented players from around the world who dream of becoming future soccer stars. The show will include up-and coming players as well as older, more experienced players who have not been able to break into the professional arena.

Selected finalists will travel to La Academia in Spain where they will live and train together as if they were actual members of a professional soccer team.
Sponsored by BBVA Compass, the winner will receive a tryout with a BBVA club in Europe. For those who want to participate, click here. The show will be broadcast on GolTV in May.

Bafana Beats Me to Brazil

In the midst of taking care of a few loose ends for an upcoming trip to Brazil, I happened to learn that Bafana Bafana is doing its World Cup 2010 preparations in Teresopolis! The selection of the Brazilian training ground, which serves as a training site for the Brazilian sides, only makes perfect sense because this is the home turf of Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.

Having a good dose of Teresopolis high altitude, mixed with the energetic environment of Joga Bonito, will serve South Africa’s national side well. The team has several practice matches scheduled with area clubs Volta Redonda, Boavista, Fluminense, Cruzeiro and Botafogo.

Want an Upgrade? Visa & Abbey International Offer World Cup 2010 Trip

Already a worldwide FIFA partner, Visa is joining forces with Abbey International to offer its clients the opportunity to receive (2) tickets to the FIFA World Cup Final, pre-match hospitality,(3) nights stay at a 4 star hotel and GBP 1,500 towards return flights.
To throw your name in the pot, you must apply or request an upgrade to a Visa Platinum or Visa Infinite deferred-debit card, available with the Abbey International Gold account. The contest concludes on April 30, 2010.

T-Mobile Launches Nokia 5230 Nuron with FIFA Contest

T-Mobile USA is throwing its hat into the FIFA World Cup 2010 bonfire with a contest for its customers. It recently launched a national campaign called El Llamado del Futbol (The Calling of Soccer) which will give soccer fans a chance to win one of 10 trips for two to South Africa.

During the period of March 3-April 19, customers will have the opportunity to submit their names of hopes of landing to an all-expense-paid trip for two to South Africa in June for a five-night, six-day experience of a lifetime. To enter the contest, click on the El Llamado de Futbol hyperlink.

You can submit an entry daily, and entry will count toward the final drawing of the sweepstakes promotion.

In addition to this contest, T-Mobile will be providing FIFA merchandise, mobile content and opportunities to meet soccer legends at its retail locations. These events will be in conjunction with the release of the Nokia Nuron. To keep a tab on T-Mobile soccer events in your area, make sure you check the T-Mobile El Llamado del Futbol campaign web site.

More chances to go to South Africa-I love it!

Chop Down the Phone Tree with RainedOut

It’s the day of the big soccer game, and the weather is less than ideal. Is the game on or not?

One dad’s frustration with calling the league hotline prompted a brilliant idea-RainedOut.

RainedOut is a free service that allows coaches and club directors to notify parents and players via text of game cancellations, field changes, volunteer requests or last minute details. Messages can be sent to phones or social network profiles.

If you are the chief organizer for your club’s activities, make sure you take a look at RainedOut before the spring season gets started. It could save everyone a lot of time and frustration.