Bhutan still confident of getting good in World Football

Bhutan may be regarded as one of the lowest ranked teams in world football, but that is not preventing the national team’s captain, Karma Shedrup, to be confident about his team’s chances of reaching the World Cup. The qualification for the 2018 World Cup has just begun in the Asian parts of the world.

As the lowest ranked teams fight it for a place in the final qualification spots, Bhutan will be hoping that their low paid footballers will be able to fight against the top names from Asia. Football in Bhutan struggles for popularity against its number one sport, archery.

However, the increasing popularity of television in the country means that more and more people are exposed to the likes of Premier League and la Liga football.

It has resulted in a growth for football and it will conversely result in better talent being available for the national team. Bhutan joined FIFA rankings only in 2000. They have played in only 18 international matches in the last six years. They will be up against Sri Lanka in the first round of the qualifying for the Asian regions. The first leg will be at Colombo whereas the return leg will be in front of their own supporters.

“The world ranking does not matter. It is just a number. It is not a reflection of our performance, but the [very low] frequency of matches that we have played.If I am in Thimphu I will definitely go to the game because I am kind of respected here.Even though I’m not, I act like a god. So if I go I might have to wear wigs and disguise myself,” saidShedrup. “I cannot guarantee 100% a win. But we’ll fight until the last minute,” said winger Kuenga Gyeltshen about Bhutan’s chances of beating Sri Lanka.

Russia ready host 2018 World Cup of Football

Russia is getting ready to host the 2018 World Cup and one of their initial tasks is to rebuild some stadiums which just aren’t fit or prepared to receive all the amount of fans which are going to be travelling there in order to watch their favorite players and nations duke it out in the pitch.

Arena Pobeda is a new stadium which is currently being built on the former site of the Central Stadium between Mamaev Kurgan and the right bank of the Volga. In this pitch there was an old stadium but it’s going to be demolished and rebuilt as a number of changes will be made.

In the demolishing process of this stadium, 11 unexploded World War II bombs were discovered and are now being removed. The Arena Pobeda stadium is expected to be completed in November of 2017 and will accommodate 45,000 fans but it could take longer if more unexpected things are discovered in the pitch where the stadium is going to be built.

Despite these potentially dangerous discoveries, Michael Platini is confident that everything concerning the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be organized and executed perfectly.

“We are confident in a perfect organization of the World Cup 2018 and we are sure that a lot of tourists will visit Russia. Russian football has very strong positions… some journalists say that your level of football is not high enough, but we do not think so,” Platini said.

Putin has had to convince the FIFA President SeppBlatter and a number of other football authorities on allowing the upcoming worldwide football tournament to be set on Russia which was not being viewed as a potential or appropriate place to be hosted, taking into consideration all of the disputes which have been going on involving Ukraine and Russia but despite all of this problems, Russia was officially announced as the place where the 2018 World Cup is going to be held.

Poor arrangments bring more exposure to World Cup 2014

Long distances between certain matches, extreme climatic conditions, the very limited time for construction of stadiums, all of these are just a few of the factors which caused controversy in the 2014 World Cup.

The latest edition of the World Cup forced a few nations and squads on having to play their respective matches in completely different weather conditions as well as obliging the squad on having to travel long distances within a limited lapse of just a few days before playing in their next match.

Despite all of these factors and inconveniences and many other ones, the 2014 World Cup was held in Brazil and Germany was crowned as the champions. Even with a few of the incidents that occurred during the event, it was still played with millions of fans tuning in and watching their nations compete against the best in the world.

The next World Cup has already been made official to the public that it will be hosted in Russia in 2018 and even with all of the latest incidents which is occurring in a conflict with Ukraine, the Russian president Vladimir Putin has revealed their support towards the event taking place in Russia.

Not too long ago it was revealed that half of the federal budget funds of Russia will be utilized in order for preparation and the main programs that are going to be used in order for all the arrangements for the upcoming footballing event to take place. The budget is believed to be around $15.6 billion.

“As a positive result, we would consider perfect preparation for the World Cup to make a grant holiday for football lovers across the globe. We need to be hospitable and assiduous at the same time. Money has to be used sparingly and thriftily. We have to ensure close cooperation and coordination of all agencies and services involved…There should be no problems or discomfort created for athletes or football fans,” Putin said.

United Fan Bet Wrongly And Won

A fan of Manchester United won €1250 after accidentally betting on MK Dons to win their 2nd round of the League Cup match against the team of Louis van Gaal.

It has not been the dream debut of a season that the Dutchman Louis van Gaal was wishing for as he took charge of Manchester United replacing David Moyes but things aren’t going as he hoped for. During the opening match of the season United lost against Swansea City and later had to settle with a 1-1 draw against Sunderland.

Things turned even worse for Louis van Gaal after losing 4-0 against the League One club Milton Keynes Dons. However, this defeat was great news for a fan of Manchester United that mistakenly had betted on MK Dons to win the match.

“I don’t really bet only the odd quid here and there but my mate told me she had put on United to win 4-0, so I thought I might as well do that. I also put a pound on us to win 3-0. Well I thought I did but I obviously wasn’t concentrating and clicked the wrong button so I bet on MK Dons.”

