THE FINAL THIRD

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (June 9, 2010) Footballer Alexandre Pato (bless, he hasn’t got a World Cup to train for) and
former South African international Shaun Bartlett joined NIKE Inc., the
world¹s largest football company, today to celebrate the completion of the
new community Football Training Center in Soweto, South Africa. The center
will give 20,000 young footballers a year the chance to develop their
football talent while also having access to HIV/AIDS education through
football life skills programming.

³Nike has always understood the power of sport to inspire change and to make
a difference in people¹s lives,² said Mark Parker, NIKE, Inc., President and
CEO. ³The Football Training Center will create a lasting legacy for the
Soweto community and inspire the next generation of footballers by
delivering premium football clinics combined with life skills programming to
give young people the knowledge they need to live HIV free.²

South African government ministers were joined by community and business
leaders, along with professional athletes, to support the unveiling of the
Football Training Center.

³The City of Johannesburg has always said that government working alone and
in isolation will not be able to effectively address the complex challenges
that face our society. To succeed, we need a partnership across all spheres
of government, amongst and with civil society organizations, business as
well as communities,² said City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Counsellor
Amos Masondo.

³The City of Johannesburg is proud to have played a part in creating this
world class Football Training Center. This facility will bring people
together through community-based football programs and provide inspiration
to thousands of young footballers who aspire to play for their country,² he
said.

Former South African National team player Shaun Bartlett added: ³The power
that this football training program will have on the future footballers of
South Africa can¹t be underestimated. It will help players develop their
game and become more disciplined on and off the field. Our ultimate aim is
to see kids from the program succeed at every level of the game.

The center is part of Nike¹s commitment to the communities of South Africa
which dates back 15 years. It also follows Nike¹s recent partnership with
(RED) to leverage the power of sport to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa through the
Lace Up, Save Lives campaign. When someone buys a pair of (NIKE)RED laces,
Nike contributes money to support programs that offer education and
medication on the ground in Africa and that harness the power of sport to
engage youth around the world in the fight against AIDS.

The first round of (NIKE)RED grant recipients, receiving money from the
initial six months of fundraising, were announced today at the Football
Training Center. Twenty six community-based football programs, across 16
African countries will share $450,000 in grants to further their programming
to educate youth on HIV/AIDS prevention through the lens of sport.

³HIV/AIDS continues to be a critical health issue in South Africa and we
value the benefit that public / private partnerships bring to helping fight
this disease,² said Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health South Africa.
³Nike¹s approach to combine football, education and medication is a powerful
example of how sport can be used as a catalyst, enabling youth to make
informed decisions and hopefully live a life free of HIV.²

Nike has invested in HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Africa and globally for
several years, and will continue to engage with its existing community
non-profit partners to use football and sport as a tool for development
throughout the country.

DIRECTV, the world’s most popular video service, will be the leading distributor of 2010 FIFA World Cup™ coverage in the Western Hemisphere, delivering all 64 matches of the tournament in HD to more viewers than any other video provider. More than 25.6 million DIRECTV customers in the U.S. and Latin America, will have access to every World Cup match, including 25 matches in 3D from ESPN 3D for U.S. viewers.

The 19th FIFA World Cup will kick off June 11 with the match between host South Africa and North American regional power Mexico and will be available to DIRECTV’s U.S. customers in 3D. For a complete schedule of matches and more information visit www.directv.com/2010worldcup. ESPN 3D is part of DIRECTV’s 3D lineup that will also feature three dedicated 3D channels, including N3D™ powered by Panasonic, launching later this month.

