Didn't You Do Well...Now Go Away

Here's the thing : seeding in football - or any other sport for that matter - is a fair and reasonable thing to do.

Otherwise, you might end up with a World Cup 2010 qualification group that consisted of Germany, England, Spain and Russia. And, yes, while that may be more exciting than the World Cup itself, it's not unreasonable to keep the best teams apart in order to ensure a thrilling and competitive finals.

However, football is also a game of upsets. We all like to see the small teams prosper at the expense of the big boys.

And that is why FIFA's decision to seed the European play-off matches stinks to high heaven. They can justify this any way they like, but it's clearly motivated solely by money.

There was no announcement before the qualification matches took place that there would be seeding for the teams finishing second. It's only now when France, Portugal and Russia failed to win their groups, that this has been instituted.

It stinks. And I for one hope all the 'seeded' teams lose their play off matches.

It's Time To Reorganise Qualifiers

This week, three days before the Scottish Premier League season started, Scotland had to play a World Cup 2010 qualifying match against Norway. They got hammered. 4-0 to Norway.

Also in World Cup Qualifying action were France, Croatia and Germany, not to mention San Marino. I said : not to mention San Marino.

The leagues in France and German started the week before, while the new Croatian season had started three weeks previously.

Norway? Their season started in March and while I accept that a number of their top players play outside of the country, this still gives them a significant advantage.

Surely, FIFA can organise important international matches that don't start a week or two into the new season or even, in Scotland's case, before the season has even started. At international level, there needs to be a level playing field. This isn't it.

Cruise Ship Hotels For 2010 World Cup?

FIFA president Sepp Blatter is a man who has more than his fair share of ridiculous, unworkable and spurious ideas. But his latest is also possibly his greatest.

The, um, 'great' man has suggested using cruise ships as alternatives for hotels at the 2010 World Cup Finals to overcome the shortage of hotel rooms in South Africa.

Just one teeny, tiny problem. The South African government doesn't want it to happen. A spokesman said :

"The position of the Tourism Ministry was always that we don't want ships at the World Cup that have the objective of anchoring in our harbours and presenting themselves as alternatives to our local hotels."

So that will put pay to the idea of moving the cruise line QE2 to Cape Town

Maradona Not Going To Pompey

No sooner has Sulaiman Al Fahim taken over at Portsmouth, than rumours start linking Argentina legend Diego Maradona with a role at the club.

Al Fahim, you will remember, was the face of the group that took over Manchester City. He was the man that declared City would sign Cristiano Ronaldo for £134m and other similarly ridiculous things. He was soon sidelined by the group behind the Manchester City takeover, ADUG.

So, it's going to come as no surprise that Maradona himself has come out and said it's all nonsense.

To quote the great (and slightly unhinged) man :

"I was watching with my girlfriend and started talking to the TV: "Noooooo, this is not true!" The blood running through my veins is sky blue and white."

"In no way would I abandon ship. I'll say more. I've signed the contract and agreed to coach (the team) at the Copa America in 2011."

Good to see Al Fahim picking up where he left off at City, though. We need more characters in the game and I have a suspicion that Sulaiman Al Fahim is likely to be one of the most colourful.

Ivorian Football Officials Jailed

Following the collapse of a stadium that was 1,500 over capacity for Ivory Coast's World Cup qualifier against Malawi in March, the head of the Ivory Coast Football Federation and another man, who was responsible for ticketing at the match, have both been jailed.

20 people died and over 130 were injured following a stampede caused by overcrowding and poor safety measures.

While this is clearly a tragedy, it's good to see that people are being held responsible for the disaster and that the Ivory Coast takes such matters seriously. In the year that commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, it's a more than a shame that UK authorities didn't choose to do the same there and just swept the whole thing - particularly the role of the police - under the carpet.

Come To South Africa, But Please Go Home Again

Serious stories only, today, I'm afraid.

There is a very real concern that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will become a magnet for Africans looking to escape the troubles and economic hardship of their own countries.

With up to 5 million illegal immigrants among a 45 million population, this is already a serious problem for the country and is one that needs to be addressed in the run up to the World Cup Finals.

Because South Africa have relaxed their usual immigration and visa requirements in order to attract as many football fans as possible, this could make it easier for people to enter the country and disappear among the immigrant community.

The whole issue is discussed here in an AP news release and is, of course, complete with comments like "They come here and take jobs...They will agree to a salary that South Africans will never agree to."

Some things, sadly, never change.