South Africa World Cup lottery

Bogus emails are doing the rounds saying you have won the 2010 World Cup lottery. This is a scam and to be honest not a very good one. They have even started a very dodgy looking website which on first glance shouldn't be trusted but you never know which is why we're telling you now; do not pass over any personal information of any kind!

The email will tell you that the lottery is sponsored by the likes of Microsoft, Coca Cola, Nokia, MTN and many other companies. It's not true. Do not believe it just because it's on the internet.
We've notified the 2010 Local Organising Committee and lawyers representing the 2010 LOC but that's all we can do to help. Again, do not pass over any personal data, you've not won anything and in passing over personal information you're only going to get fleeced.

There is no World Cup 2010 Lottery

South Africa World Cup 2010 Logo

Four years from now the eyes of the world with be on South Africa where the World Cup will be played on African soil for the first time. Today, the logo for South Africa 2010 was revealed. The image above is one that you will become very familiar with in the next four years. Where does it rank in the history of World Cup logos? You can decide for yourself by checking out the logos dating back to first one in 1966 when apparently clip art was first invented.

Participating 2010 World Cup teams finalised

In with a shot: flags of the 32 qualifying countries for the 2010 World Cup are raised at a ceremony at Safa House

  The first hosts and winners of the Fifa World Cup, Uruguay, this morning became the last of the 32 countries to qualify for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, completing one of the strongest line-ups in the tournament's history.

The final six places for the 2010 spectacular were decided last night in matches in Europe, Africa and South America.

In a symbolic flag-raising ceremony at its SAFA House headquarters in Johannesburg today, the flags of all 32 participating teams were raised in celebration and to mark a major moment in African sporting history.

The Ambassadors and embassy representatives of the 32 countries raised their flags outside SAFA House, metres from the Soccer City stadium at which the tournament's opening match and final will be played on 11 June 2010 and 11 July 2010 next year.

"We congratulate all the teams that have now qualified for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. For us this is a very emotional day. After all the years of hard work that have gone into preparing for this momentous event, it is now a tangible reality," said 2010 World Cup organising committing CEO Danny Jordaan.

"The finalisation of the 32 participating countries is a major milestone and we would like to warmly welcome all of them to Africa's first World Cup. Our country and our continent cannot wait to receive the players and their multitudes of fans who will descend on South Africa next year for what is sure to be an unforgettable event."

Jordaan expressed delight at the calibre of teams that have qualified for South Africa 2010, which is set to showcase the world's best footballers in state-of-the-art, modern stadiums.

"All the major countries in world football have qualified for the tournament, as well as a number of countries that are very capable of causing major upsets. We're particularly delighted that the giants of African football - Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Algeria - join hosts South Africa in what is a formidable line-up of African participants."

The final line-up of the countries who have qualified for the 2010 Fifa World Cup is: Nigeria, Cameroon, New Zealand, Japan, Netherlands, Korea Republic, Korea DPR, Australia, USA, Brazil, Ghana, England, Paraguay, Spain, Denmark, Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Serbia, Switzerland, Argentina, Honduras, Slovakia, Algeria, Portugal, France, Slovenia, Greece, Uruguay and hosts South Africa.

2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

The qualifying rounds are going on right now for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which is being held this year in South Africa, 10 years after they held a World Cup (albeit in a different sport). For the low and uninitiated, FIFA is soccer. Granted, pundits and hooligans are saying that “the only World Cup worth watching is in 2011 in New Zealand” but then again, no one wants to hear from that malicious cadre of malcontents. No need to waste any payday loans on more TV channels just to get the latest scores, I’ll help you out on this one. Today, November 18th, is the last day of qualification – so whoever wins today goes.
South Africa automatically qualifies

For the African nations, South Africa is automatically qualified as the host nation – which won’t exactly guarantee them much. They’re currently ranked 84th in the world. Association football is the most popular sport in the nation, though in international competition, the most dominant South African presence is in cricket, and most notably in rugby union. The Springboks are perennially one of the world’s best sides, and won World Cups in 1995 and 2007, being the only nation besides Australia to have won it twice. (Though they recently were beaten by two English club sides, so they aren’t doing themselves any favors.)
Egypt vs. Algeria

The last available spot for Africa was up for grabs, and it came down to Egypt and Algeria playing to break a tie, as they were even up. On November 11th, the venue was chosen via draw, and the two faced off at Al Merreikh Stadium in Omdurman, Sudan in front of 50,000 fans. Algeria’s Antar Yahia scored five minutes before half time, and neither side was able score again, leaving Algeria the victors, 1-0.
Republic of Ireland vs. France

Ireland vs. France shaped up to be a doozy, and seeing the Emerald Isle take on the frogs at Croke Park would be something else. However, the Luck of the Irish ran out, and the French team ran away with the series, having aggregated 2 goals to the Irish 1, putting paid Irish hopes of World Cup glory. On the same day, Portugal defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia defeated Russia by virtue of the away goals rule. (Meaning that the team that was away has goals count twice on aggregate if the match results in a shootout.) European teams usually get far more coverage in the news at times, but then again…they kind of came up with the sport there. In other news, Bahrain, after defeating Saudi Arabia, had to face off against New Zealand in a play off, and were defeated by the Land of the Long White Cloud, and Costa Rica is currently battling Uruguay, for the 32nd spot on the roster. (Here is a list of those qualified to go to the 2010 World Cup.)
This ought to be good

The wait is going to stink, but that being said, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is going to kick off in June of 2010. It would be worth some payday loans to go there to watch.