FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he is considering a special award for the Republic of Ireland after the country missed out on a place in next year's World Cup finals.

KIDS do say the funniest things, though one hopes Football Association chairman Lord Triesman saw the funny side of yesterday's trip to a Cape Town township football proje

FORMER referee John Underhill has welcomed the world governing body's decision to open an inquiry into the possible use of extra match officials or technology.

HUNDREDS of millions of fans are expected to follow the World Cup draw today, knowing that the pure luck of how teams are picked from the four pots will go a long way to deci

GLOBAL recession? What global recession? No-one, it seems, has told Fifa. The announcement by world football's governing body that the 2010 World Cup winners will pick

FABIO Capello insists he does not fear England ending up in a 'group of death' in today's draw for the World Cup finals but has warned of the strength of the six A

FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he is considering a special award for the Republic of Ireland after the country missed out on a place in next year's World Cup finals.

Around 17oo GMT we will start discovering who plays whom in South Africa this summer. The eight groups will choose one country from each pot as below. Pot 1 (Seeds) : South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England Pot 2 (AFC, OFC & CONCACAF) : Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Honduras

At approximately 5.20pm on a chilly Saturday afternoon, the 2009 J. League champions will thrust their glittering trophy into wintry Japanese skies. Whether it is two-time defending champions Kashima Antlers left celebrating, or the trophy-hungry Kawasaki Frontale, is the question still to be resolved. Kashima hold the upper hand after Oswaldo de Oliveira's side obliterated the only other title contender Gamba Osaka last weekend, as the Antlers ran riot in a 5-1 home victory. Kawasaki kept alive their hopes of claiming a first ever piece of silverware thanks to a narrow 1-0 win at home to Albirex Niigata. Not for the first time in J. League history, it all comes down to the final day of the season - with fans once again set to pack stadia up and down the country. Tickets for the clash between Urawa Reds and their bitter rivals Kashima have been sold out for weeks, ensuring that more than 60,000 fans should turn out a packed Saitama Stadium. The Reds may be disappointed to have missed out on a top-three finish and a place in next season's Asian Champions League, but they would love nothing more than to derail Kashima's title ambitions. Meanwhile, relegated Kashiwa Reysol will host Kawasaki Frontale at the compact Kashiwa Hitachi Stadium in Chiba, with Kashiwa dropping out of the top flight on the back of their 1-1 draw away at Omiya Ardija last time out. Nevertheless, the Sun Kings will be determined to make life as tough as possible for a nervy Kawasaki - who have already lost the League Cup final to local rivals FC Tokyo this season. Takashi Sekizuka's free-flowing Kawasaki side may play some of the most attractive football in Japan, but they've blown countless opportunities to wrap up the league title this season. Should they fail to claim the title, Frontale will find it tough to shake off the tag as 'chokers' - with the J. League's nearlymen once again so close, yet so far from that elusive piece of silverware. Kashiwa Reysol will be joined by Oita Trinita and JEF United in J2 next season, with Vegalta Sendai and Cerezo Osaka already confirmed to replace them. The final promotion place will be taken by either Shonan Bellmare or Ventforet Kofu, and both will be nervously monitoring scores around the grounds of J2. However, it's the Kanto plain that will command all the attention, as Kashima look to capitalise on their two-point break over Kawasaki. Should Kashima fail to beat Urawa at a hostile Saitama Stadium, then it could be Kawasaki left celebrating at the compact Hitachidai. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J. League News Tags Soccer News football

THE draw for next year's World Cup in South Africa is held today, from 5.15pm UK time, and you can find out the results as they happen here.

The draw for the 2010 World Cup is complete. A couple of the groups contend for the "Group of Death" label. Group D with Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana and Group G with Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea. England got lucky paired with USA, Algeria and Slovenia in Group C. Hosts South Africa have a tough draw but will remain hopeful home advantage can lift them out of the group stage. Group A: *South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France Group B: *Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece Group C: *England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia Group D: *Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia Group E: *Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark Group F: *Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia Group G: *Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Cost, Portugal Group H: *Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland * seeded teams Tags Soccer News football