Football

Football helmet shields can prevent serious eye injuries

Washington, Nov 18 : A new study has found that football helmet faceshields can withstand a hit equivalent to a kick in the face and provide protection without disrupting players’ vision.

During the study, eye specialists at Ohio State University used an air cannon to hurl baseballs at the plastic faceshields.

The impact was designed to mimic the force of a kick to the face, considered the riskiest way to sustain an eye injury in football.

The baseballs were propelled at the faceshields at velocities of up to 218 feet per second, or nearly 150 miles per hour.

The measures of optical quality showed that the curved, plastic shields do not add any corrections or distortions to players’ vision.

State TV drops live coverage of scandal-hit China league

Beijing - State-run China Central Television, the country's main national broadcaster, has suspended its live coverage of the Chinese Super League after the latest in a series of scandals to hit the ailing league, reports said on Tuesday.

A mass brawl at the end of last Wednesday's match between Beijing Guo'an and Tianjin Kangshifu was apparently the final straw for CCTV.

"The present situation of Chinese football has hurt everybody," Jiang Heping, the controller of sports channel CCTV-5, told the popular Titan Sports newspaper.

Jiang said CCTV made the decision to drop coverage to be "responsible to the country and to people."

German footballers get record bonus if they qualify for World Cup

German footballers get record bonus if they qualify for World CupBerlin - Germany's footballers can earn up to 200,000 euros (252,000 dollars) per man if they make it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the biggest bonus to date in the nation's qualifying matches.

The German football federation DFB said in a statement on Tuesday that nominated players will get 20,000 euros per match for a maximum 200,000 euros if Germany qualify directly for the World Cup as group winner.

Liverpool’s Torres named `Player of the Year’

Liverpool’s Torres named `Player of the Year’London, Nov. 18: Liverpool's Fernando Torres has been named Barclays Premier League player of the year at the Northwest Football Awards.

Torres scored 33 goals in his first season at Anfield before helping Spain to European Championship glory, reports the Daily Express.

Ryan Giggs was named footballer of the year while his manager Sir Alex Ferguson won an outstanding achievement award following Manchester United's league and Champions League double.

Last chance for Bafana before World Cup

Johannesburg  - When South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 World Cup football officials in the country embarked on an ambitious plan.

Not only did they want to ensure that the World Cup itself would be a huge success, they also wanted to make sure that they would be able to field a strong team at the showpiece of international football.

To facilitate the latter, the South African Football Association (SAFA) spared neither effort nor money and in 2006 they proudly announced that Carlos Alberto Parreira had signed a contract to coach the team.

The arrival of the Brazilian World Cup-winning coach had South African football fans dreaming of World Cup glory.

Spain want to show Euro title was no fluke

Madrid  - Spain are keen to show the world that their triumph at Euro 2008 was no flash in the pan.

That's why they are desperate to do well in next June's Confederations Cup, the draw for which will be held on 22 November in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This will be Spain's first participation in the elite tournament, now in its eighth edition.

Spain will go to the tournament as one of the favourites, as European champions and as number one in the FIFA world rankings.

"La Seleccion", as it is known, has never before flown so high - or so elegantly. And it has never before been so highly regarded across Planet Football.

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