Jabulani means “celebrate” in Zulu. But you would have to go a long way to find anyone, anywhere - player, coach or fan - remotely happy when it comes to the controversial ball being used in the World Cup.
After the vuvuzela, nothing has generated greater debate. Watch any game and watch freekicks flying over the bar, outfield players struggling with their control, passes being overhit and goalies fumbling.
June 21 – It cost the Irish Football Association (IFA) £516,000 ($760,000) to get rid of chief executive Howard Wells (pictured), newly published accounts reveal.
By Andrew Warshaw in Johannesburg
June 20 – Alas Poor Raymond…Just after the World Cup began, a headline in one of the South African supplements read, “Everybody Hates Raymond”.
June 19 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter (pictured) has today been officially invited to Downing Street by Britain’s new Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
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June 19 – David Beckham has described the moment he was confronted by an irate fan who walked unchallenged into the England team’s World Cup dressing room minutes after a visit by Princes William and Harry.
By Andrew Warshaw in Johannesburg
June 19 – Spare a thought for Danny Jordaan (pictured), the public face of the World Cup who campaigned tirelessly to bring it to South Africa.
If the BBC News channel had given Simon Meyerson just a little more time before England’s World Cup match against Algeria, he would have got round to the fundamental reason for the players’ collective under-performance, a reason that underlies their palpably stilted team ethic.
By Andrew Warshaw at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
June 18 – Eventually it had to happen, a refereeing decision so outrageous you wondered how the official responsible got the gig in the first place.
By David Owen in Durban
June 17 - No team in the 80 year history of the World Cup has lost their first match and gone on to lift the trophy.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
June 17 – Jack Warner (pictured) will discover today whether he has to give up his position as FIFA vice-president if he wants to remain a member of Trinidad and Tobago’s Government.
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So when will USA withdraw its bid from the 2018 World Cup and concentrate on getting 2022 for the States?
On the day of the FIFA Congress, immediately after Australia withdrew from 2018, rumours swept Sandton, the once exclusive white suburb now dominated by the huge statute of Nelson Mandela where the good and great of football have gathered, that the USA was about to pull out.
By Tom Degun
June 17 – England goalkeeper Rob Green, the man responsible for the catastrophic mistake which led to United States’ equalising against England in the World Cup last Saturday (June 12), will be able overcome the error if he takes the right steps according to the Head of Performance Psychology at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) Mark Bawden.
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Picture the scene.
It is Brazil’s first match at the 2010 World Cup; night has fallen; it is so cold that the Official Fan Shop has sold out of blankets at 400 Rand a throw.
And here I am on a corner looking for North Korea fans.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
June 17 – Jack Warner (pictured) will be allowed to continue as Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Works and Transport while serving as FIFA vice-president, the country’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced.
