Football
World Cup host South Africa set to play second match
June 16, 2010As the eighth and last four-team group at football's World Cup is set to play its first matches Wednesday, host nation South Africa will take the field for its second game. Group H, the last one at the 2010 World Cup to play its opening matches, features...
World Cup stewards walk out in pay strike
June 15, 2010Stewards due to provide security at a World Cup football match in South Africa have gone on strike in a dispute over wages. About 1,000 police officers stood in for the stewards at the game, between Italy and Paraguay in Cape Town. Fans said there appeared...
Netherlands beats Denmark, Japan defeats Cameroon
June 15, 2010The Netherlands' national football team won its first game of the football World Cup, beating Denmark 2-0 in Johannesburg. Japan defeated Cameroon 1-0 in the second game of the day. Japan won its first 2010 World Cup match in Bloemfontein on a goal...
Nigeria falls to Argentina in saturday World Cup match
June 13, 2010Argentina has beaten Nigeria, 1-0, in the first match for both teams at the 2010 FIFA World Cup football finals in South Africa. The game's only goal came just six minutes into the match. Gabriel Heinze, a defender who plays for the French club Marseille...
English football fans hope for repeat of 1966 World Cup
June 11, 2010Forty-four years after winning the football (soccer) World Cup tournament on home soil, England fans are preparing to support their team again in South Africa. The fact that it has been so long since an England victory pains many fans and the lack of...
South Africa unites for concert, parties before World Cup
June 11, 2010South Africa held a star-studded concert and numerous festivals around the country on the eve of Africa's first World Cup football tournament. Tens of thousands of people packed into Soweto's Orlando stadium Thursday night to watch artists including...
Soccer? Football? However you say it, the Yanks are coming
June 11, 2010by William P. Bohlen The 2010 World Cup, which kicks off today in Johannesburg, will present a number of intriguing match-ups that will play out on green grass, not on international waters, in conference rooms, or through diplomatic backchannels. But...
Chelsea declines to renew contract with Ballack
June 10, 2010In what has been a series of big changes for Germany's former national soccer team captain Michael Ballack, the player has lost his contract with FC Chelsea after reported disagreements over the length of it. English football club Chelsea has declined...
South Africa ready for World Cup kick-off
June 10, 2010With one month to go before the kick-off of the football (soccer) World Cup in South Africa, organizers say they are pleased with the preparations. The head of South Africa's Organizing Committee, Danny Jordaan, took pride in noting Sunday that South...
South Africa's long road to 2010 World Cup seen as boosting reconciliation
June 08, 2010The road to the first football (soccer) World Cup in Africa has been long for host South Africa, filled with frustrations and challenges. For the country's 45 million people, it is widely seen as an important step in nation building after years of oppression...