They may have been in prime position to be the sentimental favorites at the African Cup of Nations, but three dead after Angolan rebels peppered their team bus with machine gun fire, Togo is pulling out of the competition … and encouraging other teams to do the same.

Tags: African Cup of Nations, soccer violence, Togo

The lowest-ranked team left in the FA Cup — from League 2 — is currently battling Fulham at home. If they could win, they’d undoubtedly become the Cinderella story of the FA.

But who are they? That’s exactly why they are so ready to be a fan favorite:

UPDATE: Fulham scores. Boooo!

Tags: Accrington Stanley, FA Cup, Fulham, Ian Rush

Don’t ask me why, but I was doing some research on French soccer uniforms and came across this picture, which I felt was awesome:

Tags: kits

In-game betting can be dangerous … as one college student learned during an African Cup of Nations match between Angola and Mali.

Angola was up 4-0 when the student bet his entire £4,400 education loan on Angola holding on for the win. Had they been successful, he woulda won £44 via Betfair. Alas, the Mali-ans pulled off a miracle at the last second to draw.

[via CalvinAyre]

UPDATE: James in Dundee (aka @jambizzle) tweets in to say this story is not accurate:

This was outed as a joke between the Original poser (bettor) and a friend. No bet was made.

Tags: African Cup of Nations, Angola, Betfair, Mali, soccer betting

Bono has a semi-interesting Top 10 type of list in the New York Times — looking at 10 things that will shape the next decade — and one of them (I can’t tell if it’s #1 or #10) is soccer. Specifically the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

He says:

Peter Arkle

The World Cup Kicks Off the African Decade

It’s getting easier to describe to Americans the impact of the World Cup — especially the impact it will have in Africa, where the tournament is to be held this summer. A few years ago, Ivory Coast was splitting apart and in the midst of civil war when its national team qualified for the 2006 jamboree. The response was so ecstatic that the war was largely put on hold as something more important than deathly combat took place, i.e. a soccer match. The team became a symbol of how the different tribes could — and did — get on after the tournament was over.

This time round, for the 2010 World Cup, naysayers thought South Africa could not build the stadiums in time. Those critics should be red-faced now. South Africa’s impressive preparations underline the changes on the continent, where over the last few years, 5 percent economic growth was the average. Signs point to a further decade of growth to come. Canny investors will put more capital there. This in turn has the potential to shore up fragile young democracies across the continent.

Tags: 2010 World Cup, Bono, South Africa 2010

Discovered something interesting while home in Dallas for the holidays … my brother-in-law has a niece who apparently takes her soccer pretty seriously. And her team: The Reds.

She’s very proud to play on Liverpool. My first guess was this has to be some sort of Tom Hicks gig. Sure enough — Liverpool FC America, “combining the traditions of Liverpool with the pride of Texas”.

Brilliant concept, really … considering how many bajillions of American kids play soccer, it’s a shame that none of us were taught about the greatness of the EPL until after our own play had been relegated to the Sega/Playstation/Xbox leagues. But now, American youth soccer players come with a team to root for right from the pre-pubescent git-go.

Will be interesting to see if this catches on and expands. I’d so want my (theoretical) children to go to Aston Villa Goalie Camp, for example.

UPDATE: Everton has something similar (out of Connecticut, I believe):

http://www.evertonamericact.com/

Tags: Everton, Everton America, Liverpool, Liverpool FC America, Tom Hicks, youth soccer

Not even sure what that means and whether or not you’ll have to wear funny glasses … but the techsters at Sony are using South Africa 2010 as the stage to show off their latest technology.

From the looks of things, however, we will not be able to view the special stuff in the USA.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/Global/News/971846/Sony-show-World-Cup-matches-3D/

Tags: 2010 World Cup, 3D TV, Soccer on TV, sony

21-year-old Saudi striker Nawaf Al Abed scored on Saturday what papers in the UK are claiming to be the fastest goal ever recorded in a professional match:

Funky stuff always going down in the Middle Eastern leagues, no? Or is it just that they’re getting more coverage than before, and the whole internet thing, that we see more soccer from them over all?

Thanks, as often, to the PokerGossip, for keeping me abreast of the other big-money action out there.

Tags: great goals, Nawaf Al Abed, Saudi Arabia

You know, maybe women’s college football really should think about going the hockey route … because while the following behavior is “inexcusable”, I gotta think the ferocity of the hard-fouling chick brutality in and of itself makes me more likely to watch BYU in their conference championship this weekend:

Thanks, Steve, for sending!

Tags: BYU, dirty play, fights, NCAA, women's soccer

They’re down to 20 players left in the main event of WSOP-Europe — a £10,000 no-limit hold’em tournament that drew 334 runners — and retired Man U striker Teddy Sheringham is currently sixth in chips.

He’s already in the money, but should he make the final table, then he’s in some real dough.

Click here to follow the action.

1st prize is more than £800,000 … or US$1.3 million.

Tags: Manchester United, poker, Teddy Sheringham, WSOP

Swiss referee Massimo Bussac was officiating a game in the Qatar Stars league when he felt the need … the need for pee.

