“Hosting the FIFA World Cup would give the whole nation the opportunity to demonstrate our generous hospitality to teams and fans from all over the world. Each city’s, each town’s identity in this country is intertwined with football. I believe England has everything needed to stage a truly memorable and fantastic festival of football.”

Those were the words of FA President, Prince William at the Wembley Stadium where the campaign for England to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup was launched. The ceremony also counted with the presence of  Prime Minister Gordon Brown, England legends Sir Geoff Hurst and Sir Bobby Charlton and current England stars David Beckham and Wayne Rooney.

The launch event marks the start of a campaign that England hopes will culminate in December 2010 with FIFA awarding England the privilege of hosting the FIFA World Cup.

Prime Minister Brown also demonstrated the government support by saying that bringing back to England the biggest event of football on the planet  would inspire football and sporting fans up and down the country and cap what looks to be an exceptional decade of sport for Britain. He also assured that the Government is fully committed to this bid and is looking forward to working with the FA on their campaign to bring the greatest game in the world to England

England has 19 months to present their project to FIFA and the biggest challenge might be to engage the whole country in supporting the English Team with the same passion as they support their league teams. For that to happen we all know that Capello's lads need to continuously present high quality football, secure their spot in the next World Cups and do a descent job showing evolution and determination. 

After a long break the 2010 World Cup qualifying is back. We're now 500 days away from the kick-off in South Africa and now it's time for the countries to invest hard on performing their best to secure their spot for final tournament.

20 nations will step on the pitch on February 11 for another round of the qualifying battle. There aren't quite any interesting matches for the Europeans and none for the South Americans but for the countries battling in North and Central America (CONCACAF) and Asia (AFC) it's time to start defining who will win the ticket to the 2010 World Cup.

Here is a table with all the matches happening on the 11th of February

2010 Word Cup Qualif. - 11 Feb. 2009
	Iran		South Korea
	North Korea		Saudi Arabia
	Uzbekistan		Bahrain
	El Salvador		Trinidad & Tobago
	USA		Mexico
	Japan		Australia
	Malta		Albania
	Ireland Republic		Georgia
	San Marino		N. Ireland
	Costa Rica		Honduras

Three matches of the bunch deserve a special look:

Iran v. South Korea:  The Koreans are on top of Group B for this final stage of the AFC qualifying process with 7 points in three matches. Iran comes right behind with 5 points. The draw would benefit the South Koreans that would still keep the first place on the group even if their neighbors from the North beat Saudi Arabia. In that case the Iranians would fall to the third place in the group. For the Iranians a win is a must. 

Japan v. Australia: Qatar, Bahrain and Uzbeskitan were just warm-up matches for this big clash between the socceroos and the samurais.Australia is at the top of the Group A with 3 wins in the three first matches and no goals allowed so far. Coach Pim Verbeek already declared that the pressure is on the Japanese side "They have to win at home against us. That means they are under more pressure than we are, we want to win, but we don't have to win. The pressure is more on their side." Those were his words. Japan knows about this immense responsibility to beat Australia in Yokohama. The Japanese failed to impress so far especially after the draw against Uzbekistan in Saitama. For Japan it's not only the three points it's a matter of honour.

   USA v. Mexico: Although it's only the first round of the final stage for the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the 2010 World Cup, this match between the United States and Mexico is the most important of the year for both teams. The USA hasn't had any problems so far to reach their goals in the qualifying tournament. They will play with the home advantage and the support of the fans from Columbus, Ohio. A "soccer city" as they call it, that is the home of the current MLS Champions, Columbus Crew. The drama is really on the Mexican side. Mexico hasn't been able to beat the North Americans in USA grounds since 2000; a 10-match run that has been bothering the supporters and the federation. And to add to the "Telenovela" the team has not shown the quality football that the fans expected since the arrival of Sven-Göran Eriksson. This one promises to be a great battle! 

Tickets are already available and you can buy right here at OleOle. Easy, fast and safe.

Click on the image to access the ticket page:

The Copa America has passed, the Euro has passed and now we can officially say that we are ready for the 2010 FIFA World Cup!!!

Well, sort of ready.

The qualifying process has already started in most of the continents and Europe will start the selection of countries which will represent the continent in South Africa right about now, in August.

203 nations are fighting for the 31 remaining spots and will join host South Africa in the battle for the World Supremacy of football.

At this point we are 678 days away from kick-off and a lot of blood will be shed before we find out who will enter the biggest football event in the planet. The FIFA World Cup 2010.

Here is the qualifying scenario:

AFRICA (CAF): 53 countries competing for 5 berths + South Africa)

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ASIA (AFC): 43 countries competing for 4 or 5 spots (a playoff against a team from Oceania will decided who gets the last spot)

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EUROPE (UEFA): 53 countries competing for 13 places

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NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN (CONCACAF): 35 countries compete for 3 or 4 spots (a playoff against South America determines which confederation gets the extra spot)

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OCEANIA (OFC): 10 countries competing for 0 or 1 berth. (the appearance or not of a Oceania country will be decided by a playoff against an Asian nation)

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SOUTH AMERICA (CONMEBOL): 10 countries competing for 4 or 5 spots (a playoff against a CONCACAF team will decide the extra berth)

So there it is. From now on we will follow the news and all the action in preparation for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Stay tuned.