The latest FIFA World Ranking

The just concluded Africa Cup of Nations has had a major sharkup on the new FIFA/Coca-Cola World ranking of the newyear. Spain continue to occupy the top position in the new ranking ahead of Brazil and the Netherlands, Egypt the Afric champion managed to climb 14 places to tenth place after they successfully defended their nations cup title at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. As Africa champion Egypt is now in the first 1o team in the World, but they are going to miss the World Cup in South Africa later this year, because they did not qualify for the World Cup.

It is not only Egypt’s that climb to the top in the ranking, but also the second-highest of any African team since the introduction of the FIFA world ranking to break into the top fifth is Nigeria. Egypt have only been bettered by Nigeria, who reached fifth place in April 1994. Other African teams also benefited from their performances in Angola nations cup. In the top 20 of the ranking, semi-finalists Nigeria isnow ranked 15th in the world,  by climbling 7 position up and finalists Ghana, who lost to Egypt in the final now in 27th position in the new world ranking, by climbling  7 position up with considerable strides. Further down the ranking, Zambia now in 73rd position in the ranking, and climb 11 position up. Malawi also gain lots of pointsin the latest ranking, now in 82nd position in the world, and gain 17 position up which is a  good progress for them. Below is the table for the FIFA/Coca-Cola World ranking, as it was released by FIFA yesterday.

Ranking	Team	Pts Feb 10	+/- Ranking Dec 09		+/- Pts Dec 09
1	Spain	1627	0		0
2	Brazil	1568	0		0
3	Netherlands	1288	0		0
4	Italy	1209	0		0
5	Portugal	1176	0		0
6	Germany	1173	0		0
7	France	1117	0		0
8	Argentina	1082	0		-3
9	England	1076	0		0
10	Egypt	1069	14		237
11	Croatia	1053	-1		11
12	Greece	1030	1		14
13	Russia	1026	-1		0
14	USA	963	0		-17
15	Nigeria	956	7		108
16	Chile	955	-1		19
17	Mexico	947	0		16
18	Switzerland	924	0		0
19	Serbia	916	0		0
20	Cameroon	914	-9		-121
21	Uruguay	909	-1		0
22	Côte d’Ivoire	865	-6		-69
23	Australia	857	-2		-6
24	Ukraine	848	-2		0
25	Czech Republic	828	0		0
26	Denmark	827	2		7
27	Ghana	823	7		76
27	Israel	823	-1		0
29	Paraguay	806	0		0
30	Bulgaria	801	0		0
31	Algeria	784	-5		-39
32	Norway	772	0		12
33	Slovenia	767	-2		0
34	Honduras	759	3		21
35	Ecuador	753	2		15
36	Slovakia	752	-3		0
37	Republic of Ireland	746	-2		0
38	Romania	745	-2		0
39	Colombia	736	0		0
40	Japan	729	3		20
40	Northern Ireland	729	0		0
42	Turkey	728	-1		0
43	Sweden	727	-1		6
44	Gabon	706	4		46
45	Costa Rica	699	-1		-2
46	Scotland	665	0		0
47	Venezuela	646	3		0
48	Bosnia-Herzegovina	645	3		3
49	Korea Republic	634	3		9
49	Latvia	634	-4		-43

Onaly Egypt out of the top 10 we not be in the FIFA World Cup. The next release of FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking comes uo on 03 March 2010.

NFF want Shehata to take charge of team for World Cup

Egypt coach Hassan Shehata said that Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had contacted him on the possibility of leading the Super Eagles to the South Africa 2010 World Cup. Hassan Shehata, who has been in charge of Pharaohs of Egyptian team since 2004, on Sunday helped the team to a third successive Nations Cup triumph after beating the Black Stars of Ghana by 1 – 0 in Luanda in Angola.

The 60-year-old coach told television station Modern Sport and bbc that, “Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) expressed an interest in hiring me to take charge of their team during the World Cup. It will be a great honor for me to work in the World Cup, but the Egyptian FA will have the final word on whether I could work with Nigeria on a temporary basis.”

Nigeria, who slumped to a 1-3 defeat to Pharaohs of Egyptian in their group-stage opener, is reportedly looking to replace Shaibu Amodu or a technical advice for the Super Eager after finishing third in Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

It was reported that, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had been linked with Zambia manager Herve Renard and Mozambique coach Mart Nooij, the Egypt coach Shehata claim came as a surprise. The choice of Shehata over Nooij and Renard may be due to the success he recorded with the Pharaohs of Egypt in the past three editions of the Nations Cup.

