Soccer Fitness

Millions of football fans will descend on South Africa during the month of June in order to attend the world largest sporting event, having booked one of the many world cup packages that are currently on offer. The 2010 World Cup will take place between June11th and July 11^th, spread among nine host cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth to name just a few. However there are a few things you need to know before you board your plane. First of all, you will need a passport to enter the country. Unless you plan to stay for more than 90 days, you will not need a visa. Your passport must also remain valid for at least 30 days after you're due to leave South Africa.

Planning your trip early and using a reputable and registered travel agent will allow you get the best deals that you r money can buy. Locating these world cup packages will take a little patience and homework but it will be worth it in the end. In fact, with the World Cup it is better to book everything in advance to eliminate the hassle for when you get there. Booking in advance leaves you able to enjoy all the festivities of the tournament stress free as well as danger free. The World Cup will play during South Africa's winter season, so it will be cool and rainy depending on which city you happen to spend time in. Think climate similar to that found in California in the USA or in Southwestern Australia in the land down under.

Transportation between the nine host cities will be either by high speed rail, rapid transit bus, taxi or rental car. Rental cars should be booked in advance in order to secure one for when you need it. Tell your travel agent to make the reservation. Read up on local driving regulations and insurance rules if you plan to drive. However, if you decide to use a taxi ask the desk clerk at your hotel which firm is official and licensed.Beware of buying tickets once on the ground because they may be fake. Check any tickets with the official ticketing center to determine if your tickets are the real McCoy or fake. The government of South Africa and FIFA have put into place a zero tolerance policy outlawing racism and xenophobia. Fans who become very intoxicated will not be allowed inside the stadiums or fan parks outside the stadiums.

The soccer World Cup is coming in June 2010, this time it is in South Africa and there are many companies offering various world cup packages. Right now you might be looking into many different package options and no matter what you are interested in you should watch for some important things in them. Here are a few things to find in a good World Cup package.

First you should watch for the air travel that is being used. There will be packages that include different classes for travel, whether thats coach, business or first class. Your cost for this part will vary according to how far you have to travel. There are many airlines flying to South Africa, that include Emirates, Etihad Airways, South African Airways, Virgin and British Airways.

The next important part of the package is the accommodation. These will range from 3 star to 5 start hotels, to guest houses and apartments. You can also find hotels with hospitality areas. In these areas you can get free travel services and some will offer food and drink. You will not be able to get your hotel switched during your stay in most instances.

The proximity of your accommodation to a match venue will be important. You will have to watch for the location of your hotel especially if it is in Johannesburg. There are many games in Johannesburg including the World Cup Final match. It also helps to check on venues in cities like Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. No matter what city your package takes you to you should check on where your hotel is and ensure there is adequate security provided.

You may even be offered side trips in your World Cup package. These short excursions will give you the chance to experience all that South Africa has to offer. You can get a safari trip or a trip to Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls. Make sure you read the details to see what is included in the different packages.

The tickets are the last part of the package to check out. You can get tickets for many games in a plan. The levels of games in the package, including Group Match and Final events, should be checked on. In many cases a package provider can offer tickets for all matches involving a specific country. Match locations and dates will be different according to the country you follow.

Be sure to watch for the many factors involved when looking at the many world cup packages available. It helps to take a look into the air travel, hotel and tickets. Any additional travel services should also be watched for.

The draw for the Fifa 2010 World Cup takes place on the 4^th December in Cape Town, South Africa. All the teams that have qualified for the world cup will find out where they will play their group matches following this draw. There are a total of 32 teams playing for the greatest prize in football , made up of countries from Europe, North America, Central America, Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Africa, Asia and of course the hosts South Africa.

Thousands of fans are expected to make the trip to South Africa to follow their country, with many world cup packages from different companies on offer, getting tickets and accommodation should not be problem. A lot of fans have already booked their place at the World Cup after seeing their country qualify for the tournament, however they don’t know where in South Africa they will be travelling to yet. They will have mainly booked their acccommodation in either Cape Town or Johannesburg and then travel to the various matches by taxi, coach or by air.

