Culture & Lifestyle

Colombian team has tough visit to South Africa

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Colombia’s national soccer team is not about to forget its short stay in South Africa.

The South American players, who failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, may have felt hard done by when they discovered after practice earlier this week that their hotel rooms had been robbed, but their hardship continued when several controversial calls by Kenyan referee Langat Samwel Kipngetich contributed to their 2-1 defeat to South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.

Colombia robbed in more ways than one during South African trip

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Colombia’s national soccer team is not about to forget its short stay in South Africa. The South American players, who failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, may have felt hard done by when they discovered after practice earlier this week that their hotel rooms had been robbed, but their hardship continued when several controversial calls by Kenyan referee Langat Samwel Kipngetich contributed to their 2-1 defeat to South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.

Czechs manhandle US in World Cup tune-up match

Mark Starr — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:37:49 +0000

US goes down in Hartford before World Cup. A harbinger of things to come in South Africa?

Mark Starr

BOSTON — The last time the U.S. soccer team faced the Czech Republic was in its opening game of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The Czechs hammered the Americans 3-0, holding them to just a single shot on goal, and the loss was a harbinger of bad things to come.

Rugby match in Soweto uplifts South Africa

Nicolas Brulliard — Tue, 25 May 2010 19:45:08 +0000

Whites and blacks celebrate together in prelude to World Cup.

Nicolas Brulliard

SOWETO, South Africa – Fifteen years after Nelson Mandela used rugby to convince South Africa's white minority to give a chance to the country's fledgling democracy, the sport has once again allowed the nation to reach another milestone in its quest for a nonracial society.

Tens of thousands of white Afrikaners descended on Soweto over the weekend to follow the Blue Bulls, the Pretoria rugby team with a fanatical following that decided to relocate a crucial home game to the heart of South Africa’s most populous black township.

North Korea soccer team cancels Zimbabwe stay

Zimbabwe Correspondent — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:36:15 +0000

Mugabe government's plans to reap benefits from 2010 soccer World Cup are not materializing.

Zimbabwe Correspondent

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s government is busy planning for spinoffs from the 2010 soccer World Cup, just three weeks away.

Zimbabwean officials are hoping that the huge soccer tournament hosted this year by South Africa will boost this neighboring country with tourists and training camps. But the benefits do not appear to be coming. Already one of the planned visitors, North Korea, has pulled out.

In Brazil, mania for a childhood pastime

Seth Kugel — Mon, 24 May 2010 11:00:30 +0000

Why are Brazilians of all ages obsessively collecting trading cards? Hint: World Cup.

Seth Kugel

SAO PAULO, Brazil — If she were an American 15-year-old, Gabrielly Sartori would almost certainly not be collecting baseball cards. But the soft-spoken, bespectacled Brazilian teenager has spent the last few weeks madly collecting their distant cousin, World Cup cards.

The cards — which are really stickers — feature players, teams, coaches and even the South African stadiums that in mid-June will become the sporting focus of Planet Earth.

Champions League final sets stage for World Cup

Mark Starr — Fri, 21 May 2010 01:11:49 +0000

All 32 World Cup coaches will no doubt be watching and learning as Inter Milan takes on Bayern Munich on Saturday.

Mark Starr

BOSTON — It always seems to invigorate Europe’s Champions League final when the two teams are actually champions of their domestic leagues.

And for the second year in a row, that’s the case. Last year, Spanish champion Barcelona out-dazzled England’s supreme Manchester United. And this year pits German champion Bayern Munich against Italian Serie A kingpin Inter Milan.

Opinion: Stop human trafficking before World Cup

Julie Tanner — Wed, 19 May 2010 14:15:57 +0000

South Africa tourism industry and international travelers can help stop the exploitation.

Julie Tanner

NEW YORK — With the start of the FIFA World Cup Finals quickly approaching, it’s easy for soccer fans to get caught up in the excitement of the matches, the grandeur of new stadiums and the rush of people visiting South Africa from around the world. But the influx of half a million tourists will have the unintended consequence of creating new opportunities for human trafficking — a practice that is unfortunately found in nearly every country around the world.

Twitter in India: Are you following the god of cricket?

Wed, 12 May 2010 10:40:38 +0000

Sachin Tendulkar joins the popular social media site. Will India ever be the same?

MUMBAI, India — A cricket star took India by storm last week when he joined Twitter and began racking up followers at the rate of almost 4,500 an hour. Within the first 24 hours, Sachin Tendulkar’s following reached almost 80,000, sparking a media frenzy and countless tweets about the so-called god of cricket joining the social networking site.

3 smart takes on the World Cup

Mark Starr — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:40:14 +0000

Sharp books to help you enjoy the world's greatest soccer tournament.

Mark Starr

BOSTON — The World Cup is now just one month away.

And a swift month later we will all be making judgments on South Africa 2010 based on a variety of factors: the host country’s ability to provide a festive, efficient and trouble-free backdrop; the quality and aesthetics of the soccer on the field; how our own favorite teams fare; and whether those vuvuzela horns can be muted so that they don’t exact such a painful toll on our ears.

Opinion: MLB should pressure Arizona on immigration law

Mark Starr — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:26:26 +0000

League should support Hispanic players in boycotting next year's All-Star Game if it is held in Arizona.

Mark Starr

BOSTON — Ozzie Guillen, the manager of the Chicago White Sox, is a decided counterpoint to baseball’s more reticent field generals. Guillen, the first Latin-born manager to win a World Series, is willing to make pronouncements on subjects a little more complex than why he used a pinch hitter or switched pitchers in the sixth inning.

South Africa sells out World Cup tickets

Jeffrey Barbee — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:58:15 +0000

Byline:

Jeffrey Barbee

Photo Slides:

Photo

Publish Date:

2010:04:30 17:58

South Africa sells out World Cup tickets

Jeffrey Barbee — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:13:57 +0000

Residents angry at FIFA restrictions and question if they will benefit from the tournament.

Jeffrey Barbee

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Irene Mokwatu, 53, wears a plastic garbage bag wrapped around her waist to protect her dress from the dust she is sweeping off the street.

"I was born here," says Mokwatu, 53. "This World Cup will not benefit us, they won't even let us sell mautuana during the cup."

She leans over, with a big smile, to make sure I spell the word right. "Mautuana is what we Africans like to eat when we see football. It is salted chicken's feet and livers," she says with a conspiratorial gleam in her eye.

The business of sports: Cue the cricket

Saritha Rai — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:10:07 +0000

What's bigger than the NFL and NBA? Ask an Indian.

Saritha Rai

BANGALORE, India — Anjali Rai Hamilton, a realtor based in Bangalore, is hooked on cricket, specifically the Indian Premier League (IPL). She follows the matches, conveniently scheduled in the late evenings. Many of Hamilton’s friends are recent cricket fans, and together they root for the home team Royal Challengers.

The Sochi Olympics fall out of local favor

Maria Antonova — Sun, 02 May 2010 13:02:54 +0000

Russians complain about the games' cost, environmental impact.

Maria Antonova

MOSCOW, Russia — The Russian government assured the public once again this week that preparations for the 2014 Sochi Olympics are on target. But as the rift between promise and reality grows, national support for the Olympics has started to flail.

The 2014 Sochi Olympics are widely seen as the government's sacred cow, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin willing to do whatever it takes to make them a success after traveling to Guatemala to personally lobby for the bid in 2007.