When the scoreboard was displaying 3-0, Griffiths stated that she simply stopped watching the match after believing that she had lost the money but after going back to her betting app it was a different story.

The fan of Manchester United, Griffiths continued revealing information about the bet as she said: “It was a weird feeling. I wanted United to win, but I wanted MK Dons to score again so I could win the money, I couldn’t watch the last 10 minutes and had to tell my friends to let me know what happened.”

It was a great day for the Manchester United supporter that betted $4 for their opponents to win as she went on winning $2,000.

Holland Faces Up Against Mexico

In a very exciting pre quarter final fixture of the ongoing FIFA World Cup, Holland and Mexico will be up against each other at Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza this Sunday.

The qualification of these two teams for the knockouts is not a surprise for anybody. While, Holland is one of the best teams in the world at the moment, Mexico also doesn’t lack skills.

But, the real picture starts from here. This is the time for the players from both sides to show what they are made of and they would surely be up for it.

Neither of these two teams has suffered a defeat in the tournament so far. The Dutch won all their matches in the group round, while, El Tri won two and drew one.

The good news for the Holland fans is that the star player and skipper of their team, Robin Van Persie, is back after remaining on the sidelines during the last group game. He had not featured against Chile because of suspension. His return would strengthen the Dutch attack big time.

Van Persie has already made big impact in the two games that he has played in this competition. He has three goals under his belt.

As far as Mexico is concerned, the key man for them will be their veteran Rafael Marquez. His performance in the group round was brilliant and the El Tri management would hope that he keeps that up in this big game as well.

There have been a lot of upsets being created in the FIFA World Cup in the past, but, it’s pretty hard to imagine that the Oranje would let the Mexicans get better of them. They look just too strong to be beaten by El Tri.

Mexico needs to take care of one thing that they don’t leave any hole in their defence because Holland will have a very dangerous attacking line up.

FA Bans All Players From Betting

The Football Association (FA) has established new rules regarding soccer betting that will ban all professional players in English football from betting in any matches anywhere in the world starting from the next season.

This decision was made during an annual meeting from the members of the Football Association and will affect any player in the top 8 tiers of the English league system.

There already have been scandals involving certain players in the Premier League with Andros Townsend and Dan Gosling from Tottenham and Newcastle respectively being just some of the players which have been found to breach betting regulations.

The new rules will also prohibit players from transmitting details to a third party who utilizes that information for betting and it was confirmed by the FA that these new regulations will also cover betting on new managers or player transfers.

It said in a statement: “A worldwide ban on betting on football will come into force from 1 August 2014 for certain participants in English football. Participants covered by the ban will be prohibited from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition that takes place anywhere in the world’’.

“The changes to FA rules from the start of the 2014-15 season will also effect a worldwide prohibition on betting on any other football-related matter. For example, the transfer of players, employment of managers or team selection. The passing of inside information to somebody that uses the information for betting remains prohibited.”
The former rules and regulations allowed players to gamble and bet as long as it did not involve their own team but these new guidelines are expected to change things around and help try to shut down the scandals which seem to have been escalating recently.

Professional Players Banned From Betting

The Football Association (FA) has established new rules regarding soccer betting that will ban all professional players in English football from betting in any matches anywhere in the world starting from the next season.

This decision was made during an annual meeting from the members of the Football Association and will affect any player in the top 8 tiers of the English league system.

There already have been scandals involving certain players in the Premier League with Andros Townsend and Dan Gosling from Tottenham and Newcastle respectively being just some of the players which have been found to breach betting regulations.

The new rules will also prohibit players from transmitting details to a third party who utilizes that information for betting and it was confirmed by the FA that these new regulations will also cover betting on new managers or player transfers.

It said in a statement: “A worldwide ban on betting on football will come into force from 1 August 2014 for certain participants in English football. Participants covered by the ban will be prohibited from betting, either directly or indirectly, on any football match or competition that takes place anywhere in the world’’.

“The changes to FA rules from the start of the 2014-15 season will also effect a worldwide prohibition on betting on any other football-related matter. For example, the transfer of players, employment of managers or team selection. The passing of inside information to somebody that uses the information for betting remains prohibited.”

The former rules and regulations allowed players to gamble and bet as long as it did not involve their own team but these new guidelines are expected to change things around and help try to shut down the scandals which seem to have been escalating recently.

READING VERSUS SWANSEA BETTING PREVIEW

Reading are set to take on Swansea city in the playoff final that is thought to be the biggest game of their season. Reading FC can remember what it’s like to be a top flight side, with the Royals having been relegated in 2008 under Steve Coppell, although they have risen from the flames and walloped Cardiff 3-0 in the semi-finals to take a step closer to the big time.

Brian McDermott’s team are even money with bet365 to be promoted on Monday, making them the slight outsiders, with the bookies prepared to offer no bigger than 5/6 (Paddy Power – £100 free betting) about Swansea City.

The Swans are managed by Brendan Rodgers, someone who had an ill-fated spell at Reading when they were first relegated to the Championship in 2009. He lasted just six months at the Berkshire club, although he’s demonstrating that was a blip by steering Swansea to the verge of something magical.

The Welsh side were far too good for Nottingham Forest in the semi-final and they will have their backers at 9/5 (Betfred – £50 free bet) to claim victory in ninety minutes, with City having already beaten Reading twice this term.