England, Striker
Since bombing out in '06 on a red card, England's one-man strike force has had a calmer head. And a better one: he nodded in seven straight goals in one '09 stretch
Stat: Was second highest scorer in England, with 26 goals in '09-10
View the full list for "11 World Cup Players to Watch"
Brazil, Defender
An end-to-end back and the face of a new-look Brazil, he is a menace on offense too; just check out his juggling act and strike for Inter against Juventus on YouTube
Stat: Helmed a defense that ceded 0.6 goals per game in qualifying
Argentina, Winger
His stop-and-go moves and brazen attacks make him the most exciting player in Europe — but can he blend in with Argentina's talent and all-new tactics?
Stat: Won European Footballer of the Year by a record margin
There are top-of-the-table meetings in Greece and Portugal this weekend while the race for UEFA Champions League places is hotting up all over Europe, with some key fixtures in the Spanish Liga and English Premier League. You can follow the scores from all the European leagues live on UEFA.com's
In its first series, Coast reawakened the nation's love affair with the coastline; this next series goes back to the shore to explore new secrets and stories that add to the unique picture that is being created of the British Isles coastline.
Coast celebrates the unique character of the British Isles, featuring stories about the people, wildlife and events that make up our coastal communities. The team of experts all return for the new series.
After Nicholas Crane's circumnavigation of the United Kingdom in the last series, this year Neil Oliver takes over as the main presenter. In each programme, Neil takes viewers on a journey along a stretch of the British Isles coastline, together with Nick, Alice Roberts, Miranda Krestovnikoff, and Mark Horton.
Through a mixture of expert comment, compelling storytelling and computer-generated images, Coast reveals a wealth of fascinating stories illustrating life as it is today, and as it was in the past.
Wednesdays from 24 February at 20:45 CET
The remaining top 24 were revealed on Wednesday night and Alex Lambert (apparently no relation to Adam) made it through along with Lacey Brown, Crystal Bowersox, Janell Wheeler, Katie Stevens, Michelle Delamore, Siobhan Magnus, Lilly Scott, John Park, Joe Munoz, Ashley Rodriguez, Haeley Vaughn, Paige Miles, Tyler Grady, Jermaine Sellers, and Andrew Garcia.
And since “Idol” wouldn’t be “Idol” without some controversy, contestant Chris Golightly, who made it into the Top 24, was replaced at the last minute by contestant Tim Urban (who I’m going to go out on a limb here and say is not related to Keith). According to a press release from Fox, it was determined that Golightly was ineligible to continue in the competition.
Fellow Hollywood week contender Samantha Musa tweeted that she had spoken to Golightly – who touched hearts with his back story of being in foster care – about his disqualification.
“He was disqualified yesterday, after already being told he was in the top 24, over some bogus old contract,” Musa tweeted on Wednesday. “The contract expired, but they disqualified him for not telling them.”
Fox hasn’t given any details as to why Golightly was tossed, and Musa questioned why he was let go instead of “Big Mike” Lynche - whose father reportedly broke the “Idol” confidentiality agreement by blabbing about his making it into the Top 24 - was not.
I question why Jermaine Sellers, who was a finalist on BET’s gospel singing competition “Sunday’s Best,” made it to the final 24 while Angela Martin did not.
It was Martin’s third try at snagging a slot. The first time she made it to Hollywood, her father was murdered. The second time she ended up in jail over traffic tickets. This last time I thought for sure we’d have the chance to vote for her and her amazing voice.
Her cut on Wednesday night was made all the sadder because of recent news that her mother has been missing for months.
Are you happy with the Top 24?
The Indian Premier League will announce two new franchises on 8 March, the tournament's chief has announced.
The new teams will join the competition from the 2011 season, increasing the number of franchises to 10.
Lalit Modi said 12 cities were in contention, including four which will host games during the 2010 season.
Modi, the IPL commissioner, earlier revealed that a "very famous" UK football club had expressed interest, although he refused to say which one.
Modi said tenders for the franchises could be collected from the Board of Control for India or IPL from 21 February and that bids would be opened on 8 March in Mumbai.
The cities in the frame are Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Kanpur, Dharamsala, Indore, Cuttack, Gwalior and Visakapatnam.
