The future of Guti may have become a little clearer after reports in Spain suggested that Real Madrid may allow him to leave for Inter.

Guti, who reportedly fell out with coach Manuel Pellegrini earlier this season, expressed a desire to join the Nerazzurri in an interview with Canal + on Friday, and AS now claims that los Blancos are ready to sell.

According to the Madrid-based paper, the original plan was to allow Guti's contract to run down before letting him leave on a free transfer in the summer of 2011.

In the light of his recent declarations, the club's movers and shakers have agreed that the 33-year-old can leave this summer, but for a fee that equates to half of the cost of the final year of his contract. Guti is reportedly earning €5m-per-season at the Santiago Bernabeu.

With Guti's departure in mind, Real Madrid will be even more eager to secure the services of Racing Santander's 18-year-old attacking midfielder Sergio Canales. The young prodigy is priced at around €10m, and Arsenal are also showing a keen interest in signing the starlet.

Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out the possiblity of sending Ben Foster on loan from Manchester United to bolster the wantaway goalkeeper's World Cup prospects.

The 27-year-old has been playing deputy to Tomasz Kuszczak in the wake of Edwin van der Sar's absence on compassionate grounds. But with the Dutchman returning to the fold, the England hopeful now finds himself third in the pecking order.

In hope of earning a spot in Fabio Capello's final roster, Foster is pushing for a loan move from Old Trafford to secure first-team football for the remainder of the season. But Ferguson is refusing to budge on the matter.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out sending keeper Ben Foster on loan, throwing into doubt his chances of going to the World Cup.

Harry Redknapp, manager of the Tottenham Hotspur football club, has been charged for allegedly evading taxes to the tune of £40,000. The manager’s solicitor Ian Burton announced that the football manager went to the police station in Bishopsgate where he had been formally charged of his own accord.

The estimated figure of £40,000 is at this point just an estimate and more details will be known after the court proceedings play out. The charges were brought by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and comes in the wake of alleged fraud in English football.

According to Mr. Burton, the 62 year-old is confident that the charges will be sorted out and that Mr. Redknapp is completely cooperating with investigators at this point. He added that the two were confident that the issue would be resolved and that the outcome of the court proceedings would positive.

Players                         Votes    Percentage
Thomas Dooley              83        70.94 %
Preki Radosavljevic        80        68.38 %

---------------------------------------------

Earnie Stewart               68         58.12 %
Shannon MacMillan       64         54.70 %
Joe-Max Moore            61         52.14 %
Marco Etcheverry          59         50.43 %
Carlos Valderrama         55         47.01 %
Cindy Parlow                 45         38.46 %
Peter Vermes                 44         37.61 %
Chris Henderson            37         31.62 %

The National Hall of Fame added two new names to the 2010 class via the player ballot Thomas Dooley and Preki Radosavljevic. 

Both members of the United States' 1998 World Cup team qualified by earning more than 66.7 percent of the ballots.

Dooley, an ever-present in the 1994 and 1998 World Cup campaigns, anchored the heart of the U.S. defense, captaining the team in 1998. After three seasons with the Columbus crew and one with the Metrostars, he retired at the age of 39 and is now the general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes. 

Current Toronto FC head coach Preki is Major League Soccer's only two-time MVP winner. The silky attacker played all but one of his 10 MLS season with the Kansas City Wizards, earning All-Star berths the first eight years of MLS's existence. His most telling contribution to the U.S. national team was scoring the only goal in the USA's 1-0 win over Brazil in the 1998 Gold Cup 

German soccer legend Lothar Mathhaus Friday exuded confidence that teams from Asia and Africa will find themselves among the top ten football nations in the next two years.
“We have seen how South Korea fared in 2002. They may have done well on home soil. But I am sure in the next couple of years we will have teams from Asia and Africa among top ten teams of the world,” said Mathhaus on a visit here to unveil the Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup trophy in KOLKATA
.

There will be no need to renovate the field at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium to meet FIFA — the international governing body of soccer — standards.

Tuesday afternoon, City officials were informed that Jacksonville did not make the round of 18 cities that USA Soccer will evaluate in its bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 men’s World Cup.

Two Florida cities — Tampa and Miami — did make the list of 18 that contains primarily cities with Major League Soccer franchises or are in line to get an expansion MLS team. Mike Bouda, director of sports and entertainment for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, said he figured two cities from Florida would make the cut and he always figured Miami was one.

