Feel the Game 共凑世赛

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2010 FIFA World Cup official logo and mascot 'Zakumi'.

I must recognised this, the day has finally arrived for football crazy fans as the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Johannesburg, South Africa. The first World Cup ever held in Africa opened on 11th June 2010 Friday in a dazzling burst of joy, colour and noise. A month-long tournament that started at the main Soccer City stadium in Soweto, with host country South Africa taking on Mexico in the first game of group A opening match at 10pm Malaysian time, and life will not be the same for football fans around the world.

The world’s most watched sporting event will showcase a familiar set of rivalries, with every one of the 32 nations, including six from Africa, having played at least one World Cup and all seven former champions present to compete for the most coveted football trophy.

The leopard mascot, with green dreadlocks, is officially known as Zakumi, which is a combination of za (country code for South Africa), and kumi (which means ten in most African languages).
 
2010 FIFA World Cup teams and grouping.

I have very fond memories of World Cups that stretch right back to my secondary school days. I believe I had caught the football bug when I was around twelve years old, when the daily school recess was spent with other kids having a kick-about with a tennis ball on a concrete netball court. As a side note, my personal preference is that the group of familiar commentators assembled for years during the World Cup tournament represents some of the finest English-language voices for televised soccer anywhere in the world, will definitely elevate the excitement and quality of World Cup's coverage.

To cut a long story short, you just can’t miss all the goals and matches play with live telecasts until the World Cup final on July 11 (local). Astro, as the official pay-TV broadcaster of the tournament, is the destination of choice every night for football fans on sixty-four games (at no extra charge to Astro subscribers). For footies especially in the Klang Valley, will excitedly catching most of the live matches at mamak stalls where there is nothing more exciting than watching the World Cup with friends by the atmosphere where they can cheer and make as much noise as they want. Sorry if you are not a World Cup football fans but this is what gonna be for next 31 days. 

So put aside the proposal you had planned to work on, call your girlfriend and tell her that you think it’s best the two of you spend some time apart to "recharge", and stock up on coffee and sugary stuff. Lastly, when your team scores a goal, feel free to shout ''Goooaaalll!!!" I can hear you!