Egypt narrowly missed out on a place at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa after losing 1-0 to Algeria in a play-off in Sudan after both sides finished level on points and goal difference during regular qualifying. Hassan Shehata is regarded as a coach with little patience for players‘ indiscipline, which is one of the major problem of the Nigeria team.

Favorites to win Australian Open 2010 Grand Slam

The Australian Open 2010 is knocking at the door. The first Grand Slam event of the season is 5 days away. With stars arriving in Melbourne and most of them already appearing on the practice courts the big question is, who will win the Aussie Open?

The Women’s Singles tournament is announced to be more spectacular than ever, having numerous title contenders. Kim Clijsters is maintaining solid form after winning the US Open 2009 and celebrating a perfect comeback to her professional tennis career.

Serena Williams is the defending title holder and is always a strong candidate for the title. She lost the US Open semifinal against Clijsters and she is aiming for revenge, especially now when she looks to defend her World Number 1 spot.

Next on the list seems to be Dinara Safina. The Russian, former World Number 1, has failed to win a Grand Slam event so far. However she seems able to do it and one can never know when she will succeed.

There is also Maria Sharapova. The Russian star returns to the Australian Open. The former 2008 Champion missed to defend her title last year, because of the shoulder injury. Masha holds though a run of 7 wins in a row.

Justine Henin is another ‘fresh’ arrival at the Australian Open 2010. The Belgian star has returned to the tennis world after 1 year and a half of break. She played great in Brisbane last weekend and almost defeated Clijsters for the trophy.

The Men’s Singles tournament, surly the most spectacular tournament of the Australian Open, is also wide open. Rafael Nadal is the title defender. He produced a dream run in 2009, but later knee injuries took a tool on the Spaniard. Nadal seems to have regained his rhythm though just in time for the Aussie Open.

Roger Federer is of course another huge favorite. However, Roger last won a title in 2007, at the Melbourne Park. He just failed last year as Nadal proved himself to powerful for the Swiss Champion. With 2 Grand Slams won in 2009 out of 4, Federer is for many the main favorite.

Andy Murray has never won a Grand Slam event. He definitely showed that he has potential to do it and the 2010 Australian Open might be his wake-up call. Other favorites are 2009 US Open Champion, Juan Martin Del Potro and 2008 Aussie Open Champion, Juan Martin Del Potro. Keep in touch with all the Aussie Open events by watching live tennis online.

Togolese attack government withdrew team from Nations Cup

World footballs has jointly condemn the attack on the Togolese national team bus, which have put the African Nations Cup in jeopardy. The machine gun attack on the team bus taking the team to the tournament claimed the life of the bus driver and press officer to the team on the spot, and about four other were injured including two players. The attackers machine-gunned the team bus after it crossed from the Republic of Congo into Angola’s oil rich territory of Cabinda.

Togolese national tean to Nation cup

The bus was travelling to Cabinda from the team training ground in the Republic of Congo when the shooting happened. Football’s highest governing body, Fifa, said it was troubled by the incident. “Fifa and its president, Joseph S Blatter, are deeply moved by the incidents which affected Togo’s national team, to whom they express their utmost sympathy.”

The organisers of the tournament, which starts today, say it will go ahead. Competition officials said they had not known that the Togolese team had decided to drive directly to Cabinda. They said they had expected the squad first to fly to the Angolan capital, Luanda, and from there to Cabinda.

Togolese is due to play its first Nations cup game in Cabinda tomorrow, the team first match is with Ghana which is the opening match of the group on Monday. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are the other teams in Group B with the Togolose. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed that the tournament would go ahead as planned, despite the attack on Togolese team. Angolan Sports Minister Goncalves Muandumba said security for the competition would be stepped up to guarantee “all the conditions necessary for the success, tranquillity and security of the people and their belongings”.

Meanwhile, Togolese government minister Pascal Bodjona said the team was coming home because the players were in a state of shock. “We cannot in such a dramatic circumstance continue in the Africa Cup of Nations.” The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said late on today that it understood Togolose decision but that the six other matches scheduled to be played in Cabinda would go ahead as planned.

