Vuvuzela South Africa

Well we know how the Final Draw turned out – terrible for South Africa but here are the groups for the 2010 World Cup, in case anyone doesn’t know yet. And the Official Match Schedule.

France and Uruguay are two former World Cup winners and Mexico is known as a very strong team, but South Africa will have to rely on the wide experience of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and the passion and skill of Bafana Bafana if we want to avoid the humiliation of becoming the first host team in World Cup history to get knocked out in the first round.

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

South Africa’s Matches

11 June 2010 4.00 pm South Africa v Mexico at Soccer City, Johannesburg
16 June 2010 8.30 pm South Africa v Uruguay at Loftus Versveld, Pretoria
26 June 2010 4.00 pm South Africa v France at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
26 June 2010 4.00 pm Winner Group A v Runner Up Group B at Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth
27 June 2010 8.30 pm Runner up Group A v Winner Group B at Soccer City, Johannesburg

Matches at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban

Sunday  13 June Group D Germany v Australia
Wednesday 16 June Group H Spain v Switzerland
Saturday 19 June Group E Netherlands v Japan
Tuesday 22 June Group B Nigeria v South Korea
Friday 25 June Group G Portugal v Brazil
Monday 28 June Round of 16 Winner Group E v Runner Up Group F
Wednesday 7 July Semi Final Winner Quarter Final B v Quarter Final D

Official Match Schedule of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

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Well, now we know – Adidas’ Jabulani (Happiness) is the new Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Match Ball – and it was carried on to the stage at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last night by South Africa’s Oscar winning  star, Charlize Theron.

Jabulani – 11 Colours

Jabulani has 11 colors honouring each of South Africa’s eleven official languages, the 11 match ball, and the 11 players on the field. The Jabulani has only eight thermally bonded panels, which makes the ball a perfect sphere and ensures accuracy. Jabulani is  Adidas’ 11th Official World Cup Match Ball and will become part of the history of famous match balls.

Grip ‘n Groove Technology

Adidas said that its new Grip’n’Groove technology enabled a more stable flight and the goosebumps on the ball’s surface provided players with a perfect grip under all conditions. With only eight thermally bonded panels, which are spherically molded, the ball is perfectly round and more accurate.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Match Schedule

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The day we have all been waiting for has arrived. The Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will take place this evening at 7pm (local time) at the International Convention Center in Cape Town.

Taking place on a huge wooden stage with a typically African backdrop, the Final Draw will be preceded by a ceremony featuring a series of speeches and a dazzling array of live music and dance performances.

32 Tiny Balls

Once the evening’s colourful entertainment is over, however, the audience’s attention will turn to four glass bowls containing 32 tiny little balls, which will carry the hopes and fears and dreams of millions of fans.

This final draw will be the last major event before the actual 2010 World Cup kicks off in June 2010.

World Cup Host Cities

Tonight we will know who plays whom and where the various teams will play. Coaches and team management will be able to finalise their living arrangements and those that have not done so yet will be able to confirm host cities.

Official World Cup Match Ball

For me, one of the more interesting events this evening will be the announcement of the Official Match Ball. We have been playing with the Adidas Kopanya – the Confederations Cup ball since that event.

Group of Death

Eish! And the legendary Group of Death? As underdogs, South Africans are hoping and praying that our national team, which hasn’t been performing well at all, will not only avoid the group of death, but will get a favourable draw. Maybe our lovely Oscar winner, Charlize Theron, will bring Bafana Bafana luck tonight.

How the Draw Could Play Out

According to Fifa .com Bafana Bafana are one of the seeded teams and will be in good company in Pot 1, where they will be joined by five former winners of the competition with 15 wins between them: Brazil (5), Italy (4), Germany (3), Argentina (2) and England (1). Completing the elite octet are Spain and Netherlands.

France and Uruguay, the two other former champions, will be feeling slightly more nervous about their prospects ahead of the big night. The illustrious duo only scraped their way into the finals at the last minute following close-fought play-off matches and subsequently find themselves in Pot 4 and 3 respectively.

Africa’s Hopes

In addition to the hosts, five other African teams will be hoping to avoid a tough draw to increase their chances of impressing on their home continent. Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria are all back in the finals after absences of varying lengths, while Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are both making immediate returns.

188 Days to go!

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It seems to happen every time, no matter how they do the final draw – there always is a group of death. This is when more big-name contenders are placed in a group than there are places in the knockout rounds.

One Group with Many Favourites

We have seen that previous World Cup draws have almost always thrown up at least one section brimming with pre-tournament favourites, and when after the first phase, is over, one or two of them invariably find themselves packing for home.

So, we wait with anticipation for the media to label one of the  groups the ‘Group of Death’ tonight, (Friday evening)  after the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa  which takes place in Cape Town at 7 pm local time.

Read more about the Group of Death

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The coaches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup teams have started arriving in South Africa ahead of Friday’s final draw.
The much-anticipated draw will determine the groups and matches for the tournament’s first round and everybody wants to avoid the legendary “group of death.”

Diego Maradona was Banned

All but one of the 32 coaches will attend the event – Argentina’s controversial Diego Maradona was banned.

According to the FIFA South Africa 2010 website, South Africa’s Academy Award winner Charlize Theron will be the guest presenter assisting FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke during the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on Friday, 4 December 2009 (19.00 local time/CET+1).

David Beckham, Haile Gebrselassie, Makhaya Ntini, Matthew Booth and John Smit

They will be joined on stage by a star-studded line-up of sports celebrities, including football star David Beckham (England), one of only a few players to score in at least three consecutive FIFA World Cups, Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine-time athletics world champion, Makhaya Ntini, the first black player in the South African cricket team,  John Smit, the captain of rugby world champions South Africa and Bafana Bafana player Matthew Booth.

Madiba  – Video Message

Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, one of the architects of the first African World Cup, will address the audience by video message.

The Final Draw -  Live to 200 Million People

The Final Draw will be beamed live to an estimated audience of more than 200 million people in more than 200 territories. It has attracted unprecedented worldwide interest and an onsite presence of 2,000 invited guests and more than 1,700 media representatives.

It has taken a year of preparations, 3,600 hours of manpower and 5,000 hours of production to put together the draw show from the stage to the actual performances

World Cup Trophy Arrived

The Solid Gold World Cup Trophy arrived in Cape Town after an extensive roadshow on its tour of Africa.

The solid gold trophy has toured almost all the countries in Africa since September and arrived from Lesotho on Tuesday amid tight security at Cape Town International Airport.

The World Cup Trophy will stay in the Cape Town until after the World Cup final draw on Friday. The trophy tour, which started its journey from the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich on September 21, will travel around the world before arriving back in South Africa on May 4, 2010. The total distance the tour will travel is 134 017 kilometres or more than three times the circumference of Earth.

Photos: David Beckham and Charlize Theron, Celebrity Presenters at the Final Draw. Fifa.com

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