The 2010 World Cup to be hosted by South Africa will leave the legacy of security in the country and of pride on the continent, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Monday.
There will be a double legacy. There will be the one in South Africa. There will be extremely tight security. We hope that this security will be maintained after the World Cup in order to ensure that we have left a legacy, he said in an interview to mark 500 days to go to the event.
The other legacy is for the whole of Africa. We want them to be proud and be able to say we Africans have organised the world s most important sporting event: the FIFA World Cup, Blatter said in the exclusive interview to FIFA.com, copies of which were were released here.
We have to trust in the African ability …
Juventus will be going for a record-extending ninth successive Serie A title in 2019-20 and new coach Maurizio Sarri can begin plotting after the Old Lady s fixtures for the new campaign were revealed on Monday.
The Bianconeri strolled to league success last term, finishing 11 points clear of Napoli after looking in control at the summit for much of the campaign.
Nevertheless, that was not enough to keep Massimiliano Allegri in the job, as the coach and Juve s hierarchy opted to end their five-year association, with some arguing it was due to another Champions League failure.
Juve brought in Sarri just a year after he left bitter rivals Napoli for Chelsea and they have further strengthened their squad, winning the race for Matthijs de Ligt, while also signing Adr…
Barcelona suffered their first LaLiga defeat of the season after going down 4-2 against Osasuna at Estadio El Sadar.
Ante Budimir scored twice, while Bryan Zaragoza and substitute Abel Bretones were also on target for the hosts, who claimed their first league win over the Blaugrana in nine attempts.
Osasuna were unbeaten in their six previous home league games and took an 18th-minute lead when Budimir nodded home from Zaragoza s cross.
The latter, who is on loan from Bayern Munich, doubled the advantage 10 minutes later when he rounded off a swift counter.
Pau Victor halved the deficit eight minutes after the restart, but Budimir s 72nd-minute penalty put the hosts back in control, before Bretones made it 4-1 with seven minutes remaining.
Lamine Y…
Blackburn Rovers have seen themselves move up the table to relative safety this side of Christmas whilst Chelsea are just two points off the pace in the Premierleague, and desperately need a result to bounce back from the disappointment of losing out to Jose Mourinho s Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Sam Allardyce has created a team that is very difficult to beat, and particularly so at home. Four home wins on the trot is testament to this and their home form has arguably stopped them being in the middle of a relegation dogfight right now. That being said, I don t think they are infallible at home and they face a very stern test from a Chelsea side smarting from the loss to their former manager. Allardyce will be relieved that he has managed to guide his team to safety, bu…
England have been hit with a two-game stadium ban – one of which is deferred for two years – as punishment for the crowd trouble inside and outside Wembley Stadium during their Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
July s clash, which Italy won on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra-time, was overshadowed by serious disturbances as ticketless supporters fought with stewards in an attempt to enter the stadium.
UEFA opened an investigation into the matter in August and announced on Monday that England must play their next match in UEFA competition behind closed doors, which is expected to be their opening 2022-23 Nations League game.
The Three Lions have also been fined £84,500 (€100,000) for the fans disorder, which also included invading the pitch, thr…
On this day in 2014, Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli was suspended and fined after making racist and anti-Semitic comments on social media.
The then 24-year-old was was banned for one match, fined £25,000 and ordered to attend an education course following an independent regulatory commission hearing after accepting an aggravated breach of the Football Association Rule E3, relating to references of ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality or religion or belief.
Italy international Balotelli was charged after posting an image of computer game character Super Mario on Instagram which included the words “jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew”.
He quickly deleted the post and the following day issued an apology via his Twitter account.
Balo…
It’s a moment we’ve all experienced. You meet up with an old friend a few years after graduation, only to realize that while you have your life fairly put together, they are yet to grow up. That’s the situation we have in the Meadowlands on Sunday, as two perennial poster boys for NFL dysfunction meet, with one of the two having finally grown up.
The 5-2, AFC-leading Cincinnati Bengals visit the 1-5 New York Jets who, despite hitting the reset button, appear more adrift than ever. NFL betting lines have Cincinnati as a 10.5-point favorite but is that still giving New York too much credit?
Find out with our best free picks and predictions for Bengals vs. Jets.
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The now-infamous overtime loss to Las Vegas in Week 18 can serve as a stepping stone for the Los Angeles Chargers, entering Year 2 under head coach Brandon Staley.
It was a massively missed opportunity and has the potential to be a chip on the shoulder of this young and exciting team. That said, the Bolts’ floundering in the finale wasn’t a one-off. The Chargers botched spots against Houston and Denver and lost in OT to Kansas City in the weeks leading up to that season-ending result, perpetuating the culture of collapsing that has hung over this franchise for years.
The talent is there to flip the script in L.A. and get the Chargers to the postseason. Los Angeles’ stars rival those shining on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with Justin Herbert a…
The Green Bay Packers will get their first chance to play at Lambeau Field this summer as they host the New England Patriots tonight in preseason action.
Green Bay (1-0) opened its preseason schedule with a 36-19 win against the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend. New England (0-1) lost its exhibition opener 20-9 at home against the Houston Texans last Thursday.
The Patriots appear likely to give their first-team offense a bit more run in the second game of the preseason, which could improve upon their anemic production against the Texans. We’ll break down the game in our free NFL picks and predictions for Patriots vs Packers on August 19.
Patriots vs Packers odds
Patriots vs Packers predictions
The Gr…
Few players has been under more scrutiny this season than Bryce Young, whose early season failures have mirrored those of the Carolina Panthers. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has already been picked off seven times during his rookie campaign and his QBR of 29.5 is the worst among all starting quarterbacks in the NFL. If ever there was a time for him to break loose, it’s on Thursday Night Football against the woebegone Chicago Bears.
Chicago has lost its last two games and has given up the second most points of any team in the NFC. The bruised and battered Bears are ripe for the taking, and Young could just be the QB to bring them down.
While there are a number of different subscription-based TV channels and streaming services available to watch this gam…