The Northern Cape and specifically the small town of Kakamas have won an appeal to have one of the preliminary world cup matches played at their grounds. After visiting the pitch, the FIFA officials deliberated for a few hours and eventually agreed that one match would be played at the rural grounds.

The brand new dust bowl outside the small town of Kakamas.

The local council and tribesmen had to prove to the FIFA officials that the pitch was playable on, and that there was enough room for spectators. The pitch is surrounded by a natural bank or bowl (hillside) giving all the potential spectators a wonderful view of the field and players. The pitch has recently been brushed of all rocks and pebbles, so should not trouble the players who are wearing body armour. The local council have promised to rid the area of snakes, scorpions and spiders.

Security fences surround the pitch and bricks mark the centre of the field.

Security of the players has always been the number one concern, but the tribesmen were quick to point out that the ground was surrounded by a fence, which would keep out the troublemakers. (foxes, small rabbits, wild animals etc).

Brand new pitch,  soccer nets and raised spectator seating can be seen in the background.

Mr Ibullsh Itunot, the sports minister for Kakamas said,

We are delighted to be having one of the football world cup games held at our ground.  We have not been told who will be playing here, but the local township are extremely excited at the prospect of having at least one international team playing on our famous “dust bowl” ground. All the big cities in South Africa are spending millions of rands building wonderful stadiums and we are proud to be apart of that world cup fever. We are a small community and this sort of worldwide visibility will put us on the map of the world. Obviously we can’t offer players and spectators the grandeurs that Cape Town, Durban or Johannesburg are offering, but I am sure player/spectator will experience Africa at it’s best.

Looking at the 2010 world cup calendar, it will be the only open air game where the pitch is totally void of any solid structure (concrete walls, stands, seating etc) and it will be the only green stadium. The openness of the pitch will come as a big relief to both players and spectators as temperatures at the ground often reach 35 degrees Celsius or above.

More wild animal will be needed to light up the pitch.

There was a suggestion to play the game at night, but the local tribesman are worried they will not be able to safely manage the players and / or spectators in the dark with only a few choice animals offering the needed light for the game.

So, the weekend has come and gone, England scraped through thanks to an own goal by one of the Paraguay players (idiots!!!). There were plenty of games on the weekend to keep us busy, and of course the F1 Grandprix at Silverstone. That Alonso, what can we say about him… Nothing.

Just heard Australia has beaten Japan (3-1).

Staying with the world cup theme, someone kindly sent me a link to Heidi’s Babe World Cup. This is a must for all you guys and lesbians out there who are following the world cup.

The wait is finally over. The world cup football starts this afternoon in Germany. Every football crazy fan will be waiting in anticipation for the start of the tournament. England’s first game is tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. I can’t wait for the game to start. I was walking though Canary Wharf this morning on the way to work, and there were some lovely looking lasses handing out stress balls that looked like footballs. I think they will be needed tomorrow.

Did you see the last supper photo in the papers? David Beckham and the England football squad have been transformed in this Da Vinci Code inspired version of world famous painting – The Last Supper. The re-working of Italian master Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting was designed by a team of photoshop experts and is titled Sven’s Last Supper. – Quite clever and naughty I thought, although if you take the world cup into consideration and the fact that the Da Vinci Code movie is the BIG hype at the moment, then they have probably timed it really well, and it shouldn’t offend too many people.

GO! GO! GO! – Yes, it’s the British Grand Prix on Sunday. Alonso is already running scared and saying Ferrari are stronger. Don’t believe the Spanish bull that comes out of his mouth. What he is really saying, is that his team are crap!  Poor Button is keeping very tight lipped and not saying anything. He knows his team are crap. Don’t forget to tune in earlier on Sunday. The race starts at 11:05am.

And finally as it is Friday, and the the weather is fantastic (Ox, 28C today in Sunny London), and the beer will be flowing from this day forth, and how better to start the weekend off by looking at this fantastic photo.

Have yourselves a wonderful weekend!