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UP FOR THE CUP
In.Tech, June 6, 2006
Once every four years fans around the world are united by a great passion for football. The World Cup football tournament sees the best football nations around the world playing each other for the honour of being world champion.
For those who can’t catch all the matches but still want to know the results, or want to catch up on news about their favourite teams, BRIGITTE ROZARIO has compiled a list of essential websites to visit.
Germany 2006 Official Site
BEING the official site of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, this is where you will get all the official news and photos. There will also be video clips of match highlights and goals. For those who want to relive old matches, there are also video clips of matches from past tournaments.
The great thing about this site is that it gives you information such as the results (half-time and full-time scores) as well as the line-up of players, cautions and expulsions from each match.
This match database goes back to the first World Cup in 1930.
There is a high possibility there will be live updates for selected matches during the World Cup because these were available during the qualifiers.
For those who want to know what time the matches are being played, look for the Match Schedule. If you click on the “Time,” you get a popup of a Match Time Converter where you can select the country of your choice and see what time the match is at local time.
ESPNSoccernet
WHAT I like about this site is that it gives you all the information on the mainpage – results in tables on the right, and headlines of news in the centre, with news by groups at the bottom of the page.
At a glance you can not only see the scores but also the latest news.
There are also World Cup stats such as highest goals scored, most assists and most saves (for goalkeepers).
Message boards are available for those who want to share their thoughts or vent their frustrations. The threads have already been divided by country so you can just head on straight to your favourite country and post there.
BBC Sport World Cup 2006
THIS is one of my favourite sites simply because it has a blog. The blog is done by the BBC journalists who are in Germany for the duration of the World Cup. The journos take turns posting blog entries and as far as topics are concerned nothing is spared.
From news and updates to the most controversial topic of World Cup tickets – it’s all there at the blog. And the wonderful thing is it is open to comments from readers. Comments are subject to approval but this is done in a matter of minutes (yes, I tried it!).
In addition, the site also has the usual – squad list, news, scores and schedules. There are also reports, live by-the-minute clockwatches and the popular “Mini Motty” where a desktop popup of John Motson gives you the latest news. Cool; I can’t wait to try this out.
Sky Sports
BESIDES news, there are player profiles, group tables and fixtures, as well as broadband video at the Sky Sports site.
The great thing about this site is the live match reports. So, you can see when the match starts, if players are substituted, who gets sent off, when a goal is scored and if the game goes into overtime.
It is the next best thing to watching the match live – if your TV is on the blink or you have no access to the TV but you have your PC. (Don’t laugh at the absurdity of this situation. I have had to rely on this live match report before when I had no access to the TV.)
The Star Online
WHAT’S great about this site is that it gives you the schedule with match times in Malaysian time, as well as which TV channels are screening which matches.
Apart from profiles of teams, history, photos and news, The Star Online also lets you rate the matches. Also look out for preview and summaries of matches, downloads and ongoing polls.
Copyright Star Publications
ALSO:
The dark side, June 16, 2006
Getting Ready for World Cup, May 26, 2006
Talking Ball With: Shebby, September, 2005
Woosie the Wee Wonder, Feb 18, 1993
The Affable Lineker, June 17, 1991
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