“We were concerned because Malcolm Glazer owns Manchester United,” said Bouda. “We feel like we can do so much more than Tampa. We did everything we could.”

Glazer bought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 and between 2003 and 2005 he purchased a majority of the shares in Manchester United, a perennial power in the English Premier League and one of the most valuable franchises — regardless of sport — in the world.

Bouda and several others have hosted officials from USA Soccer and met with them in New York recently to push Jacksonville as a potential host city for 3-6 matches over a 30-day period that would have generated hundreds of millions of dollars. Former JEDC Commissioner and certified international soccer referee Zim Boulos has played a role in the process.

“We did not leave saying we wish we had done this,” he said, adding the fact that Atlanta was chosen hurt Jacksonville’s chances. “We could still serve as a training site for teams that play close to Jacksonville or maybe host an exhibition match.”

Bouda said USA Soccer’s final bid is due this spring and FIFA officials will visit all 18 cities this fall. In December, FIFA will announce which countries are getting the two World Cups that will be awarded.

Recently, FOX Soccer Plus, a new network intended to complement the Fox Soccer Channel and complete the ultimate soccer fan experience was announced.

The new network will be launched in fan-friendly HD on Monday, Mar. 1, 2010 and will offer fans some of the major soccer attractions such as England’s Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, England’s FA Cup, and Italy’s Serie A.

According to company officials, Fox Soccer Plus will be offered to video providers across the country and will be available to viewers as a premium service.

Recently, Fox Networks Group and Time Warner Cable agreed on a comprehensive deal in time for the New Year that allows Time Warner's (News - Alert) comprehensive distribution of programming from FOX Television Stations, FOX Broadcasting, FOX Cable Networks and FOX's Regional Sports Networks.

Group A:
Angola
Mali
Malawi
Algeria

Group B:
Cote d’Ivoire
Burkina Faso
Ghana
Togo (pulled out)

Group C:
Egypt
Nigeria
Mozambique
Benin

Group D:
Cameroon
Gabon
Zambia
Tunisia

#01 – Jan 10th, Angola vs Mali (Group A) 17:00 kickoff

#02 – Jan 11th, Malawi vs Algeria (Group A) 14:45
#03 – Jan 11th, Cote d’Ivoire vs Burkina Faso (Group B) 17:00
#04 – Jan 11th, Ghana vs Togo (Group B) 19:30

#05 – Jan 12th, Egypt vs Nigeria (Group C) 17:00
#06 – Jan 12th, Mozambique vs Benin (Group C) 19:30

#07 – Jan 13th, Cameroon vs Gabon (Group D) 17:00
#08 – Jan 13th, Zambia vs Tunisia (Group D) 19:30

#09 – Jan 14th, Mali vs Algeria (Group A) 17:00
#10 – Jan 14th, Angola vs Malawi (Group A) 19:30

#11 – Jan 15th, Burkina Faso vs Togo (Group B) 17:00
#12 – Jan 15th, Cote d’Ivoire vs Ghana (Group B) 19:30

#13 – Jan 16th, Nigeria vs Benin (Group C) 17:00
#14 – Jan 16th, Gabon vs Tunisia (Group C) 19:30

#15 – Jan 17th, Gabon vs Tunisa (Group D) 17:00
#16 – Jan 17th, Cameroon vs Zambia (Group D) 19:30

#17 – Jan 18th, Angola vs Algeria (Group A) 17:00
#18 – Jan 18th, Mali vs Malawi (Group A) 17:00

#19 – Jan 19th, Burkina Faso vs Ghana (Group B) 17:00
#20 – Jan 19th, Cote d’Ivoire vs Togo (Group B) 17:00

#21 – Jan 20th, Egypt vs Benin (Group C) 17:00
#22 – Jan 20th, Nigeria vs Mozambique (Group C) 17:00

#23 – Jan 21st, Cameroon vs Tunisia (Group D) 17:00
#24 – Jan 21st, Gabon vs Zambia (Group D) 17:00

Quarter-Finals‘

#25 – Jan 24th, 1st A vs 2nd B, 17:00
#26 – Jan 24th, 1st B vs 2nd A, 20:30

#27 – Jan 25th, 1st C vs 2nd D, 17:00
#28 – Jan 25th, 1st D vs 2nd C, 20:30
(Official website says games #27, #28 are on Jan 24th, but that seems very unlikely)

Semi-Finals
#29 – Jan 28th, Winner #25 vs Winner #28, 17:00
#30 – Jan 28th, Winner #26 vs Winner #27, 20:30

Third place playoff
#31 – Jan 30th, Loser #29 vs Loser #30, 17:00

Final
#32 – Jan 31st, Winner #29 vs Winner #30, 17:00

Algeria, which will play the United States in the opening round of the World Cup, lost to Malawi 3-0 Monday in the African Cup of Nations.

