World Cup Qualifying

Qualifying ,for the next World Cup is now in progress across the globe in the race to join South Africa in the finals.

Again there will be 32 participating nations. South Africa will be joined by five other African nations, plus 13 from Europe, four from South America and Asia and three from Concacaf. There will also be two places decided by an Oceania/Asia play-off and a Concacaf/South America play-off.

EUROPE
The nine group winners qualify automatically. The best eight of the nine runners-up will play a two-legged play-off to qualify.

As in previous years, Conmebol qualifying is on a single league basis of the ten nations. The top four qualify automatically with the fifth place team playing off against a nation from Concacaf.

After Bhutan and Guam withdrew, Kuwait and Indonesia were given a bye into the second round. In round one, there were 17 two-legged ties. From the qualifying 19 nations, the top 11 ranked teams automatically moved into round three. The eight lowest ranked nations played another two-legged play-off. This took a total of 15 teams into round three.

Australia, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Iran were joined in the third round by Uzbekistan, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, China, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Thailand, Kuwait and Indonesia from the first round games.

The four victorious second round nations were Turkmenistan, Syria, Thailand and Singapore.

The 20 nations were drawn into five groups of four teams playing on a round-robin basis. The top two teams in each group qualify for the fourth round.

In Round Four, the ten nations were drawn into two groups of five. The top two teams will qualify for the World Cup.

The two teams which finish third will then play-off and the winning nation then faces a further play-off against a country from Oceania for a place in South Africa.

Play-off dates: October 10, 2009 and October 14, 2009. Then November 14, 2009 and November 21, 2009.
AFRICA

The preliminary round was to feature the ten lowest-ranked nations but São Tomé & Príncipe and the Central African Republic both withdrew meaning Swaziland and Seychelles received a bye.

That meant there were three matches remaining, of which Somalia-Djibouti was played as a one-off match while Madagascar-Comoros and Sierra Leone-Guinea-Bissau were two legged.

Swaziland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Djibouti qualified for the first group stage in which 48 nations were drawn into 12 groups of four. The 12 group winners and eight best runners-up will go through.

The second group round sees the 20 remaining nations drawn into five groups of four. The group winners will qualify. The qualifers will also double up for the 2010 African Nations Cup finals. The top three teams in the final group will qualify for this.



Qualifying will be the same as for 2006. The first round saw 11 preliminary matches between the lowest ranked nations.

The rest of the nations joined qualifying in the second round when they were seeded again based on FIFA World Ranking. The winners of the 12 two-legged ties will move into round three.

The next round is done on a league basis, with three groups of four countries. The top two teams in each group advance. This phase was completed on November 19.

The final stage sees one, six-team group from which the top three will qualify. The fourth placed team earns a play-off against a nation from South America.

The first stage of this region was completed in September 2007 as New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu made it through to the next stage.

Also part of the 2007 Pacific Games, ten nations were drawn into two groups of five. The top two went through to the semi-finals. Both finalists qualified for the next stage of World Cup qualiying along with the winner of the 3rd/4th place play-off.

Those three nations joined New Zealand in round two. This was also the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. The four countries play on a league basis with the group winner playing off for the right to take on the qualifying nation from Asia. The group stage was completed with New Zealand the winners.

Women's World Cup final


Nicky Shaw, a late replacement for the injured Jenny Gunn, was the unlikely hero, claiming 4-34 as the Kiwis were dismissed for 166 in 47.2 overs.
Openers Sarah Taylor (39) and Caroline Atkins (40) calmly took England to within touching distance of the target.
England wobbled slightly - losing five wickets for 40 runs - but won with relative ease despite a nervy finish.
Discuss England's victory on 606
It was left to player of the match Shaw (17 not out) and Holly Colvin to steer the team over the finishing line, with the former hitting two timely boundaries to ease the tension when the pressure had seemed to be getting to England.
However, had it not been for the plucky Lucy Doolan, who hit a swashbuckling 48 for New Zealand and claimed 3-23, then England's victory would arguably have been trouble-free.



Taylor, Atkins and captain Charlotte Edwards (10) all fell prey to the 21-year-old's off-spin as Doolan added a touch of intrigue to a match which, for the most part, seemed like an England procession.
Aimee Mason's removal of Lydia Greenway and the sloppy run-out of Beth Morgan, which left England on 149-6, ensured it was not a totally nerveless win.
But England's success had been shaped in the field where the clinical fashion in which the Kiwis were dismissed allowed for some breathing space despite a batting blip.
Shaw, who only learnt of her inclusion in the team 10 minutes before play when Gunn pulled out because of a calf injury sustained during the warm-up, was particularly impressive.

