Quidditch World Cup VI tournament in Kissimmee, Fla.

KISSIMMEE The Saturday morning match between the University of Central Florida and Stanford University had revved up to fever pitch as competing players sprinted down the field and started pushing and shoving to gain possession of the ball.

A referee blew his whistle, calling a foul, and all 14 players on the field stopped immediately and dropped their broomsticks.

Yes, broomsticks. Because even if you aren’t a wizard like Harry Potter, you still have to play quidditch with a broomstick.

Quidditch, for Muggles or nonmagical folk unfamiliar with the Potter phenomenon, is the fast-flying, full-contact sport for witches and wizards that combines elements of soccer, rugby and dodgeball. Its most fanciful element is a golden snitch, a bright golf ball with wings whose capture signals the end of the game.

In 2005, students at Middlebury College in Vermont adapted the sport from the bestselling J.K. Rowling novels and developed a coed league, which became popular at other college campuses.

Today, there are more than 1,000 teams from 45 states and 33 countries. The 300 most active teams compete at tournaments run by the International Quidditch Association, the sponsor of this weekend’s sixth annual Quidditch World Cup in Kissimmee.

Some 1,600 athletes on 80 different teams have traveled from across the U.S., France, Canada and Mexico to compete at Austin Tindall Park during the two-day event.

“It’s become a lot more than just Harry Potter fans playing,” said Alex Benepe, CEO of the international league. “We definitely have Harry Potter fans who get into it, but there are some people who have never read the books or seen the movies, but love playing once they try it out.”

Allick Jorgensen, a 20-year-old public-relations major at UCF, said he converted several soccer, football and lacrosse players when UCF’s quidditch team formed six months ago.

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Quidditch World Cup draws teams and Harry Potter fans to Orlando area

Nine group winners qualify and four from play-offs featuring the best eight second-placed finishers.

Spain start slowly

Presuming they qualify, Spain’s push for an impossible fourth straight championship will be the dominant story of the World Cup. But the holders, who have won the last two European Championships, did not start their Group I campaign perfectly.

They needed a late Roberto Soldado winner to beat Georgia before letting leads slip in home draws with France and Finland. But Spain always seem to do what they need to and their 1-0 win in the Stade de France on Tuesday night, thanks to Pedro’s winner, has put them back on top of the group with three games left. Only their trip to Helsinki in September should challenge them.

Germany and the Netherlands set the pace

As with the qualification for Euro 2012, the Netherlands and Germany have started the fastest. The Netherlands are trying to return to their classical principles under Louis van Gaal and have won all six games in Group D, leaving them seven points clear of Hungary. Van Gaal is making use of young midfielders Kevin Strootman, Adam Maher and Jordy Clasie.

Joachim Lw’s Germany also have a young side, and 20-year-old Mario Gtze led the line in their 4-1 defeat of Kazakhstan on Tuesday. Germany, unlike the Netherlands, have dropped two points so far but lead Group C by six and should certainly qualify in September.

Rise of former Yugoslav countries

While Croatia and Serbia are fairly regular World Cup competitors, two smaller nations from the former Yugoslavia could play in Brazil. Bosnia have never reached a major tournament but they are two points clear at the top of Group G. Edin Dzeko is a superstar in Sarajevo and he has scored seven goals so far, the most in Europe.

Montenegro is smaller than Bosnia and newer as an independent football nation, but they are certainly effective, as England found out on Tuesday. They are two points clear in Group H but still have to come to Wembley in October. And Croatia are close in Group A.

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World Cup 2014: How the qualifying groups stand around the world

Lloris Escapes Red Card | France v Spain World Cup Qualifier | 26-03-2013
Lloris Escapes Red Card during World Cup Qualifier between France and Spain. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was fortunate not to be a sent off during Franc…

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Lloris Escapes Red Card | France v Spain World Cup Qualifier | 26-03-2013 – Video

The 37-year-old is taking his time to make a final decision on what is set to be the last move of his career, having been linked with clubs in England, France, China and Australia.

A spokesman for Beckham said: “There are a number of serious proposals on the table from a host of clubs across the world. David is no hurry to make a decision, the key is making the right one as he has always done successfully in his career.”

The statement continued: “It’s early days in the process. David is enjoying spending quality time with his family over the holidays.”

The former England captain ended his five-year stint with Los Angeles Galaxy on December 1 after winning a second MLS Cup.