But Modi also indicated that Rajkot, Pune, Vadodara and Kochi, which are in the process of building stadiums, might bid for teams.
The new team franchises will be granted access to venues hosting matches during the 2010 IPL in order to familiarise themselves.
The 2010 IPL, which is the third edition of the 20-over tournament, begins on 12 March.
As José Mourinho prepares to meet his former club Chelsea FC, the FC Internazionale Milano coach must feel like he is returning to an old house to find the fixtures and fittings just where he had left them.
That sense of how little has changed at Stamford Bridge since his departure in September 2007 hit home on a recent scouting mission to west London. Soon after his Italian champions had been paired with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round, Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge for the first time to see the Blues beat Fulham FC 2-1. The 47-year-old was struck by a sense of deja vu.
"The last time I was there I was watching all the details with attention," he told UEFA.com. "Even the warm-up is the warm-up they did in our time. The way they defend set pieces is exactly the same. The position they have on set pieces is exactly the same. Sometimes they play a 4-4-2 diamond, sometimes they play 4-3-3, which are exactly the systems we worked when there."
Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and now Carlo Ancelotti have all followed in Mourinho's footsteps at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese coach means no disrespect when he says he sees similarities with the side he led to two Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League semi-finals during his three years at the club.
"I think it's a quality of a good coach – and Ancelotti is a good coach – to understand how the players feel most comfortable. And instead of making crazy changes, just fine tune, which is normal to keep a winning structure. I think Ancelotti's a very good coach and the team feels comfortable this way. And the team really is top – one of the best teams in the world."
Chelsea may hold no secrets for Mourinho, but he admits that such familiarity with the opposition could be a double-edged sword. "When I look at that team only Ivanović and Anelka are not players from my time. All the other boys: Petr Čech, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien, Mikel, Drogba, Malouda, Joe Cole, Kalou; all of them are boys from my time.
"So it's a team without secrets for me. But at the same time I think I'm a coach without secrets for them. It will be easy for me, but I think also easy for them. I know them, but they know me. I know the way they play, the way they think, but at the same time they know the way I coach, the way I prepare my teams."
It was precisely to prevent the negative effects of an emotional return to the place he calls "home" for the second leg on 16 March, that Mourinho visited Stamford Bridge in December to watch that victory against Fulham. "Emotion, yes, when I went there, of course – I was going to my home, it was my home for three-and-a-half years.
"But, you know, I went there on purpose to watch a game, to see people for the first time [since leaving], to be in that stadium for the first time, because when I go there in March I want to go without emotions. So instead of it being the first time I go there, I was there a couple of weeks before. I want to be cool and ready for the game."
Mourinho had a great relationship with the Chelsea fans and is now equally loved by Inter supporters. That is not surprising, given that he led the Nerazzurri to the Scudetto in his first season and has put them on course to retain the crown.
After doing the double over rivals AC Milan this season, his popularity has soared to such an extent that he recently asked supporters to stop singing his name and praise the players instead.
"Yes, fans are important," he explained. "I think I had a good relationship with them at Porto and Chelsea, I have that now with Inter – a good empathy, we love each other, I feel the fans are always behind me and behind the team which is important."
It is one reason why Mourinho, who led FC Porto to the UEFA Champions League title in 2004, enjoys such a stunning home record. Sides he has coached have not lost a home league match for eight years, a sequence stretching back to a 3-2 defeat for Porto by SC Beira-Mar on 23 February 2002.
Another positive result at San Siro in the first leg on 24 February would set Inter up nicely for the return. "It's quite funny and a bit of contradiction because at home I never play for a draw, never," Mourinho said.
"I always play to win, so we do nothing to draw and keep the record, nothing! I feel no pressure about it. I feel the record is so amazing that I must feel very relaxed. One day I will have to lose, and when this day arrives I will be very happy because I will be able to say: 'I didn't lose at home for x years, I didn't lose at home for x matches'."
With a smile Mourinho then stressed that that run applies to domestic leagues only. Chelsea, however, will know just how well they have to perform to return from Mourinho's new home on a high.
You can watch and read the second part of this interview ahead of the second leg when José Mourinho discusses his return to Stamford Bridge and the importance of Wesley Sneijder to his side.