The 27-year-old proved to be more than an able deputy as her burst of three wickets in her opening three overs set England on their way to an historic victory.
While it is the third time England have lifted the trophy, this win on a gloriously sunny day at the North Sydney Oval is the first time they have done so on foreign soil.

The triumph is the culmination of a golden year for England's women - which started with the retention of the Ashes down under last winter - and the manner in which it was achieved is testimony to the professionalism of the squad.

A superb opening spell by seamer Katherine Brunt ensured England held a firm grip on the game from the very start.

The first wicket to go was that of Kate Pulford , who cut Isa Guha straight to Claire Taylor, standing at gully, to leave New Zealand on 26-1.
But it was the introduction of Shaw which proved to be a turning point as she claimed two wickets in as many balls in her first over to leave the White Ferns reeling on 49-3.

Suzie Bates - the scorer of an astonishing 168 against Pakistan in New Zealand's previous match - was the first to go for just two, trying to hit over the top only to find Atkins at mid-on, while left-hander Amy Satterthwaite immediately followed, edging to keeper Sarah Taylor.
Shaw struck again in the 15th over with the wicket of captain Haidee Tiffen, who had looked dangerous before she was caught by Taylor for 30.
And, at 74-5, the Kiwis were in serious trouble as Sara McGlashan became Colvin's 50th one-day international victim.

The sixth wicket soon fell with Laura Marsh bowling Mason (13) before Brunt returned to the attack in the 29th over and found the edge to send Sarah Tsukigawa back to the pavilion.
Doolan and Nicola Browne brought some stability to the New Zealand innings, with Doolan carving some fine shots.
However, when Doolan was dismissed by Marsh in the 45th over the wickets tumbled, with Edwards trapping Sophie Devine lbw for a duck and Shaw getting Browne (25) lbw.

England's next test is the Women's World Twenty20, which takes place on home soil in June - alongside the men's competition. Aimee Lewis All reserved

Stadium Nelson Mandela Review

Following an intensive procurement process, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has announced that Access Facilities and Leisure Management (Pty) Limited is the preferred stadium operator bidder for the new Nelson Mandela Bay Multi-purpose Stadium.

The stadium operator contract is being finalised and negotiations to this end (between the NMBM and AFLM) start this week.



The operator will be required to operate, manage and market the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, which is situated at the North End lake, as well as its surrounding urban precinct, which could include the upgrading of the area. The Stadium will host 8 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, including a quarterfinal and the 3rd/4th place play-off. It is scheduled for completion in April/May 2009, and activities at the Stadium could take place from as early as May.

According to Nelson Mandela Bay Deputy Executive Mayor, Cllr Bicks Ndoni, "The multi-purpose functionality of the stadium and its world class facilities will ensure its legacy, sustainability and long-term success. By attracting world class sporting and recreational events, before and after the World Cup, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will provide a major boost to the economy of the surrounding precinct and the Bay at large. The stadium operator, through its experience and expertise in a wide range of disciplines, must ensure, in partnership with and on behalf of the Municipality, that these objectives are indeed reached."

"We have now started negotiations with Access Facilities and Leisure Management so that we reach agreement on the various areas of responsibility relating to the management and commercial aspects of the stadium operations."

Nelson Mandela Bay 2010 World Cup Director, Errol Heynes says, "Appointing an operator is the next big step in ensuring the stadium is running successfully in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and also in making sure that it remains sustainable in the long term. We felt that Access Facilities and Leisure Management displayed the qualities we were looking for in a multi-disciplinary stadium operator, as they have a thorough knowledge and experience of stadium management in respect of football, rugby, other sports, and events; property development and national and international marketing expertise."

The stadium operator procurement process, which began a year ago, was co-ordinated by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA). Chief Executive of the MBDA, Pierre Voges, says: "The MBDA was established as the development arm of the NMBM and has a specific mandate to facilitate tourism and infrastructure development. We believe that the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium has a large role to play as a catalyst in the revitalisation of the CBD and the areas surrounding the stadium - the North End Precinct. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will also attract people back into the city when they come to watch big sporting events that will inevitably happen there. Revitalizing a city is really all about getting people to want to come back into the city centre, and to enjoy being there."