..::Sports News::..
The 2006 World Cup in Germany takes place from June 9 to July 9, 2006.
The opening game will be held in Munich's new AllianzArena with the final taking place in Berlin's Olympic stadium.
Tickets
Tickets for the 2006 Finals in Germany will go on sale on 1 February 2005.
2006 World Cup Qualifying Groups
The qualifying groups for the 2006 World Cup have been announced.
European qualifying groups 1-8 overview.
Group 1 - Czech Republic, Holland, Finland, Armenia, FYR Macedonia, Romania, Andorra
Group 2 - Turkey, Denmark, Greece, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Albania
Group 3 - Portugal, Russia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia
Group 4 - France, Ireland, Switzerland, Cyprus, Israel, Faroe Islands
Group 5 - Italy, Slovenia, Scotland, Belarus, Moldova, Norway
Group 6 - England, Wales, N. Ireland, Poland, Austria, Azerbaijan
Group 7 - Spain, Belgium, Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, San Marino
Group 8 - Sweden, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Iceland, Malta
African qualifying groups 1-5.
Asian qualifying groups 1-8.
Americas qualifying groups.
South America qualifying group.
Oceania qualifying groups.
Logo
Germany has unveiled the 2006 World Cup logo depicting three laughing faces in yellow, blue and green forming the symbol '006' and inviting the world to a party for the next World Cup. The slogan in English translates as 'Friends invite the world' (Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden). According to World Cup organizing committee president Franz Beckenbauer the logo should be referred to as 'the celebrating faces of football' and aims to convey the message that Germany will be a welcoming and friendly host. 'We believe that the new emblem perfectly expresses our philosophy of having a buoyant, cheerful and carefree tournament in 2006," the former German coach and playing legend added. 'Everybody knows that we're good at organising but we wanted to convey an other, warmer and friendlier image of Germany.'
World Cup 2006 Official Poster
The design for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ Official Poster has been unveiled. The winning design by Berlin design agency We do Communication GmbH featues a football made up of stars glittering in a night sky. The winning design beat off four rivals in a telephone and text poll by 50,000 people in Germany.
"We liked both the idea and the execution. Stars taking the shape of a football is a new, strongly symbolic idea, and the poster struck an emotional chord with me. In my opinion, football is all about emotion and passion. The fans have made the right choice," said 2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee President Franz Beckenbauer.
World Cup 2006 Mascots
The World Cup 2006 official mascots have been unveiled in a ceremony in Leipzig, November 13, and they are Goleo VI, a human-size lion puppet designed by the US-based Jim Henson Company, the producers of the successful puppet show 'The Muppets", and Pille a talking soccer ball that possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the game. Goleo VI and Pille are scheduled to have their own TV series and will appear as World Cup ambassadors in the run-up to the finals. The mascots are a departure from the 3 computer-generated mascots used at World Cup 2002 and is FIFA's first-ever "living" character that can talk, dance, play music and make people laugh.
Stadia
Berlin - Olympic Stadium (reconstruction). 76,000 seats.
Cologne - Muengersdorfer Stadium (reconstruction). 45,000 seats.
Dortmund - Westfalen Stadion (slight modification). 60,000 seats.
Frankfurt - Wald Stadium (new). 48,000 seats.
Gelsenkirchen - Arena AufSchalke (new). 52,000 seats.
Hamburg - Stadium Hamburg (new). 50,000 seats.
Hannover - Niedersachsen Stadium (reconstruction). 45,000 seats.
Kaiserslautern - Fritz-Walter Stadium (being extended). 48,500 seats.
Leipzig - Zentral Stadium (new). 44,000 seats.
Munich - Allianz Arena. 66,000 seats.
Nuremberg - Franken Stadium (reconstruction). 45,500 seats.
Stuttgart - Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium (modernisation). 54,500 seats.
Ticket Prices & Categories
All prices are in Euros. Altogether there will be 3.2 million tickets
available for the 64 matches, four categories (rather than the three
ticket categories for World Cup 2002) and prices ranging from €35
to €600.
Matches |
Category 1 |
Category 2 |
Category 3 |
Category 4 |
| Opening Match |
€300 |
€180 |
€115 |
€65 |
| Group Match |
€100 |
€60 |
€45 |
€35 |
| Round of 16 |
€120 |
€75 |
€60 |
€45 |
| Quarter finals |
€180 |
€110 |
€85 |
€55 |
| Semi finals |
€400 |
€240 |
€150 |
€90 |
| Third Place |
€120 |
€75 |
€60 |
€45 |
| Final |
€600 |
€360 |
€220 |
€120 |
Posted on 13 April 2005
Sania Mirza makes waves in cyberspace
(IANS News) Bhopal, : Tennis sensation Sania Mirza's career record is 106 victories to 24 losses, her total earnings are $129,000, she's a Brad Pitt fan, her favourite movie is Ocean's Eleven and her favourite colours are red and black.
All this and more is offered on www.wahsania.com, created by an anonymous fan in this Madhya Pradesh capital and which claims to be the first in the world on the tennis star.
"This is a first ever site on Sania Mirza in the world, built by a Sania fan in Bhopal who prefers anonymity. It is an unofficial site," says a notice posted on the website.
The site is divided into sections like journey to the top, childhood and family, profile and sporting feats. It and also keeps track of Sania's current ranking and features a number of photographs.
As to be expected, the website details Sania's personal and professional, as also her likes, dislikes and hobbies.
According to the website, swimming is Sania's favourite pastime and she is passionate about biryani, despite her coach advising her to keep away from it.
When contacted on email, the site-owner said that he did not wish to reveal his identity but preferred to remain just a Sania fan.
"It is laudable that a middle-class girl manages to make her way into a sport as highly competitive as tennis that is played in more than 150 countries. She is naturally more a beacon of inspiration to budding players than cricketers because the game is played seriously in less than a dozen countries," he replied when asked what had prompted him to put up the site.
He said that Sania's family is aware of the website.
Sania apart, the site has sections devoted to prominent Indian sportspersons like P.T. Usha, Wilson Jones, Prakash Padukone, Geet Sethi, Dhyan Chand, Vijay Amritraj, Vishwanathan Anand and Leander Paes. (Sports India)
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