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Take a look at the list of the UK's top 10 grossing films of the 2000s below, and there is a striking theme. All of them are adaptations - of a novel, of a musical or a theme park ride.
The story is the same at the global box office, too, save for one notable exception - animated sequel Shrek 2.
But while Hollywood's reliance on franchise fare is nothing new, these charts also reveal how CGI defined popular cinema in the 2000s.
The Lord Of The Rings populated its battle scenes with digital actors, directed by artificial intelligence. Characters like Sonny in I, Robot were entirely computer generated, while motion capture techniques allowed Brad Pitt to age backwards in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
At times, it seemed that if there wasn't an army of orcs, a jaw-dropping, physically impossible camera swoop, or a bright blue bi-ped with eyes like Bambi, the audience wasn't interested.
But, despite the big studios' reliance on sequels and adaptations, cinemagoers frequently had their heartstrings plucked by smaller, more intimate films.
Little Miss Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire, Bridget Jones's Diary, Once and Juno made millions with their deceptively casual storytelling and home-spun comedy.
Meanwhile, sparked by Michael Moore's incendiary film-making and sustained by the rise of DVD, documentaries flourished in the noughties - from polemicals like Super Size Me and An Inconvenient Truth, to more thoughtful, romantic pieces like Man On Wire.
 Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars, including best film and best director |
True life stories maintained their stranglehold at the Oscars and the Baftas.
There were prizes for biopics of gay rights campaigner Harvey Milk, musician Ray Charles, torch singer Edith Piaf, environmental activist Erin Brockovich, dicatator Idi Amin, journalist Truman Capote and - for Britain's Helen Mirren - The Queen.
But cinema largely failed to tackle current world events, with few dramas succeeding in contextualising or, indeed, railing against the political upheavals of the decade.
Notable exceptions included The Hurt Locker, a brutally realistic action movie following an elite bomb squad around Iraq, and United 93, which reconstructed the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 on 11 September, 2001.
Latin America flourished as a centre of cinema, producing gems like Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amores Perros and The Motorcycle Diaries.
 The 2000s also saw the Bond franchise reinvigorated, with Daniel Craig as the latest 007 |
Visionary Mexican director Guillermo del Toro flitted between Mexico and Hollywood, wrestling comic book movies Blade II and Hellboy into robust shape, while receiving plaudits for macabre fairy tales like Pan's Labyrinth, which he directed, and The Orphanage, which he produced.
The heartthrob of the decade was undoubtedly George Clooney, who managed to use his profile to rejuvenate the thought-provoking "talkies" of the 1970s, funding them through glossy, commercial affairs like the Ocean's triology.
Angelina Jolie ended the decade as Hollywood's best-paid actress, earning $27m (£16.7m) from 2008 - 2009, but her output vacillated wildly between award-baiting dramas and throwaway fluff.
At the Oscars, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench each received four nominations during the 2000s - but only Winslet took home the coveted best actress award, for Nazi-era drama The Reader.
| | ||
| | ||
| | FILM | TAKINGS |
| 1. | The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King | $1.12bn (£691m) |
| 2. | Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | $1.06bn (£655m) |
| 3. | The Dark Knight | $1bn (£618m) |
| 4. | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | $975m (£602m) |
| 5. | Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End | $961m (£593m) |
| 6. | Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix | $938m (£579m) |
| 7. | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | $929m (£574m) |
| 8. | The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers | $925m (£571m) |
| 9. | Shrek 2 | $920m (£568m) |
| 10. | Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire | $896m (553m) |
| Source: Box Office Mojo | ||
| | |
| | |
| 1. | Mamma Mia! The Movie |
| 2. | Gladiator |
| 3. | The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring |
| 4. | Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl |
| 5. | Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone |
| 6. | Shrek |