“We’re thrilled to provide millions of viewers throughout the Americas with comprehensive coverage of the world’s largest sporting event in vivid HD and 3D images that many have never experienced before,” said Derek Chang, executive vice president of Programming Strategy and Development for DIRECTV. “Our 3D broadcast of the World Cup kicks off a series of landmark 3D programming events on DIRECTV including the first MLB games, between the Mariners and Yankees, in 3D on July 10 and July 11, and our exclusive 3D broadcast of MLB’s 2010 All Star Game on July 13.”
In the U.S., each of the tournament’s 64 matches, from the group phase to the final, will be available on DIRECTV in both English and Spanish live and in HD. ESPN,
ESPN2 and ABC will televise the matches in English, while Univision, Telefutura and Galavision will broadcast the matches in Spanish.
With the diversity of viewers watching the World Cup, DIRECTV will broadcast the event in multiple languages, carrying more than 50 matches with Portuguese commentary on ESPN Deportes, and offering alternate audio feeds for the ESPN games on DIRECTV channel 210-1 in Arabic, German, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese (not every language will be available for each game).
Customers will also have access to replays of all World Cup games available for download from Univision On Demand (channel 1402) under the category “2010 Copa FIFA.”
In Latin America, DIRECTV will be the first and only provider to broadcast every 2010 FIFA World Cup match in HD through its DIRECTV sports™ and DIRECTV sports HD™ channels in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. DIRECTV Latin America will produce up to 10 hours of exclusive, daily content featuring live coverage from the venues, cities, practice facilities and stadiums.

“We are truly proud of the unprecedented coverage and differentiated broadcast we will offer our subscribers in the region,” said Bruce Churchill, president of DIRECTV Latin America. “This is the greatest sporting event in the world and our customers are very passionate about fútbol, and through DIRECTV Sports™ they will enjoy the best and most complete coverage of the FIFA World Cup in Latin America.”

DIRECTV Sports will also enhance customers’ World Cup experience through its MUNDIAL MIX, an interactive, multi-channel and statistics portal where customers (in both SD and HD) will have access to real-time statistics and multi-camera views for all matches.

GROUP A:
JUNE 11 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
SOUTH AFRICA VS. MEXICO

JUNE 11 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/ UNIVISION
URUGUAY VS. FRANCE

GROUP B:
JUNE 12 @ 7:30AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
SOUTH KOREA VS. GREECE

JUNE 12 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
ARGENTINA VS. NIGERIA

GROUP C:
JUNE 12 @ 2:30PM
ABC/UNIVISION
ENGLAND VS. UNITED STATES

JUNE 13 @ 7:30AM
ESPN/ UNIVISION
ALGERIA VS. SLOVENIA (Edited)

GROUP D:
JUNE 13 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
SERBIA VS. GHANA

JUNE 13 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/ UNIVISION
GERMANY VS. AUSTRALIA

GROUP E:
JUNE 14 @ 7:30AM
ABC/UNIVISION
NETHERLANDS VS. DENMARK

JUNE 14 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
JAPAN VS.CAMEROON

GROUP F:
JUNE 14 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
ITALY VS. PARAGUAY

JUNE 15 @ 7:30AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
NEW ZEALAND VS. SLOVAKIA

GROUP G:
JUNE 15 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/ UNIVISION
IVORY COAST VS. PORTUGAL

JUNE 15 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
BRAZIL VS. NORTH KOREA

GROUP H:
JUNE 16 @ 7:30AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
HONDURAS VS. CHILE

JUNE 16 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNVISION
SPAIN VS. SWITZERLAND

GROUP A:
JUNE 16 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
SOUTH AFRICA VS. URUGUAY

JUNE 17 @ 7:30AM
ESPN/ UNIVISION
ARGENTINA VS. SOUTH KOREA

GROUP B
JUNE 17 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
GREECE VS. NIGERIA

GROUP A:
JUNE 17 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
FRANCE VS. MEXICO

GROUP D:
JUNE 18 @ 7:30AM
ESPN/ UNIVISION
GERMANY VS. SERBIA

GROUP C:
JUNE 18 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
SLOVENIA VS. UNITED STATES

JUNE 18 @ 2:30PM
ESPN2/ UNIVISION
ENGLAND VS. ALGERIA

GROUP E:
JUNE 19 @ 7:30AM
ESPN2/UNIVISION
NETHERLANDS VS. JAPAN

GROUP D:
JUNE 19 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
GHANA VS. AUSTRALIA

GROUP E:
JUNE 19 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
CAMEROON VS. DENMARK

GROUP F:
JUNE 20 @ 7:30AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
SLOVAKIA VS. PARAGUAY

