| Uganda: Deadly blasts targets World Cup fans - 12/07/2010 |
Bomb explosions that tore through two bars in the Ugandan capital on Sunday night killed at least 64 people and wounded 65 others. The blasts went off as crowds of football fans were watching the World Cup finals in an Ethiopian restaurant on the southern outskirts of Kampala and a rugby club in the east of the city. Police chief Kale Kayihura said the explosions could be linked to recent threats by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab militia to countries that have sent troops to the African Union peace force there.
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Full report on the News24 site
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| Ghana: Warm welcome for Black Stars - 06/07/2010 |
Ghanaians turned out in their thousands to cheer their soccer team’s arrival home, spraying their jet with water cannons and rolling out the red carpet for the World Cup’s surprise quarter-finalists, notes a report on the IoL site. The ’Black Stars’ matched pioneers Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) in reaching the last eight, but spurned a golden chance to become Africa’s first semi-finalists when they squandered a last-minute spot-kick against Uruguay.
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Full report on the IOL site
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| Nigeria: FIFA reverses ban - 05/07/2010 |
Nigeria’s president lifted a ban on its soccer team playing in international competitions after the football federation (NFF) said it would disband and rebuild the side, notes a report on the IoL site. ’The NFF assured the president of their commitment to evolving an enduring football development programme, and grow a new senior national team that will bring glory rather than consistent embarrassment to Nigeria on the world stage,’ the presidency said in a statement.
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Full report on the IOL site
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| Ghana: Locals prepare for heroes’ welcome - 05/07/2010 |
Ghana President John Atta Mills called for the Black Stars to be given a heroes’ welcome when they return home from the 2010 World Cup, where they bowed out at the quarterfinal stage. ’The defeat was heart-wrenching, but we have to be proud of the honour that our national team has accomplished,’ said Mills ahead of the return of the national football team.
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Full report on the IoL site
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| Nigeria: Moves to avoid FIFA ban - 05/07/2010 |
Nigeria’s FA have sacked two of their top brass in a bid to avoid a FIFA ban.
The FA said president Sani Lulu and vice-president Amanze Ugbulam had both gone and begged the nation’s leader Goodluck Jonathan to reconsider refusing to allow the side to play any more internationals over their 2010 World Cup flop. FIFA are threatening to suspend Nigeria because of political interference if President Jonathan does not back down.
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Full report in The Sun
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| DRC: Villagers killed in blast watching WC - 03/07/2010 |
Excitement turned to horror for football fans gathered to watch the World Cup, as they were among hundreds killed in a fire from a fuel truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The flames from the explosion spread rapidly to the local cinema hall where ’a big crowd was gathered to watch the Brazil/Netherlands match that had just finished and they were waiting for the Ghana/Uruguay clash,’ said Tondo Sahizira, a 28-year-old teacher.
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Full report on the News24 site
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| Nigeria: 48 hours ultimatum set - 02/07/2010 |
FIFA issued Nigeria with an ultimatum to reverse their decision to suspend the national football team from international competition or have their Fifa membership suspended within 48 hours, notes a report on the IoL site. Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke said: ’If the Nigerian government is not moving back we will have to suspend Nigeria.’ ’The decision will be made in the next 48 hours," he added.
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Full report on the IOL site
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| Nigeria: President suspends football team for 2 years - 30/06/2010 |
Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan has suspended the national soccer team from international competition for the next two years following their poor performance in the World Cup, a senior adviser said. ’Mr President has directed that Nigeria will withdraw from all international football competition for the next two years to enable Nigeria to reorganise its football,’ Ima Niboro, a special adviser to Goodluck Jonathan, told reporters. ’This directive became necessary following Nigeria’s poor performance in the ongoing 2010 World Cup.’
Nigeria were knocked out in the first round.
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Full report on the IOL site
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| Ghana: An opportunity to make history - 30/06/2010 |
Ghana, uplifted by the enthusiasm of an entire one-billion-strong continent, will be bidding to become the first African nation to reach the semifinals of the World Cup when they play Uruguay at Soccer City on Friday, notes a Mail & Guardian report. Ghana’s Black Stars are the lone flag-waver for Africa in the first World Cup staged on the continent and there is an emotional outpouring of support for them against one-time football powers Uruguay.
