The 2010 Fifa Work Cup, held in South Africa.

My name is Shane and I am a Football Mad South African.

I am closely watching the progress that we are making towards the kickoff of the Fifa World Cup 2010.

If you are travelling to South Africa to watch the Tournament, you may ask me any questions that you like and I will answer to the best of my abilities.

I hope that you enjoy my Blog.

Regards

Shane

Please Note:
Any information on this site about sporting events in South Africa is supplied as an informational service only. I provide information about South Africa, from a South Africans perepective to people who wish to visit SA for the Fifa World Cup 2010; to a broad audience. I have no ties to any sporting organisations. For the latest, up to the minute news on the 2010 World Cup preparations and technical information I recommend this site: South Africa 2010 Official Site.

ASK ME ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA, IF YOU ARE VISITING FOR THE 2010 WORLD CUP IN THE COMMENT BOX BELOW.

Coin minted for 2010 World Cup

Johannesburg - Numismatists will have another collectible to covet with the minting of a pure gold quarter ounce coin on an antique press at Soccer City in Soweto on Monday, to commemorate next year's Fifa World Cup.

The "privy mark" of the stadium was struck into the coins, which form part of a launch set for the World Cup coin series, the South African Mint said in a statement.

An antique coin fly press was transported to the stadium for the occasion, it said.

The launch set contains coins featuring the official South African FIFA logo, with elements of the South African and German coat-of-arms symbolising the handover of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.




The 94 000 seat Soccer City will host the first and final matches of the World Cup.

The minting of the commemorative coins for the soccer spectacle began in 2006 with a gold quarter ounce coin and a R2 silver crown.

In 2007, the Mint added another coin to the series to celebrate the 2010 South African World Cup by adding a 1/10th ounce coin.

The 2008 coin series also consisted of three coins and in 2009, the World Cup mascot Zakumi features on all three coins.

Earlier this year, a special "playful" coin was developed.

The crown-sized silver coin's design has four recesses and 4 small steel balls are included in the capsule so that the coin owner can score his own "goals" by rotating the coin.

A one ounce gold coin will be added to next year's coin series as well as a series of pure silver medallions.

The coins struck on Monday can be bought at the Mint's coin world shop in Midrand, at around R4 500 each.

- SAPA

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What is the Vuvuzela

What's plastic, a metre long, brightly coloured and sounds like an elephant? It's the vuvuzela, the noise-making trumpet of South African football fans, and it's come to symbolise the sport in the country.

It's an instrument, but not always a musical one. Describing the atmosphere in a stadium packed with thousands of fans blowing their vuvuzelas is difficult. Up close it's an elephant, sure, but en masse the sound is more like a massive swarm of very angry bees.

And when there's action near the goal mouth, those bees go really crazy.

To get that sound out requires lip flexibility and lung strength - in short, a fair amount of technique. So be sure to get in some practice before attending a South African football match, or you the sound you produce may cause some amusement in the seats around you!

Vuvuzela supplier Boogieblast offers this advice: "Put your lips inside the mouthpiece and almost make a 'farting' sound. Relax your cheeks and let your lips vibrate inside the mouthpiece. As soon as you get that trumpeting sound, blow harder until you reach a ridiculously loud 'boogying blast'.