He has been linked with Monaco, Queens Park Rangers, the Middle East and a number of Chinese clubs, although Perth Glory conceded he would be unlikely to play in Australia.

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World Football – Beckham to take time over multiple offers

The 37-year-old joins New York from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama having previously played in the French league with Lyon.

A noted free-kick specialist, Juninho made 47 appearances for Brazil and was part of their squad in the 2006 World Cup finals.

“Juninho is a world-class player who our Global Sporting Director, Gerard Houllier, and I have known and admired for many years,” said Red Bulls Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh.

“Aside from being a top dead-ball specialist and a tremendous talent, Juninho is a fantastic professional both on and off the field. He is in great physical shape and we think he can make a positive impact for us in 2013,” he added.

Former Scotland manager Roxburgh has been over-hauling the Red Bulls squad recently and last week Mexican defender Rafa Marquez was allowed to join Mexican club Leon.

With former France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry in attack and Australian ex-Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, the Red Bulls hope to make a real push for their first MLS title next season.

The club have yet to appoint a new head coach, however, after releasing Swede Hans Backe at the end of the season.

Local media reports have suggested the favourite for the job is former Scotland midfielder Gary McAllister, who was manager of English clubs Leeds United and Coventry City and worked with Houllier at Aston Villa.

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World Football – Juninho signs for New York Red Bulls

Michel, 65, lost two friendly matches in a brief tenure before declining to go with the Kenya team to the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup in Uganda this month where they finished runners-up.

“I could not find an amicable agreement regarding my compliance with several provisions of my contract,” Michel said.

It ends another national team job for the widely travelled Michel who has coached in 12 countries since leaving his job with the French national team in 1988.

The Frenchman has coached at four World Cups with four teams – France in 1986, Cameroon in 1994, Morocco in 1998 and the Ivory Coast in 2006.

He has also been the national team coach of the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia.

Kenya have named James Nandwa as his replacement.

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World Football – Michel steps down as Kenya coach after three months

VANCOUVER – And now another long journey begins for Canada’s women’s soccer team.

Veterans and young hopefuls arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday for an evaluation camp that will serve as an early signpost on the road to the 2015 Womens World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

In other words, after winning an historic bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Games, Canada will begin the development process all over again without knowing for years who will be on the squad during the big events.

“It’s exciting,” said veteran goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc in an interview. Weve been talking about us wanting to take that next step (up in ability) as a group and as a country and as a program and now its started.

Beginning Thursday, a total of 27 players are slated to take part in on-field and off-field workouts at various Vancouver-area locales until Dec. 20. LeBlanc is among 12 veterans, including captain Christine Sinclair, who will take part in the camp after garnering the Olympic bronze.

Other participants include nine younger players who have made their marks with Canadas under-20 and under-17 teams and are attempting to elevate their competition level, as well as six national program holdovers who did not make the Olympic grade.

LeBlanc, 32, and other veterans enter camp knowing that change is likely in Vancouver’s cold, wet wind. Coach John Herdman has stated he is looking to identify and develop younger talent that can help advance the national women’s program into the World Cup, which Canada will host, the Rio Games in Brazil and the years beyond.

LeBlanc chalked up Herdman’s mission as an attempt to find balance within the team that lost to the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic semifinals before beating France for bronze.

“It’s going to push us, and its going to make us all bette,” LeBlanc said.

The Maple Ridge, B.C., product said she and Erin McLeod, who saw most of the action at the Olympics, have been able to challenge each other at the goalkeeping spot. Now, there will be competition “across the board.”

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Long journey begins toward 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games

(Carly Rae Jepsen vs PSY – Call Me Gangnam)oppa gangnam style remix call me may be
Download file here: hostedez.com best of remix 2012/2013 lagu terbaik mesti tonton extra tags The players featured in this video play for countries: Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Wales.Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Bolton, Chelsea, Derby County, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Reading, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic. Ronaldinho Gaucho SHOW MEN R10 manchester united, sporting lisbon, portugal, english premier league, skills, goals, rabona hocus pocus, sent off rooney, world cup, CR7, CR17, amazingFrom:ceiglbtiopViews:1 0ratingsTime:03:41More inHowto Style

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(Carly Rae Jepsen vs PSY – Call Me Gangnam)oppa gangnam style remix call me may be – Video

