'Will give up sex, jobs for WC win'

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 05:16 PM

An overwhelming majority of 51 percent of soccer fans hailing from countries participating in the upcoming football World Cup and residing in North America are ready to starve themselves for a week to see their respective nations win the coveted title, a survey has revealed.

According to the survey conducted by US-based firm VIP Communications Inc., more than 40 per cent of the 20,000 people who participated in the poll, were ready to give up dating for a year, while seven per cent said they would give up their job to see their country win the World Cup in South Africa.

It also found that a whopping 93 percent of English fans had no qualms over giving up eating food for a week to see England lift the World Cup starting June 11, while 70 percent of Italians were ready to resign from their jobs if their team supersedes the 32 other participating teams in the month long tournament.

While most Americans appeared ready to give up their homes, majority of South Koreans preferred a World Cup win to their love lives, The Dawn reports.

However, Slovakians were the least interested in the fate of their national squad, as only three percent said were ready to sacrifice any of the things to see their side's triumph.

Source: Web Search

Beckham is No 1 on Forbes list

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 04:52 PM

David Beckham, even in the twilight of his playing career, still reigns supreme in the world of football as the highest earning player in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

The 35-year-old Beckham earns $40 million annually, with much of that coming from sponsors such as Adidas, Giorgio Armani and Motorola. But Beckham is expected to lose major sponsorship money this year because he will miss the World Cup in South Africa after tearing his Achilles' tendon in March playing for AC Milan.

Portugal midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo is second on the Forbes list, earning $30 million a year. Ronaldo's major sponsors include Nike, Coca-Cola and, like Beckham, Giorgio Armani.

Ronaldo, the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year, became the highest paid football player in the world in June when Real Madrid bought the 25-year-old winger from Manchester United for $130 million. He then signed a six-year contract that pays an estimated $15.5 million in the first year, then increases 25 percent each season.

Brazil playmaker Kaka, Ronaldo's teammate at Madrid, is third on the list, earning $25 million annually.

The 28-year-old forward, who won the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Award, was bought from AC Milan for $91 million - the second highest recorded transfer fee. Kaka's sponsors include Adidas and Giorgio Armani.

Ronaldinho is fourth on Forbes' list, also earning $25 million a year. The 30-year-old Brazil forward, who plays for AC Milan, won the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 2004 and '05.

Rounding out the top five is France striker Thierry Henry, who makes $24 million a year. The 32-year-old Henry plays for Barcelona and has sponsorships with Reebok, Gillette and Pepsi.

Lionel Messi, the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year, is sixth on the list with earnings of $20 million annually. Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is seventh, earning $17 million, with teammate John Terry in eighth, earning $16 million.

Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is ninth, also earning $16 million, while Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard earns $15 million in 10th place.

On Wednesday, Forbes ranked Manchester United as football's most valuable team. Real Madrid was second and Arsenal was third - the same top three as last year.

Source: Web Search

AC Milan's Huntelaar may replace Berbatov at Manchester United

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 04:28 PM

London, Apr 23 (ANI): AC Milan striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar may be heading to Manchester United in a sensational swap deal for Bulgarian star Dimitar Berbatov.

AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has acknowledged the possibility of the Dutch international moving to the Premier League, but was reserved on the future of Bulgarian flop Berba.

"When Klaas was at Real Madrid, he had the chance to go to England, Germany or Italy, and he chose Milan. But England could be a future solution," said Galliani.

"I have read about our interest in Berbatov and I have nothing to add," he added.

'SunSport revealed this week United boss Alex Ferguson was looking to offload Berbatov, who has scored just a dozen goals this season, to the Italian outfit," reports The Sun. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Victoria Government to SMS suburban footballers to drink safely

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 04:22 PM

Melbourne, Apr. 23 (ANI): Tens of thousands of suburban footballers will get weekly text messages from the Victorian Government telling them to drink responsibly after games.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, taxpayers will fork out 180,000 dollars so that an SMS can be sent to 57,000 footballers, who are signed up to receive updated ladders via text message.

It is part of the Championship Moves campaign and the Victorian Government's controversial "respect agenda".

The texts to be sent to footballers include tailored messages such as "Out in Shepp 2nite? Remember real champs look out for their mates".

Over the current football season there will be more than one million texts sent.

Minister for Respect Justin Madden said it was important to get the message across to young males - "the group most at risk of alcohol-related violence".

"These messages help us go straight to the source and remind young men about how to go out on the town to enjoy their night while looking after their mates," he said. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

New Zealand, Sri Lanka T20 series seeks to popularise cricket in the US

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 04:16 PM

Auckland, Apr 23(ANI): New Zealand and Sri Lanka will take part in a three-match Twenty20 series in Florida next month to launch a new partnership between USA Cricket (USACA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC).

The matches will be played at the Central Broward County Regional Park Cricket Stadium between May 21 and May 23.

Talking about the crucial decision, NZC Chief Executive Justin Vaughan said his organization had long seen the potential of cricket in the US.

