Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Olympic Team Dreams
Much debate is going on at the moment whether or not Great Britain will field an Olympic football team in 2012.
Some of the home nations are keen and some aren’t.
It would be bizarre to see a 'Lions' football team and if it did happen what would the team look like?
Even though England are struggling at the moment, it's hard to see many none English players forcing their way in, maybe in 5 years time though.
The notion of Team GB is intriguing mainly because football does not mix it up enough.
In rugby union and league there are the Lions, the Barbarians and occasionally Hemisphere teams, all of which add an extra dimension to the game.
You also have rugby sevens, which is constantly growing in popularity and narrowly missed out on inclusion in the Olympics.
Fair enough, there are plenty of football games in the calendar already, a league of 20 teams, European club football, two domestic cups and the demands of international football, but maybe there should be space for some fun.
How about 7-a-side football!
I would love to see Fabregas roaring round a pitch showing off his skills, I doubt Wenger would share my enthusiasm though.
Maybe that's a non starter but why not organise a couple of friendly invitational matches or even a short Lions tour.
I can guarantee that no Premiership managers would support these games, but I feel there is too much emphasis placed on club football.
In rugby, playing for your country or the Lions is the highlight of a career, in football playing in the Champions League would be the pinnacle.
This is evident in the passion and determination shown in international players of both sports.
I welcome the idea of Team GB and other one off teams, and I think the relevant governing bodies should also show their support.
Some of the home nations are keen and some aren’t.
It would be bizarre to see a 'Lions' football team and if it did happen what would the team look like?
Even though England are struggling at the moment, it's hard to see many none English players forcing their way in, maybe in 5 years time though.
The notion of Team GB is intriguing mainly because football does not mix it up enough.
In rugby union and league there are the Lions, the Barbarians and occasionally Hemisphere teams, all of which add an extra dimension to the game.
You also have rugby sevens, which is constantly growing in popularity and narrowly missed out on inclusion in the Olympics.
Fair enough, there are plenty of football games in the calendar already, a league of 20 teams, European club football, two domestic cups and the demands of international football, but maybe there should be space for some fun.
How about 7-a-side football!
I would love to see Fabregas roaring round a pitch showing off his skills, I doubt Wenger would share my enthusiasm though.
Maybe that's a non starter but why not organise a couple of friendly invitational matches or even a short Lions tour.
I can guarantee that no Premiership managers would support these games, but I feel there is too much emphasis placed on club football.
In rugby, playing for your country or the Lions is the highlight of a career, in football playing in the Champions League would be the pinnacle.
This is evident in the passion and determination shown in international players of both sports.
I welcome the idea of Team GB and other one off teams, and I think the relevant governing bodies should also show their support.
Monday, 29 October 2007
Globalisation of Sport
What's wrong with a bit of individuality and personality these days?
It seems there is an insatiable need for every corner of the world to look the same. Now this is not a political blog so I'm not going to get involved in any anti-capitalist, globalisation rant. I do however feel that there should be space for each country to maintain its unique identity.
American sports are great and they form a massive part of American culture. Likewise rugby, cricket and football provide the backbone to English culture.
We don't need 'Global Sport', soccer or cricket are never going to rival the big four sports in the US and vice versa in the UK. Why try? Some things just aren't meant to be.
I used to really look forward to catching the US sports run down on Trans World Sports on a Sunday morning, but that's where it should stay.
Stick to what you do best, I say.
Saturday, 27 October 2007
What's On The Box?
This will be quite a busy weekend of sport, and there is some good coverage on the BBC.
The Anglo-Welsh Cup kicks off this weekend, and going on last night's opener between Sale and Cardiff it should be another great tournament. Worcester vs Ospreys and Bristol vs Scarlets are the games featured on the BBC.
There is also the usual mix of horse racing (boring!) and football coverage.
For me one of the most interesting watches will be the highlights from the NFL match at Wembley, come on the Phins!
And the final treat on the Beeb is highlights of the bound to be bruising rugby league international between Great Britain and New Zealand.
Also on terrestrial, Five have their dubious Football Italiano show on Sunday which will have Roma vs Milan. Having stolen all the big shows in recent weeks, ITV seem to be all out of excitement this weekend.
Sky
Sky Sport have some rather uninteresting Championship football games this weekend, although they make up for it with some belting live rugby games scheduled.
It is Currie Cup Final weekend, South African rugby's domestic competition in which the Cheetahs and Lions fight it out this year. The rugby League (GB vs NZ) is also live on Sky Sports.
The new boys on the TV, Setanta have also bagged some action, they have the Hammers vs Pompey game live and a host of other shows including some tennis, Magners league highlights and various other random sports.
Thursday, 25 October 2007
Springboks Sidestep Soweto
Sadly I have already written about the demise of Spurs this week and I don't want to keep kicking them while they are down... well maybe I do... but I won't.
Instead I want to look at race and rugby in South Africa.
The history of the Springboks is fairly eventful to say the least.
It wasn't until 1992 that the current Rugby Union was established with the unification of the former whites-only South African Rugby Board and the non-racial South African Rugby Union.
This led to readmission into international rugby after eight years of isolation due to apartheid.
Episode One
During the 1995 RWC, hosted and won by SA, the Springboks were the toast and hope of the 'Rainbow Nation'. An emotional closing ceremony with Mandela passing over the Webb Ellis Trophy to Pienaar was meant to be symbolic. Chester Williams was the first post-apartheid black player to where the green and gold and it was expected that the sport would now reach out into the townships.
However for various reasons this never happened.
Ten years of scandal, misery and embarrassment meant that it wasn't until Jake White stepped up from U21 coach that there was any hope.
A New Hope
Having comfortably won this year's World Cup it was once again hoped that rugby in South Africa could reach out to the clearly fervent support in the black regions, and discover more players.
I strongly believe that the strongest XV players should line up at kick off, no matter their colour, I also feel that rugby is a sport that should support all corners of all countries. Coaching and money should be invested in the game where there are people who want to play, and South Africa as World Champions should set a standard.
The Empire Strikes Bok
Unfortunately it looks like Sarfu have not learned any lessons from 1995. Yesterday the planned visit of the returning champions to the Township of Soweto was canceled and the disappointment was clear to see.
"We're devastated about it. We were expecting to see our heroes within the backyard of Soweto," said Johannes Mhlongo, captain of the Soweto Rugby Club.
Lets hope I'm wrong and they have learned some lessons.
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