Football and Fashion |

The World Cup can set off some people’s equilibrium due to the fact that it only happens every four years and is usually a situation that sorts who are the current pop stars of the sporting worlds with the major celebrities, minor celebrities, and comedians heading off to the competition in hopes that they will get the nod of the fans official World Cup anthem as the event rolls along.

More annoying is that music critics that usually devote their time to accepted valuable music such as Arctic Monkeys and The Fall are forced to turn their attention to less esteemed music causing the entire music scene to drop an octave as the most serious veterans as all have to sit through Hollyaoks or Terry Venables.

While it is hard to debate that music and football do indeed fit together well given the fact that stadium sing alongs are a large part of the community of England fans, but watching footballers grab the microphone to attempt their own versions is enough to make everyone turn a little red for the stars that seem to lack shame.

Back in the day, unless a rock n roll star such as Elton John happened to be rich enough to purchase their own team; rockers could care less about football.  However, now with the passing of the nineties everyone from Oasis to Posh Spice to The Lightening Seeds has help entwine the two to the point that now the two are inseparable; for good or bad.

Three British students that died in a South African bus crash have brought to life just how important it is to know the risks of travelling outside of the country.

Nelspruit authorities in the location of the accident stated that the bus driver had lost control of the bus along a winding road that is notorious to the area.  With thousands of English fans excepted to travel to South Africa over the course of the World Cup, here is a guide to the top risks that visitors need to be aware of.

The first major problem is crime which is rampant throughout the entire country, but most violent offences take place in isolated areas and townships outside of the tourist spots.  With this in mind, passports in particular need to be watched, especially at travel terminals.

Over the last few years an increasing amount of cases have been noted in which criminals followed tourists via vehicle from the Johannesburg airport to their destination, which has prompted authorities to remind tourists to be careful while leaving the airport.

The next concern is driving since like the bus crash, South African driving results in many fatal accidents.  Tourists should know that the country is quite large so all trips should be properly planned beforehand.

On highways tourists should be vigilant of the fact that overtaking occurs on all lanes including the shoulder and at four way stops the first driver to arrive has the right to move.

The general roads of South Africa are decent quality in cities but in remote cities there are many potholes and sticking to the speed limit is a most.

Health care while abroad is also a concern with high standard care in developed areas that is costly and basic care in rural areas.  Visitors should be aware that rabies, TB, cholera, and malaria are all very common to South Africa and that they should seek care immediately if side effects such as diarrhoea are present.

Steven Gerrard, the England Skipper, has warned his teammates that they cannot swear at referees during any of the upcoming World Cup matches.

Wayne Rooney was booked for such action in England’s Monday 3-0 warm-up against the Platinum Stars prompting FIFA to clampdown on foul language during the largest event in club football.

Gerrard is aware of how important it is to keep the ref’s happy, as he wants to make sure that the team is able to keep all of its 11 players out on the pitch at all times.  He stated that it is not acceptable to swear at the refs since they demand and deserve respect.  He added that when one player gets booked the whole team suffers for the action thus everyone is responsible for keeping their tongues clean.

He went on to say that it is already hard enough to play with only 10 players and that the team has already had a few poor matches due to loosing people from the pitch for bad behaviour.

One of the incidents he was referring to was in the Portugal 2006 finals when Rooney was booked from the pitch causing Gerrard to instruct the quick lipped striker to talk back with his feet starting with England’s opening match against the United States this Saturday.

Gerrard refused to comment on the leave of Rafa Benitez the Liverpool coach or if he has a future with the Anfield club stating that at the moment his focus is solely on the World Cup and England.

A new England Football Rattle app for iPhone and iPod Touch is now available to download from Apple’s AppStore.  This new app means you can now support the England football team the way your dad and grandad used to…. but with an iphone.

It works just like a normal football rattle. You wave your iPhone or iPod Touch as if were a football rattle handle and the rattle sound is created. The rattle will speed up or slow down according to the speed and vigour with which you wave your device. It really is great fun.

England Football Rattle App can be found here.