Tournament favorite Ivory Coast managed only a scoreless draw against Burkina Faso in Cabinda.

The soccer showcase has been reduced from 16 teams to 15 following Togo's withdrawal after two members of its delegation died in a gun attack on the team bus Friday.

Ivory Coast will have to defeat Ghana on Friday in Cabinda in its last Group B match to be guaranteed a quarterfinal spot. Ghana was to have played its first game Monday against Togo.

Algeria, champion in 1990, struggled against a team whose only previous appearance at the African Cup was in 1984.

The result means that Malawi leads Group A with three points, two ahead of Angola and Mali, which tied 4-4 in the tournament opener Sunday.

Togo’s involvement in the African Nations Cup is over following their failure to appear for their opening match against Ghana tonight. There had been uncertainty over their intentions since the team returned home from Angola after a gun attack on their team bus which left three people reportedly dead last Friday.

The Confederation of African Football have been largely silent on the matter amid conflicting reports over whether the team would return to Angola.

But an official told reporters this afternoon that if the west African side were not on the pitch come kick-off for their first game, they would be disqualified from the event.

The Togo players failed to take the pitch for their Group B opener, scheduled to kick off at 6.30pm, putting an end to any lingering doubt over their involvement in the tournament.

“The referee has received the order to blow the starting whistle and if the Togolese players are not there, they will have lost the match and will be disqualified,” a CAF official said this afternoon.

Reports had suggested Togo filed a formal request to return after a three-day period of mourning but that was denied by CAF.

The CAF official added: “Togo have not taken official steps to come back and play the African Nations Cup. We have just heard this rumour in the press.”
Togo’s sports minister Christophe Tchao was quoted this morning as saying a formal request had been made but Prime Minister Gilbert Houngbo later denied they intended to re-enter the tournament.

So what can we say about him? One thing is for sure, Zakumi will be first on the dancefloor and last off it at the biggest party in the world - the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. He wants to dance and entertain as many people as he can. He is an animator for fans, players and officials, for schoolchildren, teenagers and big kids alike!

Needless to say, he is extremely proud to be the Official Mascot and determined to be the best host for everyone visiting his beloved country. He symbolizes South Africa and the rest of the African continent through his self-confidence, pride, hospitality, social skills and warm-heartedness.

Zakumi is a jolly, self-confident, adventurous, spontaneous, and actually quite shrewd little fellow. He loves to perform and always follows his instinct and intuition, yet sometimes has the tendency to exaggerate a bit. You will often find him fooling about and teasing people but not in a mean way. He is warm-hearted and caring, and wants to make as many friends as possible.

He loves to play football as it is a great way to connect with others and break down language barriers. He always carries his football around which he will use to invite people to play with him.

Zakumi loves football. At one time he decided to dye his hair green as he felt it would be the perfect camouflage against the green of the football pitch; a bit like his rosette spots are when hunting in the wilderness!

He does have one striking weakness. With all his energy, he needs frequent rests. Occasionally, in-between performances on stage, he may suddenly fall asleep on the spot at the most random times! But rest assured, these are only short breaks that a leopard of his calibre needs to recharge his batteries.

Over the last years he has travelled the whole of Africa where the leopard habitat is good (pretty much everywhere from open savannahs, forests, jungles to mountainous areas, even deserts). He has therefore learned to adapt to new environments; enjoying the diversity in nature and people across the African continent

The name ‘Zakumi' is a composition of ‘ZA' standing for South Africa and ‘kumi', which translates into ‘10' in various languages across Africa.

Zakumi's main priority is to turn the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa into one huge, joyful and unforgettable party and show the thousands of international guests the warmth and spirit of the African continent.

"He wants to create a good mood for the fans and raise the excitement for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first on African soil. He is a proud South African and wants to ensure that the world will come together in South Africa," explained Lucas Radebe, South Africa's football icon and close friend of Zakumi.