Off-Track Backpacking » world cup

Fans Miss The World Cup Semi-Finals

naradb — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:43:16 +0000

Within the last month, I have been obsessed with watching the World Cups games. I am one of the thousands of fans across the world who couldn’t get enough of the sport. Well it was only last week when the semi-finals were on and Spain was playing Germany. During this day, I guess I was one of the lucky ones to actually watch the game. Only reason why I am saying this is because a few hundred fans that were planning to see the game live actually never saw it at all.
Many fans including FIFA executives were stranded, due to a whole lot of craziness at the Durban airport. As a result of this many of the flights were turned back to Cape Town and Johannesburg, but many other planes did land but it was too late to see the match. So for a few hundred fans, who have been waiting for this day for a long time, actually never saw the game. All the passengers/fans were outrage due to not only missing the game, but also considering how expensive a soccer ticket costs and everything else on top of that. As many of the officials at the airport mention, things can happen. The fans did not take that to lightly. In the end the result was due to an air traffic control problem.
As for me, a huge soccer fan I would have been very upset, thinking I just missed a match, an opportunity to even see a game, lost a flight ticket and maybe accommodation too.
This situation is a perfect example of what can happen while backpacking. Things like this do happen, so what do you do when it happens to you?

Canada Once Had A Team In The World Cup

naradb — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 06:20:04 +0000

So the world cup has started and already fans are going crazy. Well I am already one of them and the games are so intense that sometimes I feel I am among the crowds at the stadium. Even those I am Canadian I do have my favorite team. But imagine if Canada had its own team. It has been 24 years since Canada’s last appearance to make it in the world cup. The year that Canada did make it to the world cup, more than half of the starting line-up is now recognized in the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. Many of those players back then were born in B.C and came from provincial leagues. They were under-dogs, and no one ever predicted Canada to even make it through to the World Cup in Mexico that year. The Canadian fans even thought it was a joke to know that Canada even had a team, but they had no idea that the team was actually good. Once Canada played its first match against France and only lost 1-0, the public was astonished to see how much the Canadians hold back the French. The two remaining games were against Russia and Hungary. Even though they lost every game, Canada was just proud to know that our team made it to the world cup. So why haven’t we ever made it back to the world cup? Even though our nation is a hockey nation, we still have some pretty amazing soccer players, so why can’t we ever make it???? That has been the question for the last 24 years.

So who are the favorites to win this World Cup? Well it is known to be Spain or Brazil!! Although the other favorites are known to be Argentina because they have the best known player on their team, Lionel Messi and coach Diego Maradona, England because of Rooney, and Portugal because of Cristiano Ronaldo.
So who do you think will win this 2010 WORLD CUP?!

World Cup only 2 weeks away!

naradb — Thu, 27 May 2010 06:04:02 +0000

The world cup kicks off in just over two weeks and everyone’s eyes will soon be glued to the T.V. Well mine will be for sure, since I am a huge soccer fan! Plus it is only natural that I support England since half of my nationality is British. Although, if they lose, Portugal will be my next choice! But besides supporting the teams, there are three major cities that you must lay your eyes on if you are one of those lucky individuals who are going to South Africa.

Cape Town
The city to be known as the central of all Africa and the “Mother City.” Only because it is famous all over the world for its dramatically beautiful settings and amazing water fronts. One must see place in Cape Town is the island of Robben. It is where Nelson Mandela spent his 27 years in prison. Though now it is well known to be a great museum. But besides exploring the city and wandering around the newly built stadium for the games, the national parks around Cape Town are the perfect place to see the true Africa scenery.

Johannesburg
This will be another very busy city in weeks to come, due to Johannesburg having two large world Cup stadiums within driving distance between each other. Many fans will not only be around the stadiums, but also sightseeing the city’s famous art galleries, markets, and restaurants. Yet, one major thing to experience in this large city is hear and see the latest Kwaito, which is known to be South African hip hop. Very popular among the locals, so if you want a taste of true African music I say takes a listen to this.

Nelspruit
Just a few steps away from Durban, this city is well known to be the hub for fruit farming. It is not near any of the Indian Ocean beaches, but it does contain abundance of national parks around the city itself. Very close by the South Africa’s flagship state park it is one of the many national parks to see real African wildlife. This area is also very common to be the perfect place for camping.

Consider this while you are visiting the hub of the World Cup, not only choose to see a game but also sightsee the many destinations South Africa has to offer.

Racial War in South Africa May spoil the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Anthony C — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:00:42 +0000

Hi everyone, my name is Anthony and I am a new blog writer for Off-Track Backpacking. I am currently a Political Science student at UDM. I concentrated my studies in international politics such as Latin America, Eastern and Western Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. Travelers are not always aware of the political climate when traveling abroad so I’ll be focusing my posts on this matter.

So let’s start with South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As every soccer fan in the world knows, the next world cup is scheduled for June in South Africa, in northern and southern cities. Now, an event like this will attract a large number of tourists, especially backpackers who are travelling Africa and the rest of the World. I have two words for you- Be Careful!

If you are currently travelling in the South African area, be aware of the current racial conflict between blacks and whites that has aroused earlier this year. Only 70 miles from a 2010 World Cup football stadium, white farmers and their families are learning to defend themselves with lethal weapons. Thousands of white landowners have been killed by Zimbabwe style marauders. I digged up a bit more information to find out that the main problem in South Africa is that commercial agricultural production has taken a massive hit where land reform has occurred. And as the attacks on white farmers continue, the police seem increasingly powerless and ineffective, and farmers are turning to vigilante behavior as their way of life comes under violent assault. This is a problem that has existed from colonisation and now that the international press is in South Africa to cover the FIFA World Cup, it’s their chance to show the reality of things. It’s getting to the point that the FIFA is seriously examining their options of moving the 2010 FIFA World Cup back to Germany, where the stadiums are still standing and functioning.

So for those of you who are planning to travel in this area, I’m not implying to cancel your trip but be aware of the unstable political situation and travel safely!

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1192088/South-Africa-World-Cup-2010--shootings-started.html