The match ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be named the "Jabulani", made by Adidas, which means "bringing joy to everyone" in isiZulu. The number eleven plays a prominent role in the the new technologically advanced ball: it is the eleventh World Cup match ball made by the German sports equipment maker; it features eleven colours, one for each player on the pitch; and there are eleven official languages of South Africa. Also, the event will start on the eleventh day of June and end on the eleventh day of July.
There have already been critics on the ball. FC Barcelona's goalkeeper, Víctor Valdés, said: "I'm scared about the ball, it's unpredictable".
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Zakumi
The official mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is Zakumi (born 16 June 1994 (age 15)), an anthropomorphised leopard with green hair. His name comes from "ZA", the international abbreviation for South Africa, and "kumi", a word that means "ten" in various African languages.
The mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's playing strip – yellow and green.
Zakumi's birthdate coincides with a day known and celebrated as Youth Day in South Africa and their second group match. The year 1994 marks the first non-racial nationwide elections in South Africa. He will turn 16 in 2010.
The Zakumi's official motto is: "Zakumi's game is Fair Play." The motto was seen in the digital advertisement boards during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and it will also appear in next year's FIFA World Cup.
The mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's playing strip – yellow and green.
Zakumi's birthdate coincides with a day known and celebrated as Youth Day in South Africa and their second group match. The year 1994 marks the first non-racial nationwide elections in South Africa. He will turn 16 in 2010.
The Zakumi's official motto is: "Zakumi's game is Fair Play." The motto was seen in the digital advertisement boards during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and it will also appear in next year's FIFA World Cup.
Qualification 2010
As the host nation, South Africa qualifies automatically for the tournament. However, South Africa did participate in World Cup qualifiers because the CAF qualifiers also serve as the qualifying tournament for the 2010 African Cup of Nations. They were the first host since 1934 to participate in preliminary qualifying. As happened in the previous tournament, the defending champions were not given an automatic berth, and Italy had to participate in qualification.
The qualification draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban, South Africa, on 25 November 2007.
The following 32 teams qualified for the final tournament.
This is the first World Cup with no debutant associations, although two of the qualifiers (Slovakia and Serbia) have previously appeared only as parts of former competing nations. In both cases FIFA considers these teams to have retained the earlier nations' records.
Based on the October 2009 rankings used for the main draw, South Africa at 86 were the lowest ranked team in the tournament.
The qualification draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban, South Africa, on 25 November 2007.
The following 32 teams qualified for the final tournament.
This is the first World Cup with no debutant associations, although two of the qualifiers (Slovakia and Serbia) have previously appeared only as parts of former competing nations. In both cases FIFA considers these teams to have retained the earlier nations' records.
Based on the October 2009 rankings used for the main draw, South Africa at 86 were the lowest ranked team in the tournament.
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world cup 2010 Host
Africa was chosen as the host for the 2010 World Cup as part of a new policy to rotate the event between football confederations (which was later abandoned in October 2007). Five African nations placed bids to host the 2010 World Cup: Egypt, Libya:Tunisia (co-hosting), Morocco, South Africa.
Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements.
After one round of voting, the winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zürich. South Africa was awarded the rights to host the tournament, defeating Morocco and Egypt.
Following the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee not to allow co-hosted tournaments, Tunisia withdrew from the bidding process. The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements.
After one round of voting, the winning bid was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a media conference on 15 May 2004 in Zürich. South Africa was awarded the rights to host the tournament, defeating Morocco and Egypt.
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