Cape Town - Bafana Bafana midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala's wonder strike in the Soccer World Cup opening match against Mexico at Soccer City on June 11 has been selected as one of the Top 10 goals of the tournament.
VIDEO: Siphiwe Tshabalala's effort for Goal of the Tournament
FIFA has shortlisted their Top 10 goals from the month-long tournament and requested fans visit the official FIFA site to cast their vote for the Goal of the Tournament.
Johannesburg - South Africa’s governing Olympic body, SASCOC, today announced that it would formally oversee a bid for the 2020 Games and encouraged potential host cities to state their intention of being involved in the process.
The dramatic news was announced by the chief executive officer of SASCOC, Tubby Reddy, and comes in the wake of resounding international acclaim for the manner in which South Africa staged the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Washington - The US government praised South Africa for hosting an "excellent" Soccer World Cup and congratulated Spain for capturing the trophy with a 1-0 finals victory over Netherlands.
"We congratulate and thank the people of South Africa for hosting an excellent month of soccer," State Department spokeman PJ Crowley said on Monday. "It was the first time an African nation hosted the World Cup, and South Africa proved its ability to do so quite nobly."
Barcelona - Football-mad Rafael Nadal has had a change of heart and decided to fly to South Africa for Spain's historic World Cup final on Sunday in Johannesburg against the Netherlands.
"We usually see football players in boxes when Rafa is playing," read a statement on his website. "But this time their roles will be changed.
"Rafa Nadal will announce that he will be in South Africa next Sunday supporting the Spanish team."
Ten reasons why the Cape Town 2010 Fan Walk worked so well
The Cape Town Fan Walk has become one of the talking points of Cape Town’s World Cup experience. The editorial in today’s Cape Argus described it as a ‘masterstroke’. John Robbie of 702 Talk Radio asked Andrew Boraine yesterday to what we as a city owed the success of the Fan Walk. Andrew Boraine listed the following factors as critical:
Johannesburg – The family of former president Nelson Mandela will decide whether he attends the 2010 World Cup final.
"Mandela has an open invitation... but it is up to his family to decide on the day," Local Organising Committee (LOC) spokesperson Jermaine Craig said at a media briefing at Soccer City on Wednesday.
Before the World Cup started there was a lot of speculation about whether Mandela would attend the opening game or any of the matches. He has not attended any games until now.
Johannesburg - The buzz from Africa's first soccer World Cup is being heard in investment houses across the globe, drawing new business and even capital to the continent that has evolved in the last decade from international basket-case to fast-growing frontier market.
"There's definitely been a pick-up in flows from Europe. There's no doubt about that," said John Mackie, head of African investments at Johannesburg-based Stanlib, which manages R2.2bn in sub-Saharan Africa's frontier markets.
Cape Town - Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg admitted that he was at fault when Diego Forlan equalised with an amazing strike from outside the 18-yard area for Uruguay in Tuesday's semi-final match played in Cape Town Stadium.
The Netherlands went on to win 3-2 through goals by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, while Maximiliano Pereira grabbed an injury time second goal for the South Americans.
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa president Jacob Zuma again strongly hinted that Africa's first World Cup host is considering a bid for the Olympics.
"I don't see why we can't bid to host the Olympics," Zuma said in an interview Friday with football's governing body, FIFA. "People are already talking about a possibility of bidding for (other) major events and we are supporting this."
Zuma said South Africa has the resources and infrastructure and an Olympic bid is "important for Africa."
Johannesburg - The World Cup could set a new record for paid attendance with three million fans expected to attend games, local organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan said on Thursday.
"With the quarterfinals, semi-finals and final being played at the biggest stadiums in the country, it is possible we will top the three million fan attendance mark after the final at Soccer City on July 11," Jordaan told media in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Already 2.69 million fans had paid to watch the first two rounds of the global showpiece.