Federer and Serena win ITF 2009 world champions

Roger Federer and Serena Williams have been named by International Tennis Federation (ITF) as the 2009 world champions men and women in tennis championship, after both of them end the year ranking as number tennis players. Federer, has won the honour for the 5th time. He won his 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and another Grand Slam at Roland Garros this year.On the other hand Serena Williams won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, her 11th major success. Both of the we receive their awards at the annual ITF world champions dinner in Paris in June.

Federer regained the world number one sport from Rafael Nadal after his Paris victory and his Wimbledon win over Andy Roddick which enable him to surpass Pete Sampras record of highest number of Grand Slam titles. He was runner-up at the Australian Open and the US Open and helped his country retain its Davis Cup world group status. Federe said: “It is an honour for me to be named ITF world champion for a fifth time. It was an incredible year for me both on and off the court. To win my first Roland Garros title, break the all-time Grand Slam record and regain the number one ranking is amazing. It means a lot to me to finish the year again at the top.”

Serena Williams won the award for the first time since 2002. As well as her Grand Slam wins, she won the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha, she gain the number 1 top ranking in the last event of the year. She also won the doubles year award with sister Venus after making their career total to 10 Grand Slam titles in the year. With this award Serena Williams joins Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport as the only players to become singles and doubles world champions in the same year.

Messi the new FIFA world footballer

The Argentine forward and Barcelona’s superstar Lionel Messi was yesterday named by FIFA as the  new FIFA World Footballer of the Year 2009. Messi who is 22 years old this year, helped Barcelona to win the Club World Cup last weekend which was the club sixth trophy of the year. “A magnificent year for me and Barca has ended in the best way.” He beat other competition from last year’s winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, the winner of the two year ago Ricardo Kaka, Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Messi becomes the first Argentine to win the FIFA footballer of the year award, since it was inaugurated in 1991.

Messi helped Barcelona to an unprecedented treble of Champions League, La Liga and Spanish Cup last season, scoring the second goal in the 2-0 win over Manchester United in Rome in May.  This season, Barcelona has added the Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup to its roll of honour, beating Argentine side, Estudiantes, in Abu Dhabi to complete a stellar year. This month, Messi beat Ronaldo to the European Footballer of the Year award by a massive 473 points to 233 margin and has now succeeded Ronaldo as FIFA World Footballer of the Year.

Lionel Messi FIFA Footballer of the year 2009

The new king of  the world footballer Messi say: “No, please, I am not king of the world now, nor the number one, I don’t believe in those things. I am the same person as always and I have the good fortune to play in a great team. It was an historic year for Barcelona and for me but it’s thanks to the work of everyone.”

Also at Zurich, the FIFPro World XI was named, after the vote by their fellow professionals. The FIFPro World XI include England stars, John Terry, Steven Gerrard and fellow English Premier League stars, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic and Fernando Torres were on the list, together with Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas was picked in goal and Barcelona quartet of Dani Alves, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi completed the list of FIFPro World XI for this year.

Former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo won the inaugural FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year for his 40-yard strike while playing for Manchester United against FC Porto in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in April, 2009. Brazilian Marta won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year for a record of fourth consecutive time, beating competition from England’s striker Kelly Smith. The 31-year-old Smith, who plays club football in the United States, starred in the England side that reached the final of Euro 2009. She said: “This is a real honour for me. It was tough for me to leave my home country because I’m very proud and passionate to be English. I just wanted to be among the best players in the world and that’s certainly the case and I’m now pursuing my dream.”

The prizes were voted for by the captains and head coaches of the men’s and women’s national teams all over the world.

Tiger Woods quit golf indefinite for private life

Tiger Woods who is 33 years old is taking an indefinite hiatus from professional golf to tackle problems in his private life. According to a statement on his website, he said he was aware of the disappointment “my infidelity” had caused to his family. The full statement goes does:

“I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try.

I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What’s most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.”

The world’s number 1 golfer said he wanted to “try to repair the damage done” and asked for privacy to put is family together. Tiger Woods is married to his wife Elin for five years now and they are blessed with 2 kids, a two-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son.

In another separate statement on his website, he also indicated that he would be taking some time off from his responsibilities with the Tiger Woods Foundation, which is a charity foundation he set up with his late father to help young people around the world. His confident that the staff in the foundation would continue the good work during his “absence”.