Gameplay Fifa 12 – Chelsea vs Arsenal
En Facebook ———– www.facebook.com Sergio Kun Agüero (Atlético Madrid)Samir Nasri (Arsenal)Fernando Torres (Liverpool)Zlatan Ibrahimovic(Inter Milan)Kaká (AC Milan)Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)Ronaldinho(AC Milan)Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)Lionel Messi(Barcelona)Gianluigi Buffon(Juventus),Iker Casillas(Real Madrid),Petr Cech(Chelsea),Edwin van (Manchester United),Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Paolo Maldini (AC Milan), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), John Terry (Chelsea) (Barcelona), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic Fc Barcelona), Wayne Rooney (Machester United), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Hamburg), David Villa (Fc Barcelona) Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Wales.Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Bolton, Chelsea, Derby County, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Reading, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wigan Athletic. Ronaldinho Gaucho manchester united, sporting lisbon, portugal, english premier league, skills, goals, rabona rooney, world cup, CR7, CR17, amazing goal, joga bonito, champions league, carling cup league cup, fa cup, skillz, freekick, penalty, bbc motd, skysports, setanta sports,sport, nike vapor …From:EmmanuelGameplaysViews:0 0ratingsTime:03:42More inGaming

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Gameplay Fifa 12 – Chelsea vs Arsenal – Video

LONDON, December 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ —

The Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw took place in London yesterday and as a RWC 2015 Worldwide Partner, Land Rover played a key role in the official proceedings. Richie McCaw, as the captain of the current reigning champions, delivered the iconic Webb Ellis Cup to the draw in an England 2015 branded Land Rover Discovery 4, alongside England Rugby 2015 ambassador Will Greenwood. Following the delivery of the iconic trophy, the draw determined each pool for the tournament which is hosted in England in 2015. The captains and coaches from each of the 12 directly qualified teams were also in attendance and commented afterwards on their pool alongside Land Rover ambassadors Will Greenwood and Lawrence Dallaglio.

Land Rover has a well-established relationship with Rugby and as well as supporting Rugby World Cup 2015 in England, the company also partner The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2013, Premiership Rugby in England, Top 14 Orange in France as well as the 2012 Shanghai Sevens and Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens in 2012.

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Land Rover Delivers Webb Ellis Cup to Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool Allocation Draw

In the Western Conference, the Seattle Sounders go through to face the LA Galaxy after stunning Real Salt Lake 1-0 in Utah thanks to a superbly struck goal from Honduran Mario Martinez making his first league start.

In New Jersey, a thrilling second half of a clash which was rescheduled after snow on Wednesday saw two red cards and a missed twice-taken penalty by New York striker Kenny Cooper.

DC, who won the tie 2-1 on aggregate after their 1-1 draw at home on Saturday, will now face the Houston Dynamo over two-legs for a place in the title-deciding MLS Cup on December 1.

The Red Bulls had the better of the opening hour with former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry forcing two good saves out of DC keeper Bill Hamid.

But the game looked to have turned towards New York when Cooper went down in the area, under challenge from Hamid, resulting in a penalty and red card for the keeper.

The keeper angrily protested that Cooper had leapt over him but there was another twist as the New York forward converted the spot-kick but referee Mark Geiger spotted encroachment by two Red Bulls players and ordered the kick retaken.

To the delight of the travelling DC fans, substitute keeper Joe Willis then dived low to save the retaken penalty and keep the scores level.

The teams were both down to 10 men after New York’s Mexican international defender Rafa Marquez was sent off in the 75th minute when a rash challenge earned him a second yellow card.

Extra-time beckoned but with two minutes of regulation time remaining, DC broke and overlapping full-back Robbie Russell slipped the ball to rookie DeLeon who coolly converted.

United head coach Ben Olsen praised the spirit of his unfancied side, who have progressed without leading player Dwayne De Rosario, who is injured.

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World Football – DC knockout Red Bulls, Sounders through

An international competition to find the best maitre d’ in the world was under way in Tokyo on Thursday.

Contestants from 14 different countries were being tested on everything from serviette etiquette to their knowledge of which wine works best with a chef’s speciality dish.

A professional jury will be awarding points in nine categories of service as it looks for the winner of the Georges Baptiste Cup among the 24 entrants.

The competition will pick two winners: one student and one professional, who will show a combination of waiting and butlering skills.

Swiss hopeful Amritpal Warraich, 20, said there is so much more to being a maitre d’ than meets the eye.