JUNE 20 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
ITALY VS. NEW ZEALAND

GROUP G:
JUNE 20 @ 2:30PM
ABC/UNIVISION
BRAZIL VS. IVORY COAST

JUNE 21 @ 7:30AM
ABC/UNIVISION
PORTUGAL VS. NORTH KOREA

GROUP H:
JUNE 21 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
SPAIN VS. HONDURAS

GROUP A:
JUNE 22 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
MEXICO VS. URUGUAY

JUNE 22 @ 10:00AM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
FRANCE VS. SOUTH AFRICA

GROUP B:
JUNE 22 @ 2:30PM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
NIGERIA VS. SOUTH KOREA

GROUP C
JUNE 23 @ 10:00AM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
SLOVENIA VS. ENGLAND

JUNE 23 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
UNITED STATES VS. ALGERIA

GROUP D:
JUNE 23 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
GHANA VS. GERMANY

JUNE 23 @ 2:30PM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
AUSTRALIA VS. SERBIA

GROUP F:
JUNE 24 @ 10:00AM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
SLOVAKIA VS. ITALY

JUNE 24 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
PARAGUAY VS. NEW ZEALAND

GROUP E:
JUNE 24 @ 2:30PM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
DENMARK VS. JAPAN

JUNE 24 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
CAMEROON VS.NETHERLANDS

GROUP G:
JUNE 25 @ 10:00AM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
NORTH KOREA VS. IVORY COAST

JUNE 25 @ 10:00AM
ESPN/UNIVISION
PORTGUAL VS. BRAZIL

GROUP H:
JUNE 25 @ 2:30PM
ESPN2/TELEFUTURA
SWITZERLAND VS. HONDURAS

JUNE 25 @ 2:30PM
ESPN/UNIVISION
CHILE VS. SPAIN

Below is a list of the complete British TV schedule for the group stage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Friday, June 11
3pm – South Africa v Mexico – ITV
7.30pm – Uruguay v France – BBC

Saturday, June 12
12.30pm – South Korea v Greece – ITV
3pm – Argentina v Nigeria – BBC
7.30pm – England v USA – ITV

Sunday, June 13
12.30pm – Algeria v Slovenia – BBC
3pm – Serbia v Ghana – ITV
7.30pm – Germany v Australia – ITV

Monday June, 14
12.30pm – Holland v Denmark – ITV
3pm – Japan v Cameroon – BBC
7.30pm – Italy v Paraguay – BBC

Tuesday, June 15
12.30pm – New Zealand v Slovakia – BBC
3pm – Ivory Coast v Portugal – ITV
7.30pm – Brazil v North Korea – ITV

Wednesday, June 16
12.30pm – Honduras v Chile – ITV
3pm – Spain v Switzerland – BBC
7.30pm – South Africa v Uruguay – BBC

Thursday, June 17
12.30pm – Argentina v South Korea – ITV
3pm – Greece v Nigeria – BBC
7.30pm – France v Mexico – BBC

Friday, June 18
12.30pm – Germany v Serbia – BBC
3pm – Slovenia v USA – BBC
7.30pm – England v Algeria – ITV

Saturday, June 19
12.30pm – Netherlands v Japan – ITV
3pm – Ghana v Australia – BBC
7.30pm – Cameroon v Denmark – ITV

Sunday, June 20
12.30pm – Slovakia v Paraguay – BBC
3pm – Italy v New Zealand – ITV
7.30pm – Brazil v Ivory Coast – BBC

Monday, June 21
12.30pm – Portugal v North Korea – BBC
3pm – Chile v Switzerland – BBC
7.30pm – Spain v Honduras – ITV

Tuesday, June 22
3pm – Mexico v Uruguay – ITV
3pm – France v South Africa – ITV
7.30pm – Nigeria v South Korea – BBC
7.30pm – Greece v Argentina – BBC

Wednesday, June 23
3pm – Slovenia v England – BBC
3pm – USA v Algeria – BBC
7.30pm – Australia v Serbia – ITV
7.30pm – Ghana v Germany – ITV

