South Africa's World Cup gamble (AP)
International Football Related News
World Cup organizers still have 355,000 tickets to sell in the eight weeks leading up to the World Cup as they continue to sacrifice short-term profits for the sake of long-term benefits and a better image for South Africa. Officials will be relieved that 145,000 match tickets were sold in the first four days of the final sales phase.
Source: Yahoo! Sports - World Soccer News
"Upside Down World Cup": Raj Patel on How South Africa Has Cracked Down on the Poor and the Shack Dwellers' Movement Ahead of the World Cup
As the 2010 World Cup opens in South Africa, Raj Patel looks at one of the most overlooked aspects of this year's tournament: the ongoing struggle of tens of thousands of shack dwellers across the country. Over the past year, shack settlement leaders in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town have been chased from their homes by gangs, arrested, detained without hearing, and assaulted. As the World Cup begins, a shack dwellers' movement known as Abahlali baseMjondolo is mounting what they call an "Upside Down World Cup" campaign to draw attention to their plight. Ref. Source 7