The best sports betting sites

The internet is flooded with many sports betting sites and if we have to find out the best one amongst them, we would have to possibly open accounts in many of these sites and spend a lot of money in actually indulging in betting at these sites. Many of such sites offer poker as well as other casino games as well and trying to find out the best one through registering and wagering is obviously not something that is feasible and practical and we need to look at other criteria to decide which of the betting sites fit the bill. Those criteria are:
a)    Which of the sites provided the best value in terms of the highest odds?
b)    Which one offers the best terms of withdrawal and deposit?
c)    Which one provides a relatively safer gambling opportunity?
d)    Which one has the best to offer in terms of bonus and innovative schemes from time to time?

Sites like free bets uk, cheltenham free bets and grand national free bets have earned a good reputation over the years due to the high level of research they conduct and the recommendations that they make about sites offering good betting options are respected by many people. These sites take great pains reviewing all sites including the new ones and their experience has been that many of the new sites just do not last the distance despite the fact that they offer great free bet options and bonuses to their customers. That is one of the reasons that you do not see many of the new betting sites recommended by these sites as they do not want you to go by such recommendations made too early and lose money. They straight away eliminate those sites that have a bad reputation. They feel that these sites should not be a part of the study and do not bother about getting into details about why they have earned such a reputation.

They stick to recommending time tested large sports betting sites as they are more likely to be favourable to punters consistently rather than a new one. Some of these bigger sites have a track record built over time, both in the offline and online space and since they are also strong companies listed on the stock exchange, they are preferred over the others. Moreover, due to stiff competition, these sites continue to come out with very attractive sign on bonuses that coincide with premier sporting events like the FA Cup, Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National.

Sites like free bets UK, Cheltenham free bets and Grand National free bets evaluate betting sites on their ability to not only offer freebies but also based on the winning percentage. Moreover, they analyse whether a punter can win consistently playing those appropriate games which have better pay outs so that more often than not, you end up on the winning side. They also pick sites that offer money back guarantees so that as a bettor, you have some safety built into your bets.

Serena fined for verbally abuse of linewomen

Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 for her tirade at a U.S. Open line judge and could be suspended from that tournament if she has another “major offense” at any Grand Slam in the next two years. The American, 28, verbally abused an official after a foot-fault call which gave Kim Clijsters a match point in their semi-final this year. The world number one will incur the ban if she commits any further “major offence” before the end of 2011. In that case, her fine will also double to £106,000.

After the match in September, Williams was fined £6,000, which has been included in the latest penalty of £53,000. The fine, a quarter of the £212,000 Williams received for reaching the semi-finals, still tops the previous highest Grand Slam fine of £38,000 given to Jeff Tarango in 1995. After the incident, Williams released an initial statement, which did not include a straight apology, but later said she wanted to “sincerely apologise” for her behaviour.

“I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately. It’s not the way to act – win or lose, good call or bad call in any sport, in any manner, she said”

The International Tennis Federation’s Grand Slam Committee met last week to agree on a punishment. It found her guilty of “the Grand Slam major offence of aggravated behaviour”.

Woods pulls out of World Challenge due to injure

Tiger Woods has withdrawn from is own golf tournament (Chevron World Challenge), a tournament he has hosted for the past nine years. The withdrawn of the world number one was due to an injuries sustained in a car accident on Friday morning have forced him to pull out of the tournament on Monday. A car crash early Friday morning left him with cuts and bruises when his SUV hit a fire hydrant and a tree early Friday outside his home in a gated Florida golf community. Woods was treated and released at a hospital after the accident, and has not been seen in public since. The $5.75m (£3.5m) tournament is not an official PGA Tour event, it features 12 of the world’s top 20 players

“I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week,” the 33-year-old said in a statement on his official website. I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I’m very sorry that I can’t be there.”

The World Challenge starts on Thursday at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. Woods also confirmed he will not participate in any further tournaments in 2009, although the next official US PGA Tour event does not take place until the new year. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell will replace Woods in the elite 18-strong field for the event which raises money for Woods’s charitable foundation.

“We support Tiger’s decision and are confident the strong field and excellent course will provide an exciting week of competition,” said Tiger Woods Foundation President Greg McLaughlin.

Woods ended his 2009 PGA Tour campaign with six victories in 17 starts, including 14 top-10 finishes, for overall winnings of $10.5m (£6.38m) following his eight months out of the game. He also won the season-long points race for the FedExCup, plus the $10m (£6m) bonus this year.