A cool run-down of the history of the game that spread through England, the British Empire, and the rest of the world and first codified in a little book of rules in 1863. By Melvin Bragg and ITV Britain. It was crazy back in the day…!
Part 2 after the jump…
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy has supposedly gained assurances from FIFA that the possibility of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales uniting to form a U-23 Great Britain Olympic Team would not impact future International Status and would be considered a “one off tournament”.
Gotta give FIFA.com some serious credit for pumping out some serious in - depth interviews over the last week with current U.S. Captain Carlos Bocanegra about his move from Fulham to Ligue 1 side Rennes, the progress of the U.S. U - 17 Women down in New Zealand and today’s look back at the career of former U.S. International and current New York Red Bulls Sporting Director Jeff Agoos.
Sometimes a little too easy to forget about a guy who was capped 134 times for the United States, won 5 MLS Championships, named MLS Defender of the Year and was chosen Best XI three times.
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Trinidad and Tobago have recalled injured Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones back into the 18 man World Cup Qualifying squad ahead of their November 19th Group A clash in Port of Spain against Cuba, which probably won’t sit well with Sunderland boss Roy Keane considering the last time he and FIFA Vice - President / Trinidad and Tobago Special AdvisorJack Warner squared off.
With Jones missing out on the Black Cats’ 2 - 1 loss against Portsmouth at the weekend after re - injuring his knee in training on Friday (the same knee he just came back from ligament damage) and ruling him out of Wednesday’s Carling Cup clash against Blackburn, Keane and the medical staff are taking no risks as the club has sent him to see a specialist.
After gaining recognition ten years ago to form a National Team that would be eligible to compete by FIFA, the country of Palestine held it’s first ever Home International Match against neighbors Jordan in a newly built stadium in the West Bank.
With “Home” games previously played in Jordan or Qatar because of the conflict in the region, the first goal scored by Ahmed Kashkash and 1 - 1 result through all Gaza-based players on October 26th was seen in person by FIFA President Sepp Blatter and other dignitaries from the Arab world who attended the monumental event.
FIFA has announced the 23 male and 10 female shortlist of the 2008 edition of the World Player Of The Year, a group that will be narrowed down to just 3 males and 3 females in December ahead of the January 12th announcement at the 18th FIFA World Player Gala at the Zurich Opera House.
Via FIFA.com
MEN - Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Sergio Agüero (Argentina), Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Deco (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Steven Gerrard (England), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Kaká (Brazil), Frank Lampard (England), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Franck Ribéry (France), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), John Terry (England), Fernando Torres (Spain), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain)
FEMALE - Nadine Angerer (Germany), Shannon Boxx (USA), Cristiane (Brazil), Daniela (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Kelly Smith (England), Hope Solo (USA) and Ingvild Stensland (Norway)
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FIFA announced an agreement with the African Union of Broadcasters Wednesday that guarantees all 64 matches of the upcoming 2010 World Cup to be televised live throughout Africa (41 countries in all) in English, French and Portuguese.
And while the exact terms of the deal were not disclosed by FIFA, they are expecting the television and marketing revenue to hit the $3.2 Billion range.
Via FIFA.com
“The AUB has shown considerable strengths in uniting broadcasters under one umbrella to ensure that all sub-Saharan Africans will be able to have access to the radio and TV coverage of and around the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We always promised that 2010 would be an African World Cup and with today’s cooperation agreement we have made a big step towards achieving this goal,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter.
image via Flckr
After dropping a mind numbing 42 goals and leading Manchester United to the Premiership and Champions League titles over the course of the 2007 / 08 season, 23 year old Cristiano Ronaldo was today recognized as the world’s best player by his fellow professionals.
The first eleven is led by the Euro 2008 champions Spain with 5 entries,
Goalkeeper – Iker Casillas (Spain/ Real Madrid)
Defenders – Sergio Ramos (Spain/ Real Madrid), John Terry (England/ Chelsea), Carles Puyol (Spain/ Barcelona) and Rio Ferdinand (England/ Manchester United)
Midfielders - Steven Gerrard (England/ Liverpool), Xavi (Spain/ Barcelona) and Ricardo Kaká (Brazil/AC Milan).
Forwards – Lionel Messi (Argentina/ Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Spain/ Liverpool), and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/ Manchester United)
image via FifPro