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Full report on the Mail and Guardian site
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| Zimbabwe: Power woes spoil WC party 25/06/2010 |
The family were on the edge of their seats, cheering on their World Cup heroes, when the television screen went blank in their Harare home, silencing the commentator and buzz of the vuvuzela. ’They could have spared us the power cuts just for this month,’ said an exasperated Tafadzwa Goliati. ’The World Cup only comes once every four years.’ FIN24 reports that erratic power supplies have long been an accepted part of life in Zimbabwe but football fans had hoped the month-long tournament in neighbouring South Africa would provide some brief respite.
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Full FIN24 report FIN24
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| Uganda: President urges people to ignore WC 23/06/2010 |
Uganda’s head of state, Yoweri Museveni, is urging his people to ignore the 2010 World Cup, advising them to instead concentrate on income-generating activities. The Times reports that President Museveni says he was invited to attend the tournament’s opening ceremony but declined, instead suggesting parents should tell their children not to ’waste time’ watching the matches, the Daily Monitor reported.
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Full report in The Times
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| Angola: Africa Cup shooters on trial - 23/06/2010 |
Four Angolan human rights activists went on trial this week for ’crimes against state security’ over the deadly shooting attack on Togo’s football team in January. According to a report on the News24 site, the shooting by separatist rebels in the oil-rich province of Cabinda killed two members of Togo’s squad as they entered to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations. Rights groups have accused the government of using the rebel attack to justify arrests of its critics.
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Full report on the News24 site report
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| Nigeria: Major cash incentive on the cards 21/06/2010 |
Nigeria’s players have been promised $30 000 each if they beat South Korea on Tuesday and qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2010 World Cup, top team officials have said. Despite having lost their first two matches victory for Nigeria in its win-or-bust Group B match in Durban, coupled with an Argentina win over Greece, would propel the Super Eagles to the knockout stage of the tournament.
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Full SuperSport report
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| Rwanda: Soccer boss arrested for attending WC - 11/06/2010 |
Rwanda has arrested the head of the national football federation, a senior army officer, for trying to attend the World Cup without seeking permission from his military superiors, an army spokesman said on Friday. Brigadier General Jean Bosco Kazura, a former top security advisor to Rwandan President Paul Kagame, travelled to South Africa earlier in the week but was recalled and arrested on Wednesday.
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Full report on the IOL site
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| Zimbabwe: New farm invasions ahead of WC - 03/06/2010 |
White farmers and their lawyers are struggling with a new wave of violent invasions of what is left of the embattled community’s farms, agricultural union officials said. Arrests, abductions and illegal seizures of land in the last two weeks have come in spite of reported undertakings by President Robert Mugabe to South African president Jacob Zuma not to allow lawlessness that could disturb the smooth running of the World Cup in Zimbabwe’s neighbour.
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Full report on the IOL site
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| WC will prompt ’African Renaissance’ 27/05/2010 |
The 2010 WC presents South Africa and the rest of the continent with an opportunity to harness the power of an international event and project Africa’s potential for peace and development, a United Nations envoy said. ’The World Cup in South Africa is a unique occasion to transform the African people’s pride and enthusiasm into a positive dynamic of solidarity, tolerance, and development,’ said Wilfried Lemke, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. He added, ’Mega-sports events create legacies such as infrastructure and tourism. This World Cup when successful will also contribute to the confidence and pride of many persons and States in Africa.’
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Full report on the allAfrica site
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| Tanzania: Joburg to double daily flights 27/05/2010 |
South African Airways (SAA) has doubled its daily flights from South Africa to Tanzania from the original 9 flights to 18, to meet increased demand. Edward Mbwiga, the Tanzania Tourist Board Finance Manager, announced an increase in tourist flight bookings, which he attributed to a marketing campaign launched by stakeholders in both Tanzania and South. Tourists based in South Africa have been encouraged to add Tanzanian tourist attractions to their World Cup itineraries.
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Full IPP Media reportIPP
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| Zimbabwe: Mugabe hails WC’s unifying role - 26/05/2010 |
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, whose 30-year rule has been marked by political unrest and economic collapse, said on Tuesday the World Cup would show Africa moving toward peace and democracy. ’The 2010 World Cup are indeed an opportunity for us to prove to the world that Africa is more than the often-held stereotype of a continent mired in strife, disease and poverty,’ he said at an event marking Africa Day. ’Yes we have our challenges and shortcomings, as is common with humanity elsewhere. Yet despite these challenges, we remain a united people bound together by our common determination to build a peaceful and democratic continent, which is free from poverty and disease,’ he said.