Thursday, June 24
3pm – Slovakia v Italy – ITV
3pm – Paraguay v New Zealand – ITV
7.30pm – Denmark v Japan – BBC
7.30pm – Cameroon v Holland – BBC

Friday, June 25
3pm – Portugal v Brazil – BBC
3pm – North Korea v Ivory Coast – BBC
7.30pm – Chile v Spain – ITV
7.30pm – Switzerland v Honduras – ITV

I love my Adidas Adipure’s, what is your favorite boot? Over at SoccerCleats101.com, they have created an extensive list of the boots that the World Cup stars are wearing this summer in South Africa. Take a look at this great post and let us know what your favorite boots are and why!

Click HERE to check it out!

I love the sound of watching our beautiful game in 3D. The chances of me watching Ronaldo coming straight at me with the ball doing 10 step overs is probably pretty small. With a 3D compatible TV I can now come one step closer to that dream.

With Comcast You’ll be able to watch lots of World Cup coverage like never before: in 3D. The first match-up, featuring South Africa versus Mexico, will be shown live on ESPN 3D. ESPN 3D will also be broadcasting up to 25 subsequent matches in 3D.

If 3D isn’t your thing, Comcast will also be offering all 64 World Cup matches live and On Demand the day after they are played via ESPN and Univision (remember, South Africa is in the GMT +2 time zone, so you might not be able to catch the games live). To get all this On Demand World Cup goodness go to your On Demand menu and select Sports & Fitness > 2010 World Cup.

Cheers to our boy Simon for the heads up

AC Milan’s very old men are sauntering around a training pitch in the hills near Lake Como. A grey man in a blue suit and blue trenchcoat gazes down at them, smoking a cigarette. Surely this smoker can’t be the head of football’s best medical team?

But it is. Jean Pierre Meersseman, Belgian director of the Milan Lab, may have discovered the secret of eternal youth. His Lab has helped make Milan world and European champions.

“As a matter of fact,” chuckles Meersseman when we sit down, “yesterday we had a game, and the average age was 33. We have the oldest team in Europe.”

He singles out Milan’s eternal captain, Paolo Maldini. “He’s close to being 40, and whenever he was running against that kid playing against him yesterday, he was much stronger. He’s close to perfect.”

What is the maximum age for a top-class footballer? “I think around 40. It used to be 34 at most.” Again, that soft chuckle.

The Milan Lab began in 2002. Milan had just spent €30m in transfer fees and salary to sign Real Madrid’s Fernando Redondo. Redondo’s body appeared perfect. Then it collapsed. Milan resolved never to waste €30m again. The Lab was created to reduce injuries.

“If you can predict the possibility of injuries,” says Meersseman, “you stop the player before.” The Lab discovered that just by studying a player’s jump, it could predict with 70 per cent accuracy whether he would get injured. It went on from there, collecting millions of data on each player on computers.

Meersseman says: “The extent of non-traumatic injuries has been reduced by over 90 per cent, compared with the previous five years. So that’s interesting. We have 92 per cent less medication than in the previous years.” Sadly, days after we spoke, Milan’s forward Ronaldo suffered the injury that may end his career.

When Milan buys players, is the Lab consulted?

“You bet you,” says Meersseman. “The last signature on the contract before the big boss signs is mine. On many occasions I said no, and I would say every” – he pauses – “yes, every time, the player did not do very well afterwards.”

Why might he veto a player? “Basically alterations in their gait mechanisms, how they jump. But we did sign some players when everybody said: ‘You can’t do it, he’s at the very end.’ I can give you a name: Cafu. That was five years ago. He’s still here. Because we saw the problem could be fixed.”

Having vanquished injuries, the Lab turned to perfecting Milan’s players. As each player was different, each needed a different regime. Clarence Seedorf, for instance, was banned from exercising certain muscles as they were already at the desired maximum.

The Lab now thinks this “sensory perception” is the key quality in football.

After meeting Meersseman I visited Daniele Tognaccini, Milan’s chief athletics coach, who is tall, slim and fairly superhuman himself. Tognaccini told me that the average Milan player ran 10 to 11 kilometres a game.