“A good butler is one who knows what the guests want before they do,” he said. “He is there not only to help but also to make them comfortable.”

Warraich said he was confident in dealing with customers, even in a foreign language, but admitted: “I am not very good with wines”.

Shin Miyazaki, 35, who works at Chteau Restaurant Jol Robuchon in Tokyo said his trade was little appreciated in Japan, despite a widespread understanding of the importance of sommeliers and chefs.

“A good maitre d’ will put the client at ease and will make him appreciate even more the dishes prepared by the chef,” he said.

The Georges Baptiste Cup was established in France in 1961 in honour of the chef and butler of the same name.

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World cup for waiters held in Japan

World Cup Semi Final ( Superstar ) Argentina Vs France 1-2
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World Cup Semi Final ( Superstar ) Argentina Vs France 1-2 – Video

The most important rugby internationals of the next three years take place over the forthcoming four weeks when the main test nations play almost 40 matches which will determine the seedings for the 2015 World Cup.

Such is the importance of the World Cup in the rugby calendar that these fixtures just about comprise a qualifying competition for the England-based tournament.

The big three southern hemisphere nations are all touring, with world champions New Zealand, fresh from winning the inaugural four-nations Rugby Championship but denied a world record run of victories by last month’s draw with Australia, secure on top of the rankings.

Second-placed Australia also look safe for an all-important top-four place but South Africa (third), England (fourth), France (fifth)and Wales (sixth) could all spend the next four weeks climbing and falling before the final positions are settled for the Dec. 3 World Cup draw in London.

Anyone outside the top four will face one of the big guns in the pool stage in three years’ time, making their potential path to the final likely to become significantly tougher.

Further down the rankings Ireland, Argentina, Scotland, Samoa, Italy and Tonga, the only other automatic qualifiers, are desperately battling to fill the next four slots to secure a second seeding and greatly enhance their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

Coaches, of course, will rarely be drawn on such long-term issues. “We just have to look after our performances, that will look after our results and the results will look after the rankings,” said England’s Stuart Lancaster as he prepared for a gruelling programme against Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

In truth, there is little point in anyone trying to work out what they might need to do to or to avoid to secure a certain ranking, such are the complications of the system where teams gain or lose points against their opposition but have those points weighted by the teams’ relative strengths, the margin of victory and location.

If the form lines of recent years are to be followed, it is unlikely that the Six Nations sides will make much of an impression on the travelling big guns, even though the tourists arrive at the end of their seasons.

Since the 2007 World Cup the Six Nations teams have lost 31 of the 38 home games they have played against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa – a shocking record surpassed in mediocrity only by their even worse performances south of the equator.

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RWC seedings spice up November tests

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) – A year into the rebuilding process after their deflating Rugby World Cup campaign, England have laid some solid foundation stones but are still arranging the materials before putting the main structure in place.

Coach Stuart Lancaster and his assistants have undoubtedly changed the culture of the squad and, bearing in mind the widespread changes of personnel, have achieved encouraging results and performances.

They remain very much a work in progress, however, with question marks over almost every position as Lancaster has made no secret that his approach is to build a team capable of winning the World Cup on home soil in 2015.

The dilemma is how much he can risk sacrificing in the name of experimentation particularly over the next month when England’s results against Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand will have such a tangible impact on their prospects three years down the line.

Assuming England have enough firepower to beat Fiji on Saturday, encouraging performances and lively debuts will be scant consolation for the probably dire consequences should they lose the remaining three.

The seedings for the 2015 World Cup will be based on the world rankings on Dec. 3 – the draw is made in London on that day – and England are desperate to hold on to fourth place behind the three big southern hemisphere nations.

If they do so Lancaster’s men would avoid the high probability of facing one of the three heavyweights in the pool phase of the tournament and they would also be likely to face a far easier quarter-final.

France and Wales are breathing down England’s neck in the rankings but the system is so complicated, with points gained weighted by the strength of opposition, that nobody is quite sure what combination of results will produce what order.

What is certain is that if England were to upset the odds and win all four Twickenham tests they would be assured of a top-four ranking.

That, however, looks a big ask for a team who lost two and drew one of their tests in South Africa in June and have won only one of the last nine home games against a Tri-Nations side.

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Rugby-Still early days in England's rebuilding job

Somewhere in Canada, a nine-year-old girl decided that Christine Sinclair needed help.

