Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of the organising committee for the 2010 World Cup, insisted Sunday South Africa is on time to host the tournament and dismissed rumours Germany could step in as a replacement.
And Jordaan said FIFA president Sepp Blatter would be impressed the next time he visits South Africa at the progress made there in recent months.
We are on time and there will be no more strikes on the construction building sites, Jordaan was quoted in Monday s edition of Die Welt. The next time Mr Blatter visits South Africa, we will show him what enormous progress we have made.
The announcement in July, that the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth would not be ready by the time of the Confederations Cup in 2009 the traditional World Cup dr…
The chief executive of the Belgian Football Association says Roberto Martinez will stay on as coach despite Belgium s Euro 2020 failure .
A 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Italy in Munich on Friday ended the Red Devils hopes of being crowned champions of Europe.
Belgium once again started the competition with the expectation of mounting a strong challenge to win a first major tournament as the top-ranked team in the world.
They fell short once again under Martinez, but CEO Peter Bossaert says the Spaniard has the full backing of the Belgian FA and he does not expect the 47-year-old to walk away.
Asked if Martinez will remain at the helm, he told HLN: Yes. He has a contract until the end of the World Cup [in Qatar next year].
We are already togeth…
Italy striker Mario Balotelli spoke to the media on Saturday and, as always, had a few interesting things to say.
In response to his agent dubbing him a Peter Pan figure off the pitch, Super Mario insisted that he s more of a man than Peter Pan.
I think these two metaphors are for Mario the person, not Mario the footballer, the Manchester City man told reporters. I think I am a man.
I could be Peter Pan as in some of my behaviour I’m quite free, but I certainly feel more of a man than a Peter Pan.
Balotelli may think he s a Peter Pan personality, but surely he doesn t hang out with the likes of mermaids, Indians, fairies and pirates.
With that said, would you be that surprised if the City striker claimed to know a mermaid or two?…
Qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup kicks off on Wednesday with China under the microscope after a miserable 2008, in contrast to heavyweights Australia and Japan who are expected to coast.
China, with Yin Tiesheng as interim coach after Serbian Vladimir Petrovic quit when the team crashed out of 2010 World Cup contention last June, face a tricky first game away to Syria.
Yin has been put in charge only for their opening two Asian Cup qualifiers but knows the side need a win to boost their confidence.
He has vowed to restore discipline.
I will be in charge of the team for a short period, and I hope I can instil a fighting spirit into the team, Yin said.
Maybe this will be the most noticeable change I can bring to the team.
Lebanon and Vi…
Eight-time Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt is not contemplating a return to athletics despite feeling the temptation for a comeback.
Bolt ended his career on the track in 2017, calling it quits at the age of 31 after a spate of hamstring injuries, one of which curtailed his efforts in what was supposed to be the Jamaican s final race at the 2017 World Athletics Championships.
Although it was not the glorious conclusion he may have hoped for, Bolt still left sprinting as the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200m and 4x100m relay and his exploits on the track saw him collect a remarkable eight Olympic golds.
Back in August 2018, Bolt begin training with Australian football club the Central Coast Mariners and he scored twice in a friendly before being o…
Louis van Gaal has called on the Netherlands to replicate their 2014 World Cup semi-final performance to contain Lionel Messi in Friday s quarter-final clash with Argentina.
Van Gaal s side reached the last eight with a 3-1 win over the United States on Saturday, while Argentina joined them by beating Australia 2-1 as Messi scored his first World Cup knockout goal.
Friday s match will represent the sixth World Cup meeting between the two teams. Only two fixtures have been played more often at the tournament – Brazil versus Sweden and Argentina versus Germany (both seven).
Argentina triumphed on penalties after the last such fixture finished goalless in 2014 s semi-finals, when Van Gaal was in the second of his three spells with the Oranje, and he says they must…
The cold November rain is almost falling with October coming to an end. Luckily, our NFL survivor picks are keeping us warm.
Our “safe” survivor selections are an unblemished 7-0 heading into Week 8 and our “savvy” picks – after a real shit start – are on a three-game run. But as the schedule shortens and the pick options dwindle, expect to see your respective survivor pool shrink in size.
But not this week. We strive to survive with our Week 8 survivor pool picks.
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Whether the second-year quarterback is ready or not, the Trey Lance era is here. Luckily for him, Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the San Francisco 49ers offer a pretty big safety net.
This is one of the most dynamic offenses in the league and could be even better with Lance’s dual-threat wheels adding a new wrinkle to a playbook that ranked Top 6 in a number of advanced metrics in 2021.
Defensively, the 49ers are deep and dominant at the line of scrimmage, stuffing the run and getting to opposing passers. San Francisco’s NFL odds have high hopes, giving the points in as many as 13 games and saddled with a schedule that is set up for success.
That said, this team is just 16-25-1 ATS as a favorite during Shanahan’s time in San Fran. We pa…
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions face off in Week 2 of NFL preseason action on Saturday. Both of these rising teams are filled with young talent fighting for roster spots, making this the featured game on the NFL Network.
NFL odds opened with the Jaguars as 4-point road favorites with the Over/Under listed at 39.5 for this exhibition showdown. Here are my best free NFL picks and predictions for Jaguars vs. Lions on August 19.
Jaguars vs Lions odds
Jaguars vs Lions predictions
The Detroit Lions barely played any starters in their preseason opener vs. the New York Giants. The Lions opted to rest quarterback Jared Goff, their entire offensive line, their top receivers, and every projected defensive starte…
In a rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional Round, the Cincinnati Bengals go toe-to-toe with the Buffalo Bills in a game with major playoff implications.
The NFL odds give the edge to the Bengals as a 2-point favorite now that Joe Burrow appears to be his healthy old self.
In last season’s playoff battle of the AFC’s upper echelon, Cincinnati came out on top 27-10 on the road, but the way things currently sit, the Bengals wouldn’t even be in the playoffs if the season ended today.
However, with Burrow surging, the Bengals are playing themselves back into contention and he’ll need a big performance on Sunday night.
You can see how I’m betting the Joe Burrow odds as we dive into the SNF odds in my free NFL picks below.