Just as the World Cup kicks off, it’s sobering to think that the World’s biggest sporting event requires a huge amount of insurance cover.  Everything from natural disasters and terrorism to player injuries and household damage, there are a huge amount of eventualities must be insured for, which means that there is a multi billion pound risk industry that surrounds the World Cup.

Here are some example World Cup Risk Factors:

FIFA alone has purchased $650 million in insurance for total cancellation of the World Cup 2010

22% have seen friends or family spill food or drink while watching sport on TV – Indian food caused the worst stains, leading insurers to urge football fans not to get “curried away”

A footballer at the peak of his career who is playing for one of their nation’s top leagues, could be covered by approximately £50 million worth of insurance

David Beckham has taken out the biggest personal insurance policy in sporting history at £100 million

In 2006, Paul Hucker from Ipswich took out insurance against ‘football trauma’ so that he would be compensated with £1m in damages if England were knocked out early of the World Cup

Watch this video to learn more fascinating facts about the World Cup insurance industry.

The new ball is not the only thing that will cause controversy in the World Cup according to a leading sports engineer, who believes the low air density in South Africa’s high-altitude stadia will result in a tournament of high-speed shots.

Professor Steve Haake, head of sports engineering at Sheffield Hallam University, has been investigating how South Africa’s high-altitude venues, such as Johannesburg’s Soccer City, will affect games throughout the competition.

Professor Haake said: “High altitude means lower air density and subsequently less drag on the ball. Combine this with the faster Jabulani ball and we could be seeing significantly faster shots and free kicks. Johannesburg, for example, will have around 20 per cent less air density than Cape Town. If teams don’t factor this into their training they could fall foul of the faster shots it’ll produce.”

According to Professor Haake’s research, a non-spinning 18 metre free kick hit at about 60mph, with no wind, would take around 0.82 seconds at sea-level in Durban or Port Elizabeth. The same shot would take about two hundredths of a second less time in Johannesburg. This means the ball in Johannesburg would be around 41cm ahead of the ball in Durban in real time.

Professor Haake said: “Higher temperatures will decrease air density even further, so goalkeepers will need to be prepared for fast, unpredictable shots. Finger-tip saves can make all the difference and a ball that is over two diameters ahead of where they expect it to be will really test their skills.”

Kick off is only a day away and many football fanatics will be planning their schedule to make the most of World Cup viewing – something that will be made considerably easier with live TV streaming and catch up TV services now available through their broadband connection.

Fans can now watch the action at home, at work, even outside if they have a mobile broadband connection. However many viewers may be unaware they are at risk of breaching the download limit/fair usage policy administered by their broadband provider and landing themselves with speed throttling or a hefty fine.

Michael Phillips of Broadbandchoices.co.uk comments:  “The convenience of internet TV coupled with the immense popularity of the World Cup games means a significant number of people are now more likely to be tuning in through their broadband connection. Unfortunately this also raises concerns over download limits and fair usage policies. Streaming just one world cup match in HD alone will use up around 2.4GB, but with over 50 games scheduled to be broadcast in June online football fans could easily breach the terms of their contract.  Any football fan who experiences speed throttling will find it seriously impairs their viewing experience. Furthermore those who breach the terms of their broadband download limit may find themselves paying anything up to £1 per additional GB downloaded – with over 60 games to watch in total, this will mount up very quickly. We strongly urge any World Cup viewers planning to watch through their broadband connection to check with their broadband provider before downloading any content. Even if they have an ‘unlimited’ package there are still likely to be rules in place they must adhere to.”

Broadbandchoices.co.uk offers these tips for watching the World Cup online:

Pick the right ISP – Some providers like Be Broadband or O2 Broadband are designed with heavy downloaders in mind. Although their ‘unlimited’ packages come with fair usage policies attached, both ISPs are more generous with their allowances than most.  The top packages from Sky and Virgin Media have no download limits or traffic management policies attached. Ultimately, you need to compare what is available in your area using an Ofcom-accredited comparison calculator to find the best deal for you.

Track your usage – If you have a set download limit, or you’re concerned about exceeding your fair usage allowance during the World Cup, then installing a free Broadband Download Monitor is a great way of tracking your downloads and you can even set alarms to alert you as you near your limit.