So the young supporter wrote a letter to the star captain of the national womens team and offered to donate Tooth Fairy money to help cover a $3,500 fine assessed by soccers world governing body for Sinclairs comments and actions following Canadas controversial loss to the United States in a London Olympic Games semifinal.

Its just incredible, Sinclair said Wednesday. John (Herdman), our head coach, says he has never seen so much attention given to a FIFA ruling ever.

Sinclair scored three times in that Aug. 6 semifinal, each time giving Canada a one-goal advantage, but a disputed six-second violation called on goalkeeper Erin McLeod by Norwegian referee Christina Pederson led to a handball call and the final tying goal for the U.S., which then collected the winner from Alex Morgan in extra time.

Afterward, Sinclair said it was a shame that, in such an important match, the ref decided the result before it started.

That, however, apparently wasnt what earned the 29-year-old native of Burnaby, B.C., the $3,500 fine and a four-game suspension. In a ruling announced earlier this month, a FIFA disciplinary panel cited unsporting behaviour toward officials.

Sinclair said she accepted the penalties. The Canadian Soccer Association said it would pay the fine, and she is expected to miss a January tournament in China and possibly, depending on the number of contests Canada plays there, in the Cyprus Cup in March.

Back to London, though, where Sinclair and her teammates somehow regrouped after that devastating defeat and held off France long enough for Diana Mathesons late goal to produce a 1-0 victory and a bronze medal.

It was Canadas first Olympic medal in a traditional team sport since mens basketball in 1936, and it sparked waves of admiration for the soccer team from sea to sea.

Myself, and as a team, we were very surprised by the reaction back home to our success in London, Sinclair said. I dont think any of us expected it. As a result, our team, as individuals, were enjoying that.

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Soccer star Sinclair says national team must build on momentum

Bosnia and Herzegovina have a short history as a country after becoming an independent nation in 1992.

The Bosnian football team have an even shorter history as their first attempt to qualify for an international competition came in the build up to the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

In the qualifying process for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Bosnia and Herzegovina finished fourth behind Denmark, Croatia and Greece in Group 1.

Over the next decade, the closest that the Bosnians got to qualifying for a major tournament was in 2004 when they finished in fourth place in their qualifying group, just one point behind Norway for the second place playoff round spot of UEFA EURO 2004.

Things began to turn around for young nation during qualification for the 2010 World Cup when they finished in second place in Group 5 behind Spain.

Bosnia and Herzegovina were drawn with Portugal in the playoff round.

In the two matches between the clubs, one in Lisbon and one in Zenica, Portugal won both matches by a1-0 scoreline.

Two years later, the same situation was presented to the Bosnians in their bid to qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.

Once again, they finished second in their group, but they were only one point behind France at the end of Group D play.

Again, Portugal were drawn as opponents in the playoff round.

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World Cup Qualifying: Is Luck Finally on the Side of Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Lagos The Flamingoes of Nigeria arrived in Lagos on Friday night, after their FIFA Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan outing without fanfare.

They arrived at 9.10 p.m. Nigeria time aboard Turkish Airlines.

It would be recalled that the team lost 3-5 to France on Thursday at the quarter final stage through penalty shoot-out.

However, the arrival of the gallant National U-17 Women’s team from the competition held in Baku, Azerbaijan was devoid of the usual reception and fanfare.

Leading the team was the president, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Aminu Maigari; First Vice-President, Chief Mike Umeh and the head of the National Female League, Mrs Dili Onyedinma.

Others include chairman, NFF Technical Committee, Chris Green; Chairman, Security committee, Chief Effiong Johnson and Chairman, Publicity Committee, Chief Emeka Iyama.

Also in the entourage are members of the NFF’s Executive Board and Chairmen of Cross River, Benue, Niger, Borno, Abia, Ekiti, Zamfara, Taraba, and Sokoto Football Associations.

Qualifying, the Flamingoes defeated Canada, routed host Azerbaijan 11-0 and beat Columbia before they were eliminated by France in the quarter finals.

At the arrival hall of the Murtala Mohammed airport, Lagos, Chief Mike Umeh said “We cannot question God.

“It has been destined that we were going to stop before the finals and the girls tried their best but their best was not good enough.

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Nigeria: Flamingoes Return From World Cup

England’s new national football centre will be officially opened on Tuesday with its chairman insisting St George’s Park will be the key to securing the World Cup.

