The World Cup on Just Football

For me I think it was about a year ago. The Confederations Cup 2009 got underway in South Africa, the negative press about safety, organisation and such subsided for a brief minute, and as the mini-tournament began in Johannesburg with a game between South Africa and Iraq, and it was all about the football again, it hit me. World Cup fever.

“We’re just one year away,” I thought to myself. Others were thinking along the same lines too. World Cup fever is a curious phenomenon. Like a tropical disease, it can lie dormant inside you for months – years even – without showing so much as a symptom, and then BANG.

Next thing you’re waking up one morning surrounded by wallcharts, oversized World Cup novelty beer mugs, a brand new HD TV, empty packets of World Cup stickers everywhere and five swaps of Denmark’s reserve left back.

For some World Cup fever kicked in much earlier. Cesar Benoit created a compelling World Cup blog as far back as 2007 – the sadly now defunct Road to 2010 World Cup final. For others, symptoms are just beginning to set in now, just under 40 days until the opening game of the tournament.

World Cup fever is not solely reserved to football supporters either. Advertisers, for example, are positively giddy about the World Cup, conjuring new and innovative ways to tie in their product with the world’s biggest and most exciting, month-long carnival.

Cars, technology firms, fast food chains, chocolate bars: you name it, they’ve got a World Cup marketing gimmick fit and raring to go.

Pubs have it. Clubs too. Almost every shop, pub and bar I’ve walked past in the last few days has at least one World Cup-related sign. “Watch the World Cup in our brand new air-conditioned suite!” (a conservatory in the back room behind a pool table in the White Lion). “Try our new World Cup pie!” (A normal pie really, but with a South African themed napkin). Or “Don’t go anywhere without plonking our World Cup jumbo flag in the rear window of your car!”

Of course those within the game have it. World Cup fever pushed David Beckham to carry his weary, aging body around the world for a chance to be involved first-hand, until it could take no more and sadly gave up on him in March.

With the domestic season nearly over there can’t be one player in contention for a squad place who doesn’t have one eye on South Africa. Fernando Torres took the rest of the season off to try and be fit for it. And pundits and tabloids alike shrieked with horror (and déja vu) when Wayne Rooney’s ankle buckled in Munich.

World Cup fever is gripping the globe.

Nowhere more so than in South Africa, where World Cup fever has gripped the country ever since FIFA awarded the Rainbow Nation the right to host the tournament back in 2004. They were partying in the streets just to celebrate 100 days to go in Durban a few months ago! What will it be like on June 11th?!

At Just Football we are getting excited too. I’d party in the streets myself, but people would probably think I’m mad. Nevertheless, the HD TV is ready, the sticker book is filling up and the wallchart is ready to go. Actually I’m still trying to sort out tickets to be there for at least some part of the tournament, but that is a work in progress.

On the website over the last few weeks we’ve begun our World Cup 2010 coverage on Just Football with the World Cup Wednesday and World Cup Weekender features. Starting today, with World Cup fever now firmly in our veins, we’re cranking the coverage up.

A lot has been going on behind the scenes here lately. We have a new design, which I hope you like, new features and new horizons. For the World Cup we have drawn together a team of writers to bring you team-by-team coverage of each participating nation at South Africa 2010.

Starting today, we begin our increasing focus on South Africa with in-depth analysis of all 32 squads in our 23 for 2010 series. England’s was posted a while back; every day for the next few weeks we will analyse each and every squad to debate who’ll be on the plane, who might miss out, who are the key players and what are the likely shapes each manager will use going into the World Cup.

As well as that, we will shortly be bringing you comprehensive previews for every team before June 11th, and in-depth coverage, analysis and opinion as the tournament unfolds.

We hope you’ll join us on Just Football to debate, discuss and generally revel in the world’s biggest sporting event. There are many other exciting plans for the competition, but I can’t give too much away yet. You’ll have to come back and see. For any football fan its going to be a hugely exciting few months.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe for free updates via email or RSS. And if Facebook or Twitter is more your bag we’re there too.

With 36 days to go let the games begin. Now back to those stickers. Anyone wanna swap Lionel Messi for Jim Larsen?

(pic via Cape Town Magazine)

Announcements, South Africa, World Cup 2010