Who ran most? Kaká, Rino Gattuso and Cafu, replied Tognaccini. He laughed: “Ronaldo, no.”

But, he added, there was no correlation between running kilometres and winning matches. “There is a correlation between the number of sprints and winning.”

Before leaving the Lab converted, I asked Meersseman whether other big clubs did anything similar. “No.”

Why not? It seems a good idea. Meersseman smiled: “It seems a good idea. You can drive a car without a dashboard, without any information, and that’s what’s happening in soccer. There are excellent drivers, excellent cars, but if you have your dashboard, it just makes it easier. I wonder why people don’t want more information.”

Did other clubs ask him for advice? “Oh yes.” And what did he say? “That they should do it.” The Lab’s methods are secret. Ask Tognaccini to explain a certain machine, and he says: “No.”

Other clubs, said Meersseman, “fall back into the medical model. You see, that’s the problem. In medicine you are dealing with sickness. Here we are dealing with extremely healthy people.”

And the Lab has only just started. Its new partner Microsoft is improving the Lab’s software. Belgium’s University of Leuven is helping to perfect training. “Let me stop for a second and explain this better,” said Meersseman. “We are trying to make a system that may say: ‘Now you will run 100 metres. You will rest 43 seconds, then run 80 metres, stop for one minute two seconds, and then run 61 metres.’ We are trying to do this with predictive algorithms.”

Forget sharing information with other clubs. If the Lab sold its secrets to the world’s consumers, it would render face-lifts and wrinkle creams defunct. This could be the salvation of Italy’s economy.

Remember a few months ago I brought you the news that FLO TV was being released? A completely portable TV solution, they have now announced that they will be showing ALL 64 games of the World Cup!

FLO TV will offer ESPN’s coverage of all 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup live from South Africa.  To ensure soccer fans know they can catch all the action on-the-go, FLO TV, the mobile television leader, is unveiling a national advertising and retail marketing campaign featuring US Soccer midfielder Landon Donovan. Check out the range of devices at www.flotv.com

Held every four years, the FIFA World Cup gathers the world’s best 32 national soccer teams on a global stage.  The most active American team member, Donovan, 28, is the USA’s all-time leading goal scorer with 42 goals.  In the ads for FLO TV, the “FLO TV addict” is seen practicing and performing fancy footwork – all while holding a FLO TV™ Personal Television.

“No single sporting event unites countries all over the world quite like the FIFA World Cup, the world’s largest global sport, and there’s no more recognizable American player than home-grown star Landon Donovan,” said Bill Stone, president of FLO TV.  “We’re committed to offering viewers the chance to catch all the action live as it happens from South Africa and are equally proud to partner with Landon Donovan, who has led his team to major victories and amassed an amazing fan base both here and abroad.”

“When FLO TV approached me with the opportunity to be its spokesman, I thought it made perfect sense,” said Donovan.  “As an athlete with a busy travel schedule, I’m usually not able to watch sporting events as they happen live.  FLO TV lets me follow the action as it happens from almost anywhere in the US.”

FLO TV viewers can catch all the live action on the FLO TV Personal Television and Auto Entertainment devices when the games kick off on June 11.

FLO TV is dedicated to bringing the best sports programming to viewers nationwide and just last week began offering UFC pay-per-view events.

Service not available everywhere.   Programming subject to change / blackout restrictions.  Service subscription required.   “Live mobile television” means the FLO TV service transmits channels in real time; no downloading, sideloading or buffering.

About FLO TV

The FLO TV service combines the best content, an intuitive user interface and a superior multicast network to deliver a true quality TV viewing experience for consumers.  FLO TV offers full–length simulcast and time–shifted programming from the world’s best entertainment brands, including ABC Mobile, Adult Swim Mobile, CBS, CNBC, CNN Mobile, COMEDY CENTRAL, Disney Channel, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, FOX News Channel, msnbc, MTV, NBC 2Go, nickelodeon and UFC.  Based in San Diego, Calif., FLO TV Incorporated is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.  Further information is available at www.flotv.com.  Follow us via Twitter: www.twitter.com/flotv and Facebook: www.facebook.com/flotv.