Hodgson contradicts himself over John Terry

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Roy Hodgson, the manager of England’s national football team, seemed to contradict himself recently in his views that football fans and players should be more Olympian in their outlook, then following that by saying that John Terry should be let off lightly after his abuse of Anton Ferdinand.

Hodgson was impressed with the way in which the Team GB athletes conducted themselves and said that the atmosphere they performed in gave mainstream sports, including football, food for thought. He saw London 2012 as a wake-up call that the hatred and abuse suffered by footballers is not necessary.

There was little abuse suffered by the Olympic athletes. It was reported that Hodgson believes the Olympic athletes set a new benchmark which should be adopted in football and other major team sports which expect to be under the spotlight.

He went on to reflect on the tribalism which is often on show during football matches and said that the public who watched the Community Day were very different to that which were in Olympic Stadium. Following his statements about how players and fans should be more Olympian he said that he hoped John Terry would be cleared of his racial abuse charge by the FA so that he would be able to play for England, thus trampling over his noble sentiments.

During July’s court case Terry was found not guilty of the charge that he racially abused Anton Ferdinand from QPR. He now faces a charge from the Football Association after he was caught on camera launching expletives and insults at Ferdinand during the game. This is something that the likes of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah have never been accused of

More comparisons made between the Olympics and professional football

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Critics say that football, with its millionaire players and age restrictions, does not sit well with the ideals of the Olympic Games. Also being criticised is the fact that the World Cup was so much bigger than the Olympic tournament.

However FIFA, the governing body of world football, have issued positive figures claiming that after the men’s quarter finals had been played, 1,230,818 spectators would have watched the 28 matches.

The average attendance at the matches has been 43,958, which is higher than at Beijing’s Olympics and only slightly behind Los Angeles’ average of 44,488. Huge crowds are expected at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Old Trafford in Manchester and Wembley Stadium in London which will increase the average – also the funds which go to the organisers of the London Games

The women’s tournament has so far attracted an attendance of 480,206, with four more matches (Coventry, Old Trafford and two at Wembley) to go. Tuesday’s Wembley match between Team GB and Brazil enjoyed an attendance of 70,584 – a new high for a women’s match in Britain.

Sepp Blatter, FIFA president and member of the IOC is said to be delighted Britain’s response to football’s relationship with the Games. He added that the stadiums are wonderful and he feels privileged to be here.

Brazil’s 1994 manager, Carlos Alberto Parreira, (manager when Brazil won the 1994 World Cup final) who is on FIFA’S Technical Delegation for the Olympics, concurs with the view. He says that there has been a fantastic spirit of fair play and fabulous stadiums. He went on to say that all the facilities have been tremendous; with players enjoying them they will never forget their visit.

Mr Parreira says that football should definitely remain an Olympic sport, when 81,000 spectators watched Mexico v Senegal.

 

Kim Little pledges to do her best for Team GB, despite the SFA trying to scupper her inclusion

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Kim Little believes that she will not be a hindrance to the international football future of soccer in Scotland, but instead she will end up helping out Team GB in their football tournament and help the image of football overall.

The 22 year old midfielder decided to take her spot in the Olympic team despite the fact that the SFA asked her not to do so. This is due to a political battle that has brewed up over her inclusion on the Great Britain team given the fact that she plays for Scotland. However, Little is not worried about all of the politics of her inclusion and is instead focused on the game ahead of her. The SFA is worried that some players may threaten their home nation’s current FIFA independent status.

Little is one of the two Scottish women that will play for the Team GB women’s squad. Also on the team from Scotland is Ifeoma Dieke. According to Little, she plans to use what she learns while on the international team to help benefit her home team and help Scotland reach an international tournament finals competition. Scotland has not yet made it to an international final match.

The Scotland squad is hoping that next year they will be able to take it up a notch and reach the Sweden Uefa Women’s Euro finals. If they do not make it next year they may have a better chance coming up as the Canada World Cup scheduled for 2015 will mark the start of an increase in finalists with 24 teams allowed to compete for the final match privilege. Little went on to comment that it is Scotland’s target to get this far and the Olympics will only help Little and Ifoema bring it up to that level.

Olympic football matches fail to excite fans as 1m tickets remain unsold

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The take-up for the Olympic football tournament has been so negative that half a million tickets are to be withdrawn from sale. Organisers admitted that with only a week before the start of the Games many matches outside London will have empty seats. Tickets at Cardiff and Glasgow have been particularly difficult to sell.

The surprise announcement came only one day after the captain of the men’s team, Ryan Giggs, enthused about being part of the event and said he hoped there would be lots of supporters. The matches that involve the British team have sold well, however games in the other venues around the country are struggling to attract a crowd.

With a million football tickets left unsold, Locog, the London organising committee, took the decision to halve the number remaining and close off parts of the stadiums. In Cardiff, the 74,500-capacity Millennium Stadium is expected to have its top tier closed for most matches apart from when Britain’s men play Uruguay. Locog still faces a race against time to sell the 450,000 that remain available – around 200,000 of those are returns from National Olympic Committees.

Locog insists it is “delighted” with sales for the football competition, saying that with 1.6 million already sold that is more than at Euro 2012. They also point out sales of women’s matches far outweighs anything previously seen in this country. For Hope Powell’s side’s first game in Cardiff against New Zealand on Wednesday – two days before the opening ceremony – 37,000 fans are expected. The women’s English cup final at the Emirates drew around 5,000 this season.

Sales in Glasgow, which will host eight games at Hampden Park, are believed to have been particularly sluggish, with around 80,000 of the 250,000 originally put on sale gone. Spain against Japan is the pick of the games in Glasgow – Egypt against Belarus is somewhat less attractive. Adult tickets for matches cost between £20 and £40.

It is in Glasgow that the greatest number of tickets – some 50,000 – has been distributed free to schools and youth groups through the Ticketshare scheme. In all, 200,000 tickets across all Olympic sports have been given out in this manner. Ticketshare is funded via sales of hospitality tickets and packages for the Games – so allowing organisers to give them out for free.

Pearce’s decision to leave Beckham out of the Olympic squad shocks everyone

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Harry Redknapp, the recently sacked manager of Spurs, has said that Stuart Pearce’s decision to leave David Beckham out of his GB Olympic squad had effectively made him kiss goodbye to the possibility of ever getting a knighthood. He also praised Pearce, however, for being brave enough to go against the majority of football fans and chose the squad that he wanted.

Redknapp, speaking to The Sun, said that undoubtedly Pearce will have upset some in high places who would have loved to see Beckham in the squad, and he himself was sad and surprised he hadn’t been picked. Redknapp added that Pearce could kiss a knighthood goodbye, but credit had to be given for his bravery as he was the manager and should be free to choose who he wants.

Beckham had spoken of his hopes that he would be included in the squad as one of the 3 over-age players each team is allowed, and he was widely expected to be picked by those inside and outside of football. He made it as far as the extended list of possibles, but revealed yesterday that he had not made the final cut, and the 3 places are understood to have gone to Craig Bellamy, Micah Richards and Ryan Giggs.

Danny Mills, the former England defender who was a teammate of Beckham’s in the World Cup of 2002, has hit out at the decision of Pearce and claims that the former boss of Manchester City has, in the past, struggled with big players and while everyone around the world knows ‘Brand Beckham’ he is still one of the finest footballers and can still cut it.

Beckham was a key player in drumming up support for the bid London put in to stage the games back in 2005, and it looks likely that the chairman of London 2012, Sebastian Coe, will now offer him a role in the Olympics.