| 7. | Bridget Jones's Diary |
| 8. | The Shawshank Redemption |
| 9. | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers |
| 10. | Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets |
| Source: Official UK Charts Company | |
| | ||
| | ||
| YEAR | OSCARS | BAFTAS |
| 2009 | Slumdog Millionaire | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 2008 | No Country For Old Men | Atonement |
| 2007 | The Departed | The Queen |
| 2006 | Crash | Brokeback Mountain |
| 2005 | Million Dollar Baby | The Aviator |
| 2004 | The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King | The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King |
| 2003 | Chicago | The Pianist |
| 2002 | A Beautiful Mind | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
| 2001 | Gladiator | Gladiator |
| 2000 | American Beauty | American Beauty |
| | ||
| | ||
| | ||
| YEAR | OSCARS | BAFTAS |
| 2009 | Sean Penn Milk | Mickey Rourke The Wrestler |
| 2008 | Daniel Day-Lewis There Will Be Blood | Daniel Day-Lewis There Will Be Blood |
| 2007 | Forest Whitaker Last King Of Scotland | Forest Whitaker Last King Of Scotland |
| 2006 | Philip Seymour Hoffman Capote | Philip Seymour Hoffman Capote |
| 2005 | Jamie Foxx Ray | Jamie Foxx Ray |
| 2004 | Sean Penn Mystic River | Bill Murray Lost In Translation |
| 2003 | Adrian Brody The Pianist | Daniel Day-Lewis Gangs Of New York |
| 2002 | Denzel Washington Training Day | Russell Crowe A Beautiful Mind |
| 2001 | Russell Crowe Gladiator | Jamie Bell Billy Elliot |
| 2000 | Kevin Spacey American Beauty | Kevin Spacey American Beauty |
| | ||
| | ||
| | ||
| YEAR | OSCARS | BAFTAS |
| 2009 | Kate Winslet The Reader | Kate Winslet The Reader |
| 2008 | Marion Cotillard La Vie En Rose | Marion Cotillard La Vie En Rose |
| 2007 | Dame Helen Mirren The Queen | Dame Helen Mirren The Queen |
| 2006 | Reese Witherspoon Walk The Line | Reese Witherspoon Walk The Line |
| 2005 | Hilary Swank Million Dollar Baby | Imelda Staunton Vera Drake |
| 2004 | Charlize Theron Monster | Scarlett Johansson Lost In Translation |
| 2003 | Nicole Kidman The Hours | Nicole Kidman The Hours |
| 2002 | Halle Berry Monster's Ball | Dame Judi Dench Iris |
| 2001 | Julia Roberts Erin Brockovich | Julia Roberts Erin Brockovich |
| 2000 | Hilary Swank Boys Don't Cry | Annette Benning American Beauty |
| | ||
| | |
| | |
| YEAR | FILM |
| 2009 | The Love Guru |
| 2008 | I Know Who Killed Me |
| 2007 | Basic Instinct 2 |
| 2006 | Dirty Love |
| 2005 | Catwoman |
| 2004 | Gigli |
| 2003 | Swept Away |
| 2002 | Freddy Got Fingered |
| 2001 | Battlefield Earth |
| 2000 | Wild Wild West |
The pope has called for peace and the protection of children as he celebrated a Mass to mark the start of 2010.
Pope Benedict XVI said peace began with mutual respect between people, regardless of their ethnicity or faith.
He said the shared characteristics of children such as laughter and tears made it clear all men were brothers.
Marking the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, the pope appealed to armed groups to "stop, reflect and abandon the way of violence".
"Respect others, regardless of their skin colour, nationality, language, religion," he said.
The leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics added that the value of respect for all should be taught from an early age.
He remarked that it was increasingly common for children from different countries and backgrounds to share the same classroom.
"Their faces are a prophecy of the kind of humanity we are called upon to create: a family of families and peoples," said Pope Benedict.
Pictures of young people caught up in conflicts with faces "disfigured by pain and desperation" were a silent appeal for peace, said the 82-year-old pontiff.
He also called for people to take more care of the environment, saying that the degradation of man led to the degradation of the planet.
Pope Benedict was speaking in St Peter's Basilica a week after he was knocked down in the Rome cathedral by a woman during a Christmas Eve liturgy.
The pontiff was unhurt in the melee, but an elderly French cardinal broke his hip.
The Vatican said the 25-year-old woman involved was mentally unstable.
Singer Britney Spears has hit back at the gossip columns, listing the top 75 "most ridiculous" or "patently absurd" stories written about her in 2009.
Published on her website, The Year in BS said there were more than 13,000 stories written about the 28-year-old.
The list includes various reports of new boyfriends, emotional breakdowns and one claiming her family was once so poor they ate squirrels.
