Asia backs England to host World Cup

by

Asia backs England to host World Cup It does appear that the ‘soccer wars’ will be heating up in the coming months before FIFA announces the winner of the bidding to host the 2018 World Cup.  The announcement will come in December, and until then the race is on.

England got a boost from Mohammed Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation, with his comments in an article for the Premier League’s season review.

Bin Hammam praised the League’s work with the Asian soccer community, referencing coaching clinics in India and speakers from the English league who share their knowledge at AFC seminars.  He certainly gave the strong impression that he’ll cast his vote for England in December.

However, it’s going to take more than the Asian vote to land the World Cup on British soil for the first time since 1966.  Since this year’s win by Spain, the Spanish contingent, in a joint bid with Portugal, is focusing on the challenge with renewed vigour, but Russia and the U.S. are both strong contenders, and both have a lot of positives to offer in the venue department.

Depending on who you’re listening to at any given time, the odds on the favourite keep changing, and there may be even more surprises before the winner is declared.

Scottish football looking to move forward

by

Scottish football looking to move forward Craig Levein and Stewart Regan will sit down together in an effort to create a foolproof plan for the SFA that will help to increase the national side fortunes back to their former glory.

Regan is the new chief executive of the SFA and has reviewed the Henry McLeish report as a start in his work to make Scotland a powerful force in the world of football once again.  He replaced Gordon Smith as Chief back in April and has set his sights on finding resources and funding to make McLeish’s recommendations a reality.

Regan has a strong background in both sporting and business with previous work experience at the Yorkshire County Cricket Club and with the Football League.

However, even with his background Regan is aware of the fact that he has a large amount of work in front of him as he attempts to win back fans that are tired of the national team’s exploits and the current status of the game.

He stated that he is aware of the fact that acceptance of football and of him in the lead position will not happen overnight and that he plans to talk with Levein in regards to what the best way to bring football success to Scotland will be.

The last time that Scotland qualified to play in an international tournament was the France World Cup in 1998, twelve years ago.  As each year passes it becomes harder to get into a qualifier since the country loses its seeding and ranking.

Tony Pulis says clubs pay players too much

by

Tony Pulis says clubs pay players too much Boss of the Stoke City club, Tony Pulis, has commented in the past that some of the Premier Leagues clubs spend a ridiculous amount of money on wages, although he added that good luck to players that manage to get the wages if the clubs are willing to pay it out.

Pulis went on to say that the football industry is now all about glamour and if many of the rumoured wages are true then it is just absurd.

So far, Pulis has only signed one person to the team, Florent Cuvelier a teenager from Portsmouth that finished 11th in the League during 2009.

On the other side of the spectrum, Manchester City has spent the most this summer dishing out £20m to obtain high profile players such as Yaya Toure and David Silva.

It is claimed that Toure earned about £200,000 every week at Eastlands.

Pulis also said that he is tired of Stoke being marked as targets for transfer and has decided to halt signing any new players to the team.  He said that as of yet they have been linked with 138 different players and for now will just sit back as they have actually not been linked with any players that have made their shortlist.

The Stoke boss also stated that the best deals usually happen during the transfer window and so they are happy to sit back and wait for the deals they want to become available.

FA slashes England ticket prices

by

FA officials reduced the prices of the upcoming Hungary match on August 11th after the disappointing performance of England at the World Cup.

With the support for the team ebbing and the 2012 European Championship qualification hanging over them, the FA has stated that they may need to continue to reduce ticket prices in order to win fans back on their side after they were left disappointed, frustrated, and angry by the South Africa performance.

An FA spokesman commented that they have not rejected any ideas to make sure that as many England fans as possible are able to attend the Wembley matches.  The spokesman added that hopefully they will be able to restore the positive enthusiasm that was seen before South Africa, which will spur on some positive results in terms of stadium attendance.

FA slashes England ticket prices Tickets have already gone on sale for the qualifications campaign for England Euro 2012 set against Bulgaria on September 3rd but the FA is still exploring ways to make sure that their side of the stadium fills up which may damage the bid for the World Cup 2018.

The FA spokesman stated they are approaching the problem on a game by game basis, with tickets available for Bulgaria game right now but the possibility of price adjustments for future qualifiers.

The Football Supporters’ Federation on the other hand believes that the key to getting supporters back is the head coach of England, Fabio Capello which will help promote the team’s image.

Thierry Henry Endorses Reebok ZigTech

by

Thierry Henry Endorses Reebok ZigTech Coming soon to a sports shop near you, Reebok ZigTech is the training shoe designed to help athletes run further and faster for longer with less fatigue.

French footballer Thierry Henry was spotted championing the new ZigTech range alongside Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton at the US Reebok launch in March.

The two raced one another across a zig-zagging assault course, putting their Reebok ZigTech trainers to the test as they swang from ropes, ran up travelators and through obstacles.

Once the roaring crowd had quietened down, Reebok explained the ideas behind their ZigTech trainers and their unusual Zig sole unit.

Designed as a training aid, Reebok ZigTech is a new range of athletic shoes inspired by the energy transfer of a slinky. The concept is for the energy generated at heel strike to ripple down the zigs in the ZigTech sole, through the stride and providing extra power when the wearer pushes off with their toes, propelling them forward faster.

So the combination of extreme cushioning and efficient energy transfer takes the focus away from shock absorption and into forward momentum. And because key leg muscles are being used purely for running and not taking the impact of the athlete’s feet hitting the floor, it’s possible to run further and faster for longer with less fatigue and a reduced chance of injury.

The Reebok ZigTech is already being worn by Reebok sponsored athletes to enhance their training sessions and will be coming to the UK very soon.