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Full News 24 report
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| Angola: Special visas for fans 26/05/2010 |
The South African embassy to Angola has begun issuing special, quickly processed, visas for Angolans wishing to attend the 2010 World Cup. The issuing process for the special visas will last three days as opposed to the normal one week procedure. In addition, regular cost of USD 47 will be waived. In order to qualify for a special visa an applicant must present a genuine World Cup ticket at the beginning of the application process. South African general consul, Mpho Montlhame, said ’We want Angolans to go to South Africa and participate in the event. They just need to fulfil the requirements’.
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Full AllAfrica.com reportAllAfrica
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| Namibia: Calls to use power wisely 25/05/2010 |
Namibian consumers are being encouraged to employ energy-saving measures this winter to help NamPower live up to the pledge made to South Africa’s Eskom during the 2010 World Cup. Eskom has notified the region that it would not have sufficient electricity to spare due to high domestic demand during the tournament. According to a New Era report NamPower has already enhanced its infrastructure, including a development to the Van Eck power station enabling it to run at full capacity the day after kick-off of the first World Cup match on 11 June.
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Full New Era reportNew
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| Tanzania: LOC to promote WC 17/05/2010 |
The LOC will visit Dar es Salaam to promote the event which is set to kick off next month. South African High Commission to Tanzania First Secretary (political) Nokwazi Mtshali said that the team would make a day-long visit on May 21. She said the committee would meet Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) officials, Minister for Information, Culture and Sports and South African High Commissioner to Tanzania before doing promotional activities in the city. Nokwazi said the team would meet about 500 pupils from Dar es Salaam Primary schools at Shaaban Robert School to market the World Cup to them.
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Full IPP Media report
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| UN launches 8 Goals for Africa 17/05/2010 |
The 8 Goals for Africa music video will be screened across South Africa during the 2010 World Cup. Helen Clark, the chair of the UN Development Group, which brings together all UN agencies working in development, has launched 8 Goals for Africa, a campaign song by eight of Africa’s best known musicians, calling for commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight internationally-agreed goals designed to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, and maternal and child deaths by 2015. 8 Goals for Africa is the main UN theme song for the 2010 World Cup.
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Full Media Update report
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| Nigeria: Locals can watch WC on cellphone 11/05/2010 |
With a few developments in recent times, Nigeria is still setting the pace in technological developments in Africa and indeed the Middle East and African emerging markets. This is as Nigeria can now join a few other countries of the world to provide its citizens the opportunity of watching the 2010 World Cup LIVE broadcasts on their cell phones, notes an allAfrica.com report. This opportunity was facilitated by a recent partnership between DStv Mobile, Nokia and MTN Nigeria to push the boundaries of entertainment by making compelling live TV available to Nigerians on their mobile devices.
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Full allAfrica.com report
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| Nigeria: WC plans back on track 03/05/2010 |
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has resolved its accommodation problems ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. According to a BBC News report, the Super Eagles will now stay at the Protea Waterfront Hotel at Richards Bay after dumping Hampshire Hotel Match, as well as the country’s sports minister reached a truce with Hampshire Hotel at the weekend. This comes after Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback rejected Hampshire Hotel as their base during the tournament.
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Full BBC News report
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| Ghana: Government to sponsor 2 600-delegation to WC - 23/04/2010 |
Ghana will send a support delegation of 2 600 people to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, notes a Ghana Web report. The delegation to be made of supporters and fans, politicians, the clergy, students, media and the general public are to provide maximum support towards ensuring a successful campaign of the Black Stars at the 2010 World Cup.
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Full Ghana Web report
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| Ghana: Fans score free 2010 tickets 23/04/2010 |
Approximately 1,346 tickets have been secured by the Ghanaian government for selected supporters’ groups, government officials and other institutions to enable them to attend the 2010 World Cup. The tickets are for Ghana’s three preliminary round matches at the showpiece in South Africa. The Ministry of Youth and Sports invested close to $120,000 to buy the tickets, as four supporters unions failed to raise the needed funds to acquire match tickets.
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Full Goal.com report
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| Puma produces African Unity Kit 23/04/2010 |
Football is often accused of taking and not giving but a radical initiative from PUMA is changing that perception in Africa. Goal.com reports that the sportswear giant were given the nod by FIFA to introduce their Africa Unity Kit as the official third strip of the twelve African nations they supply. World Cup qualifiers Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Algeria will all be sporting their new colours in the run up the 2010 World Cup.
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Full Goal.com report
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