At number one was a story about Spears dating choreographer Sandip Soparrkar.
In January, the Daily Mirror reported Spears was dating Soparrkar and that she had hosted a private New Year's Eve party to introduce him to her friends and parents.
'Factually inaccurate'
The Daily Star later reported in October that sales of squirrel meat soared after a new Spears biography included claims the star's family would eat whatever father Jamie could hunt.
"We ranked the ones we believe were the most ridiculous," the post on the website said.
"Either because they were factually inaccurate, because they reported the patently absurd, or because we believe they are simply offensive to the sensibilities."
The list culled mostly from US and British websites, celebrity magazines and tabloid newspapers, also included allegations she was being drugged by her father and supposed demands for stripper poles in her room at London's Dorchester Hotel to help her keep in shape.
The star quashed rumours that she was pregnant with a third child, was addicted to gardening and under orders from her father to read the Bible every day to keep her "on the straight and narrow".
Several of the stories also related to Spears's recent troubled tour of Australia, where it was reported fans had walked out of a concert in Perth because of her lip-synching.
slamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A blast targeting a Shiite procession shook Pakistan's financial capital, Karachi, on Monday. At least eight people were killed and 20 others wounded, police said.
The blast took place on M.A. Jinnah Road where thousands of Shiite devotees were commemorating Ashura, a major religious observance, said police Inspector Mahmood Ahmed.
Ashura marks the death anniversary of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammed. Hussein, who was killed in battle in Karbala in 680 A.D., is regarded as a martyr -- and the battle is one of the events that helped create the schism between Sunnis and Shiites, the two main Muslim religious movements.
Religious mourning during Ashura is characterized by people chanting, beating their breasts in penance, cutting themselves with daggers or swords and whipping themselves in synchronized moves.
Shias are a minority in Pakistan.
A day earlier, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to a mosque in Muzaffarabad in northeast Pakistan.
Three police officers and four civilians died in the blast. Eighty-one others were wounded.
LONDON — The British fashion industry wrapped up its 25th anniversary celebrations Wednesday night with a gala evening and awards ceremony at which Burberry scooped up the top two prizes.
The annual British Fashion Awards were held this year inside the Victorian Gothic walls of the Royal Courts of Justice, home to England’s Court of Appeal and the High Court. Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief creative officer, was forced to do laps between his table and the stage, accepting prizes for both Designer Brand and BFC Designer of the Year.
“Particularly, I want to thank Angela Ahrendts, our chief executive and my partner in crime. She is an amazing leader, and I have huge respect for her and we all share this award together,” he said after Victoria Beckham handed him the Designer of the Year award.
It was the second time Bailey received the Designer of the Year accolade, having walked off with it in 2005. Earlier in the evening, Bailey revealed that Burberry would show its Prorsum collection in London for a second time during fashion week in February.
Guests including Kate Moss, Princess Beatrice, Graeme Black, Joan Burstein, Stephen Jones, Matthew Williamson, Sarah Brown, Samantha Cameron, Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova, Dame Vivienne Westwood, Georgia Jagger, Yasmin and Simon Le Bon, Wendy Dagworthy and Sojin Lee gathered for dinner under the soaring vaulted ceilings of the chilly court’s main hall.
“I came because I’m British and I’m proud,” said Beckham, who was wearing a floor-length dress with bejeweled shoulders of her own design. She told WWD she’s hammering out plans to take a more active role in the BFC that may involve mentoring young designers or acting as an ambassador.
During dinner, the BFC screened a short 3-D film showcasing 25 star dresses from the past quarter century, including looks by Alexander McQueen, Anthony Price, Hussein Chalayan, John Galliano, Rifat Ozbek, Katharine Hamnett and Sophia Kokosalaki.
“The holograms were surreal,” said Black, referring to the film. “We weren’t just looking at a show of dresses — it was an interactive experience.”
Other award winners included Peter Pilotto for emerging talent in ready-to-wear; Georgia Jagger for model; Katie Hillier for accessories designer; Kim Jones of Dunhill for men’s wear designer; Galliano for outstanding achievement in fashion design, and Moss for London 25, a new award that recognizes an “international ambassador” for the city’s fashion industry.