Tags: Massimo Bussac, Qatar Stars League, referee decisions

Soccerati’s a new(ish) operation, of course, and we may or may not have forgotten to pay our Tivo bill. Likewise, there was that whole Obama health care speech, and the desire to flip between Fox, CNN, and MSNBC for comparative post-game analysis. All that, and it’s tough to find non-EPL or MLS games in the Las Vegas Cox Cable listings … like we said, may or may not have forgotten to pay the Tivo bill.

Anyhow, in this sorta situation — because really, as awesome as YouTube can be, online streaming vid isn’t the way to watch a game — the place where I’ve lately found the best quick, action-friendly recap is BleacherReport:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/251482-us-vs-trinidad-and-tobago-a-minute-by-minute-report

A whole game in 90 tweets or less.

Tags: Bleacher Report, Soccer on TV, Trinidad Tobago, USA, USA Men's National Team

I didn’t know the original story, but found it kinda interesting to learn how Michael Shields was convicted for the attempted murder of a Bulgarian man after a Liverpool Champions League victory.

Shields — 22 now, 18 at the time he was fingered as the chap who dropped a concrete slab on the head of Martin Georgiev — became the first Brit to receive a Royal Pardon for a crime committed overseas.

He gave a statement upon his release, saying after spending four years in British and Bulgarian prisons for a crime he didn’t commit:

“I knew I would never walk alone.”

Tags: Bulgaria, Champions League, Crimes against Soccer, Liverpool, Martin Georgiev, Michael Shields, soccer hooligans, You Will Never Walk Alone

Presumably non-soccery @RafeFurst tweets:

Illegal 4 me 2 tweet this from my car but it’s not illegal 4 this guy 2 watch a soccer match on his steering wheel http://twitpic.com/ge54d
about 16 hours ago from TwitterFon

Tags: Soccer fans in the USA

Not sure which league this is in — France, I presume — but at least the right guy got a booking and presumably career-ending injury:

La faute malheureuse commise par Axel Witsel (Standard) sur Wasilewski (Anderlecht) lors du match Anderlecht-Standard du 30/08/2009 de Jupiler Pro League (score final 1-1)

(Thanks DonkeyBomber for the link!)

UPDATE: Oops, just re-watched it. And I think I misinterpreted the card as well as the action. I now can see why the player driving down the field was the bad guy, not the tackler who got (literally) crushed. Yikes.

Tags: injuries, soccer videos

They’re thinking about it, at least. South Korea is supposedly ready to pass a resolution in September that will create a joint North Korea-South Korea football fan group — and part of that will entail KOR sending 300 fans from PRK to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Both North and South Korea have already qualified for South Africa 2010, making it the first time the two countries have ever competed in the same World Cup.

Source: Associated Press

Tags: Korea, soccer politics, South Africa 2010, World Cup

Ack! So ESPN does a 30-minute preview special (cool) … but I can’t find the game itself on TV. I am up in the Pacific Northwest, with some not-so-soccery friends who don’t have Fox Soccer Channel or Setanta … and the cable here doesn’t carry Telemundo, let alone Telemundo 2. WTF!?

(And some Americans wanna stop the influx of Mexicans into this country? I don’t get it!)

Anyhow, I have found a live stream online in two places — both en Espanol however. Let me know if there’s a place I can find it in English.

Currently watching one of the biggest games in my (short) soccer life here:
http://envivo.terra.com/deportes/live/259-eu/

And I also found the same thing, with just about every other game, too, via the Japanese here:
http://www.oskaya.com/tv/

Meanwhile, here’s a picture of the game from one of mi amigas who is there right now:

photo: Lesley Tellez

UPDATE: Marc in New York writes in with more:

“When all else fails, http://myp2p.eu“

Tags: ESPN, Estadia Azteca, live-stream, mexico men's national team, Soccer on TV, telemundo, USA Men's National Team

Soccerati’s own Sangyfarha on why Club America fans mean more to US Soccer than American Chelsea fans:

Tags: Chelsea FC, Club America, football fans, world football challenge

It started out as a beautiful day, but by halftime the lightning was cracking and the rain coming down … (kinda like the Chelsea vs. Club America game was going, actually). The extra-wet smoke-break at Cowboys stafium gives Sangyfarha a chance to analyze how weather plays into the 21st Century version of the beautiful game. Guess what – not only will the World Cup be looking at monster American football stadiums like these, but so will the European football leagues, Sang says.

Tags: Chelsea FC, Club America, Cowboys Stadium, inclement weather, soccer stadiums, world football challenge

Where better to celebrate a victory drown your sorrows than at a tiddie bar filled with fans of the team you were unsuccessfully rooting against? Add multiple vodka tonics and a penchant for violence and you’ve got a winner … but not before a Chelsea fan tries to make nice by offering up his Samsung blue in exchange for Sangyfarha’s red. Fortunately a drunken Syrian steps in to broker the peace.

A poetic statement on football’s international diversity and an American trying to come to grips with riot mentality and a conflicting desire for women in 8-inch heels.

Tags: "The Lodge", Chelsea FC, football fans, Liverpool, soccer videos, strippers