"We have the experience and capacity to help develop the game of cricket in the USA. We are looking at ways of helping USA Cricket grow the game both professionally and at the grassroots," Stuff.co.nz quoted Vaughan, as saying in a statement.

"This T20 series is the first of many initiatives between our two cricket boards and we envisage the Black Caps playing in the USA on an annual basis," he added.

Meanwhile, USACA Chief Executive Donald Lockerbie believes the series has the potential to help grow and develop the game in the U.S.

"We believe that in order to grow the game of cricket in the USA, we need to have the best teams in the world play in our country," Lockerbie said.

"We want to demonstrate to the American public just how exciting the T20 format is. Cricket is already popular here but has lacked major media coverage. This inaugural series is the first step to reverse this situation," he added. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Lennon's return, a boost for England's World Cup

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 04:08 PM

London, Apr 23 (ANI): The return of mid-fielder Aaron Lennon has come as welcome news for Tottenham fans and is expected to give England's World Cup bid a huge boost.

Lennon had been sidelined for four months with a groin injury. He suffered the blow during Spurs' 2-0 victory over West Ham on December 28.

Lennon is back in the squad to face Manchester United.

"He trained fully with us this week for the first time since the injury and it's going well," said Tottenham Manager Harry Redknapp.

"He should be on the bench at least and it's great to have Aaron around again - not only for Tottenham but for England, too. It's good news," he added.

'Lennon's return is perfectly timed to bolster injury-hit England with the World Cup in South Africa just seven weeks away,' reports The Sun. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

ICC World Twenty20 to be broadcast in 14 European languages

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 03:26 PM

Dubai, Apr.23 (ANI): If you've ever wondered how to say "howzat?" in Polish or "free hit" in German, you could find out over the course of the next few weeks as the Eurosport channel will be broadcasting the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 from the West Indies in 14 languages across the length and breadth of the continent.

The broadcaster, which is an official licensee of ICC's broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports and one of Europe's leading sports entertainment groups, has confirmed it will broadcast 19 matches from the event live on Eurosport 2, with the remaining 11 fixtures featuring live on Eurosport Player or as a delayed broadcast on Eurosport 2.

Along with the other licensees, this exciting development means that the ICC World Twenty20 2010 will be accessible to 58 territories across the continent of Europe. In addition, the full list of languages that Eurosport plans to broadcast in are Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian and Turkish.

This is in addition to the global reach of the tournament through ESS's various licensees in more than 200 territories around the world.

Through Eurosport, ESS is also launching its exciting "What is Cricket?" educational campaign in order to continue building upon the event's growing popularity in Europe.

This ESS campaign aims to build on last year's efforts to bring Twenty20 International cricket closer to fans in Europe with five-minute promotional clips on Eurosport that introduce key elements of the sport and show new fans and viewers what makes the ICC World Twenty20 so exciting to watch.

As a flavour of what you can expect on your TV screens over the next few weeks, you can watch clips of Eurosport's multi-lingual coverage of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England on the event website www.iccevents.yahoo.com.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "This is another example of how the ICC and our partners are bringing the great sport of cricket to the world and promoting it beyond its traditional boundaries. It is great news for cricket and for the sports-lovers of Europe.

"This is the second time Eurosport has broadcast an ICC event - the first being the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England. After that tournament we received correspondence from cricket novices in places like Sweden and Italy wondering how they could find out more about the game and if there were any clubs in their neighbourhoods they could join," said Mr Lorgat.

"Being able to put these new cricket-lovers in touch with our Members across Europe was particularly satisfying and we hope this year's event in the West Indies will inspire yet more people to pick up the game."

The "What is Cricket?" campaign on Eurosport will take the form of regular on-air features explaining the fundamentals of the game to viewers who may not have seen much cricket in the past.

ESS Managing Director Manu Sawhney said: "We're very pleased to continue our partnership with Eurosport Group to showcase the ICC World Twenty20 event across continental Europe.

"This event enjoys a strong following across the region and we're committed to build on that popularity further with the 'What is Cricket?' campaign together with the ICC and Eurosport Group," said Mr.Sawhney.

"This unique educational campaign builds on the ICC World Twenty20's growing appeal after last year's efforts to localize the event in 14 languages, and will go a long way in taking the game to new heights in the continent and bringing in new audiences for the future."

Laurent-Eric Le Lay, Chairman and CEO of Eurosport Group added: "We're delighted with the partnership between ESS and the ICC. We're looking forward to delivering the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the best way possible to our viewers in Europe so they can enjoy the event in all its glory.

"This is one of the year's biggest global sporting events and we're confident that this new educational campaign combined with broadcasting the event in more languages will raise the bar in terms of reaching more fans."

The 17-day tournament will feature 12 teams with all the top international players in the world taking part and with tickets for the big event fast disappearing, fans who are unable to support their teams at the grounds will be afforded the best possible coverage courtesy of ESS.

The event will also feature eight women's teams, which will play their group-stage matches in St Kitts. The semi-finals and final will run as double-headers with the men's version in St Lucia and Barbados in front of ESS cameras, giving enormous exposure to the women's game around the world. (ANI)

Source: Web Search