Grace Coddington scooped the Isabella Blow Award for fashion creator, while Christopher Kane won for British Collection of the Year, an award that goes to a directional designer who’s building an international presence.
If there's one Christmas present all football managers across Europe would probably want, it's undoubtedly a change in the scheduling of the African Cup of Nations.
Every other year, the club-versus-country row routinely dominates the back pages as Africa's premier sports event approaches and clubs lose key players for around a month.
And the row seems to grow with every passing year as Africans become increasingly pivotal in world football.
Premier League leaders Chelsea, for example, must continue their title chase without Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou, while Portsmouth's relegation battle is not helped by losing a similar tally of players.
The story is the same across Europe. The French and Belgian leagues are always hardest hit, while Spanish leaders Barcelona must do without midfield duo Yaya Toure and Seydou Keita. In Serie A, table-topping Inter Milan must do without Samuel Eto'o, but not, surprisingly, Sulley Muntari.
The Cup of Nations storm is such that even the normally placid Roy Hodgson has been caught up this year. The Fulham coach angered Ghana's FA by labelling their request for John Pantsil's release - they wanted him to leave on Sunday, 27 December - as "disrespectful".
Hodgson's comments are not without irony since this is the day that players must be released anyway according to world giverning body Fifa. The normally mild-mannered former Switzerland boss clearly cannot see past Monday's West London derby against Chelsea.
In any case, sympathy is limited, for the oft-repeated cry has been, quite rightly, that Hodgson and other coaches knew they would lose their African players every other January when they signed them.
Some players even make it crystal clear they will not join a club unless they can be released for the tournament.
"An important English club once offered me a good financial and sporting deal, but I was honest and explained my commitments with Cameroon, especially the Nations Cup, so I lost the deal," Patrick Mboma recently told the BBC. "But I have no regrets. I was a Cameroonian before becoming a footballer, so my country comes first."
On the face of it, it does border on the insane to stage a continental finals during the European season - even if it made little difference prior to the mass influx of Africans in the 1990s.
Although it now affects some of the world's top clubs, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) still dismisses all requests to change the timing, always claiming that Africa's weather in June is too severe, whether through excessive heat or unplayable rain.
But this is not the most convincing argument, especially considering that the prospect of hosting the World Cup in June 2010 sparked a bidding frenzy across the continent. Many matches at next year's finals will also be notable for the cold, but no one is saying the tournament shouldn't be held because it's the South African winter.
Furthermore, Africa staged vital Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying matches in June 2008 and June 2009, when more than 100 games were played in 47 countries.
I can't, off the top of my head, recall too many complaints about the conditions then.
So should Caf do the unexpected one day and reschedule the competition to June, as repeatedly requested by the likes of Eto'o, Essien and El Hadji Diouf, the year would also have to change.
It would have to be an odd year - just like it was when the tournament first began in 1957 - to avoid clashing with the World Cup and, to a lesser extent, the Olympics and European Championships, too.
This would surely benefit Africa, as the Cup of Nations could snag an uncrowded slot in the football calendar, thus increasing worldwide attention.
It would also silence European calls for the event to be staged quadrennially, which are clearly the result of vested interests. Did the off-season Copa America receive such vociferous criticism when it was regularly played every two years?
It's important to see things from an African point of view. Staging the competition biennially means the infrastructure in one of the continent's 53 nations improves cyclically - as seen most clearly by Mali 2002 and Burkina Faso 1998.
In addition, the Cup of Nations largely keeps Caf afloat since it provides around 80% of the African body's revenue.
Yet with Caf showing little political will to pander to European calls and move the finals, perhaps the opinions of Abedi Pele may engineer the first step towards a different scheduling.
The Ghanaian advances one of the more relevant arguments for moving the tournament, highlighting the difficulty of performing at a World Cup for Africa's finalists after a challenging European season, during which they've also had to contest a Cup of Nations. Indeed, the Cup of Nations is the only continental finals to be regularly played in a World Cup year.
Pele's view is shared by former France coach Gerard Houllier, but if the three-time African Footballer of the Year is to get his way, all African teams would seemingly need to fail in South Africa, save for the hosts themselves who won't be in Angola.
The problem is that Pele has been telling all and sundry that the continent can lift the World Cup next July.
2009 ·News Issues Events by TNB
