Football and Fashion |

Police are ready to combat tension that is expected to occur when England plays Germany in the next stage of the World Cup according to leader of UK police presence in South Africa.

At this point, there have not been any arrests related to the football matches, but given the heavy rivalry and fact that it is a knock out game Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt said the fixture may be trouble.

Holt also took the time to praise England fans for their behavior thus far and said that officers had been pleased at the friendly atmosphere.  Holt is in charge of 12 UK officers at the South African tournament and stated that there likely will be some tension but the police are prepared for this occurrence and they hope to ward it off so that everyone can enjoy the match.

He added that it is not entirely up to England fans however, as the end result will be a mixture of how Germany and England fans behave since they can influence each other’s actions.  He also noted that this is the most potential to be a problem match.

According to Holt, England fans should continue to be on their best behavior and focus their energies on supporting the team because it makes the country proud and can help lead England to victory.

England players’ girlfriends and wives are under attack after it was alleged that a few of them will receive an estimated £9,000 in clothes, holidays, and jewelry just for attending a Pretoria celebrity cocktail party Friday.

Optiphi, a South African cosmetics firm, stated that four of England’s WAGs including Chantelle Tagoe, Lisa Carrick, and Ellie Darby will attend the promotion, which will feature Eric Way (Sex and the City dress designer) and will receive a very handsome goody bag.

Details about the party were discovered just a few days after Tagoe paid a visit to an orphanage located outside of Cape Town.

Both Tagoe and Darby have also appeared in a BBC3 documentary in which they visited some of the poorest neighborhoods in South Africa to care for children that were afflicted with HIV. An anti-poverty charity in South Africa has labeled the large promotional bags as ‘disgusting.’

Campaigns director for War on Want, Ruth Tanner, stated that it is disgusting that the WAGs will take these outrageous gifts as millions of people in South Africa face deadly poverty and that the firm should not give these luxury gifts to the WAGs.

Tanner added that she hoped the WAGS will decline the handouts when the money could have better uses.

A spokeswoman for Optiphi stated that four WAGs are expected to be in attendance Friday and that the aim of the firm is show South African hospitality towards England which is the aim of the goody bags.

The Guardian are offering free souvenir programmes with every England game. Here is there latest World Cup video.

You can also follow the Guardians’s Football World Cup coverage at www.guardian.co.uk/football/worldcup2010 or www.facebook.com/guardianfootball Follow on Twitter @gdnworldcup.

Employee union TUC has warned that that business across the UK could face problems if bosses do not allow employees to view the England match against Slovenia this week.

The union is urging all bosses to allow their staff to watch the World Cup game after a survey that took into account 140 companies commissioned by the London Chamber of Commerce revealed that half will not allow their employees view the match.

The kick-off for the match was set for 3pm in hopes that the football team will be shown in the middle of the working day and the TUC union recommended that instead of giving employees a red card, it would a great time to introduce flexible work hours.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, stated there are people across the UK that want to support their countries in the pub, at home, or on the internet and radio while at work.  Barber continued to explain that instead of creating tensions, bosses should sit down with staff to address the issues allowing employees to view the games and then finish their work afterwards so that everyone wins.

Barber expounded on the subject stating that regardless of whether the issue includes picking up children from school or viewing large events such as the World Cup people should be given a bit more flexibility which in turn will reduce the amount of absenteeism and increase general productivity across businesses.

Larger businesses and a great deal of schools have already made arrangements to view the event.

German equipment and sportswear group Adidas stated on Monday that it expects to soon reach record sales in football gear thanks to the South African World Cup.

The company believes it will reach sales of almost two billion from jerseys, balls, boots, and other similar items which is an increase from previous predictions of 1.3b. Adidas sponsors 12 out of the 32 World Cup teams, which include France, Spain, Argentina, and Germany, as well as the hosts of this year’s World Cup, South Africa.

Boss of Adidas, Herbert Hainer, stated that the jerseys are selling much better than expected with a million jerseys from German, Argentina, South Africa, and Mexico sold.

By the end of the 2006 World Cup Adidas was able to sell three million jerseys and given the fact that Adidas are expecting to see six of its sponsored teams make it past the competition’s first round, sales should continue to rise.

The group is also behind the controversial Jabulani football team which is being used as the official ball of the competition which it predicts will reach sales of 13m.

Markus Baumann, the overseer of Adidas football activites, stated that the ball is top selling item at the moment.

Outside of the jersey and ball sales, Adidas also has seen a large increase in the sales of boots with contracts with Lionel Messi the Argentinean superstar although Nike has both Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.   Teams only need to wear the official uniform of their sponsor while each player can choose what type of boots to wear.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has asked South Africa to back the England bid to host the World Cup in 2018, stating that England would be a great host, and would produce an amazing tournament, given the fact that London is one of most cosmopolitan cities across the globe.

Johnson continued to emphasize the bid, stating that London already has the facilities, including the Olympic Park stadium, which is under construction, as well as other great stadiums such as Wembley and the Emirates.  He also stated that FIFA marketing would excel in London, and the city itself loves the game.

In addition he added that London will leverage contacts for FIFA, and help bring world football to greater recognition across the world, while at the same time the tournament could help stimulate the economy by about £3b.

The Mayor continued to say that he has been watching South Africa host the world cup, and commented that Cape Town is unique, but London is of course, in his un-biased and humble opinion is the greatest city in the world.

Johnson also commented that the vuvuzela horn is quite interesting and allows fans to express themselves, but he has to wonder if that detracts from the game a bit, given the fact it has sort of an endless monotone.

Johnson also commented that Robert Green was in the right, stating that he made a great save in the game against the USA.

A World Cup publicity stunt performed by a Dutch brewery has led to a series of arrests, the loss of an ITV job, and threats of legal action.

The gimmick was designed to catch media attention, which it was able to do if not in a good light.  The stunt involved 36 women dressed in orange mini-dresses that are the trademark of the Dutch Bavaria brewers.

The women sat at the stands of the Netherlands versus Denmark match at the South Africa South City Stadium and as they had hoped, the cameras caught them on film in shots that would attract the attention of global editors.

Once those in charge caught wind of what was occurring, all of the ladies were kicked out of the stadium and two were arrested for being behind ‘unlawful commercial activities.’  A Fifa spokesman stated that they are looking into what type of legal action can be pursued against the Dutch brewery.

In an interesting twist to the story, Wimbledon and ex-Jamaica midfielder Robbie Earle was relieved of his duties as an ITV pundit and as a formal ambassador for the 2010 World Cup bid by England, after claims were alleged that the crowd of orange girls were able to enter the stadium via tickets he was supposed to give out to friends and family.

Although the entire incident may seem a bit trivial to be concerned with, Budweiser, the authorized beer of the World Cup paid millions for exclusive promotion throughout the World Cup.