The 105m centre near Burton will be opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and will be the permanent base for all the England teams, as well as a training centre for coaches and a centre of excellence for sports science and medicine.

David Sheepshanks, the former Football League and Ipswich chairman who is now chairman of St George’s Park, said: “People ask me will St George’s help England win the World Cup? My answer is absolutely yes. When will happen? Let’s look at the long term and say in the 2020s.”

He added: “Investment in coach education will take 10 to 12 years to be repaid.

“I see St George’s Park is a clear demonstration of saying, just like Spain built their Ciudad del Futbol 15 years ago and Clairefontaine was built 10 years before France won the World Cup, this is a statement of the FA’s commitment to innovation and advancing everything to do with international football.”

Sheepshanks said the advantages would not just be for the national teams, but that the clubs and grass roots would also benefit.

He added: “We should be buying in to the virtues of serious long-term planning and a commitment to deliver our dreams for England. This will create winning England teams – not just our senior teams but the women’s team and the other 24 teams who will use this as their permanent base.

“In the short term they will undoubtedly get a benefit from having a national academy where they can plug into all the support services and facilities that any other elite team would expect to have. The real benefit is longer term and will come from our investment in coach education and raising the standards across the whole game.”

“Also important is that what we do at elite level cascades down to the grass roots of the game. We are convinced better coaches means better players, and means a winning England, with a new generation of more technically adept players who are decision-makers.”

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New centre 'will help win World Cup'

For those who have been soccer columnists in the mainstream media, the things that have come to pass in recent years MLS, national team support, U.S. players making an impact overseas, important soccer games televised, serious media coverage of the professional game were what we hoped would emerge someday.

But we had no idea if, or when, any of this would happen.

For many years, we soccer writers could expound on anything we wanted to, though we were limited to doing it once a week. We were like midfielders with lots of time and space we could stand there and juggle, try to curl shots under the bar from the center circle, we had time to line up through balls. Nobody was bothering us. We were not sure how many people were reading us, either. But I always knew there was latent interest in the game and that the mainstream media was not addressing it. And that was why I decided to focus on soccer, to become the Boston Globes soccer writer.

There was a sense of destiny when I first was assigned NASL coverage in 1977, I started collecting everything I could for reference. Information was difficult to come by in those days and I thought I needed to start building a soccer library to be used when the sport got bigger. My wife never thought the library was such a great idea and now we have to deal with a basement of cabinets filled with old magazines (Calcio 2000, Don Balon, El Grafico, France Football, Guerin Sportivo, Soccer America, World Soccer), newspapers, press guides. All of that print info was very useful actually, indispensable from the time I started writing a weekly soccer column for the Globe in 1991.

July 4, 1988 the day FIFA awarded the 94 World Cup to the U.S. marked the start of what could be called the modern era of soccer in the U.S. That was the day Joao Havelange determined soccer would become prominent in our immediate future.

In those days, Havelange was the only person in a position of power at FIFA who believed in the U.S. as a relevant soccer country. Havelange went by numbers, and he was able to add things up as massive crowds arrived for the 84 Olympic soccer tournament; he also talked to the right people, so he got a ground-level view of the interest in the game. Havelange nixed the U.S. bid for the 86 World Cup but was convinced the country would be ready for the World Cup by 94, though there were major doubters both within and without the games power structure.

That Havelange got his way there were no serious bidders competing against the U.S. for rights indicates just how strong his grip on FIFA was. It is also a measure of his foresight, since he knew the 94 World Cup would spark the growth of the game, leading to a professional league, etc. The U.S. was a sleeping giant and Havelange knew it was time to wake it up.

My editors at the Globe agreed to let me start writing a weekly Soccer Notes column, and though I am sure they had doubts at times, they put me on the schedule to do just that every Monday for nearly 20 years. There have been some changes at the Globe, and I still write the column, just not as regularly.

For most of those 20 years I felt duty-bound to get the word out. It was not just an enjoyable, ego-fulfillment exercise, but a crusade of sorts to let people know soccer was big-time, it was going on all around them and it was important.

Anyway, in recent years, all sorts of avenues have opened, satisfying peoples curiosity about the game. There are websites all over the place this is one of the very best disseminating information that would never have been considered by the mainstream press except for once a week, when I and others used to try to round up as many items as we could.

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Frank Dell'Apa: Battle for soccer's place in America is humming along nicely