There is expected to be a large number of people searching for and booking world cup packages once the draw takes place on the 4^th December, this way they will be able to be sure about how much travelling is required to follow their country and the costs that go with it. It can work out quite expensive to have to get internal flights to different stadiums around the country. Some companies are providing all inclusive tours that include all transfers within South Africa.

The draw doesn’t really affect people that just want to experience some world cup action seeing different countries from around the world. There are many packages available for fans like this to stay in one of the destinations and watch the games at that particular stadium, for instance you can book to stay in Cape Town and watch some of the group stage or knockout matches at the Green Point Stadium.

December 4^th is not that far away now for those that want to follow their country, so make sure once the draw takes place you don’t leave it too long to book your place at the world cup as tickets will sell out fast.  Check out the companies offering world cup packages and pick the one that suits you best.

South Africa is playing host to the 2010 Football World Cup from June 11 to July 11. Millions of football fans around the world will be glued to their television screens to watch the matches. There are world cup packages available for the lucky ones who can afford it by selected tour operators.

For the football fanatic there are world cup packages available that let you follow your team for the duration of the world cup travelling across South Africa. On the other hand if you simply fancy taking in a game or two whilst enjoying the holiday of a lifetime in South Africa there are packages available for this too.

Johannesburg and the surrounding cities will host most of the World Cup games with two of the ten world cup stadiums being situated in Johannesburg itself and four other stadiums within driving distance. Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Pretoria will host the remaining games.

For the football games in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Pretoria and Nelspruit you are recommended to secure accommodation in Johannesburg and fly directly there. These locations are all in northern South Africa within a few hours’ drive of one another. About five hours away is Polokwane which is one of the safest areas in South Africa.

Bloemfontein is right in the middle of South Africa and is host to some football games in its Free State Stadium. It is the judicial capital of South Africa and is a smallish-sized city.

Other games will be played in the cultural city of Durban which has lovely beaches and a busy nightlife. A potentially great place to mix your holiday with some football.

Cape Town will also host several world cup games. It is located on the southern edge of South Africa and is overlooked by the famous Table Mountain. It is good option for those flying to South Africa from Europe.

Port Elizabeth lies between Durban and Cape Town on the southern coast. To stay there throughout the world cup you will have to book a domestic flight from Johannesburg or Cape Town.

FIFA have selected tour operators worldwide who are entitled to advertise travel arrangements with valid 2010 tickets. 350,000 tickets have been offered by FIFA to them. These companies have accommodation and flights (both international and domestic) available for a wide variety of different world cup packages to cater to all demands and budgets.

Nobody as yet knows what teams will be playing at what location until the December 4, 2009 draw but bookings for the world cup packages are already fully available from the selected tour operators. The timetable of games has been fixed but where and at what time exactly matches will take place is not known.

If you world cup packages in a specific country, for example through an English tour operator you will be assured of an England match ticket as these tickets have been guaranteed (including several semi-final and final tickets).

Its official, we now know the 32 teams that will be competing for the greatest prize in football, the Fifa World Cup and there are many different world cup packages on offer to help get fans to see all the action. The countries that have qualified for next year’s tournament are as follows:

Australia,  Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana,  Nigeria, Honduras, Mexico, United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, New Zealand, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and last but not least the hosts South Africa.

Now that we know which countries will be there, make sure you are there too. With many good world cup packages available, getting there shouldn’t be that difficult.

Qualifying for this tournament wasn’t that difficult for some countries either, for instance in Europe, Spain qualified winning all of their 10 matches, beating Turkey and Belgium in their group. The Netherlands also qualified without defeat, winning all 8 of their matches, their group included Norway and Scotland. The world champions Italy qualified comfortably but had to settle for three draws, twice with the Republic of Ireland and once with Bulgaria. England also made it through easily with 9 wins and one draw.

It was a different story for Portugal and France, who both had to go through an extra qualifying stage with knockout matches against Bosnia and the Republic of Ireland. France overcome Ireland with a late winner in extra time, this game will be remembered for the much talked about hand ball from Henry which resulted in the goal that won the game. Portugal beat Bosnia in both of their home and away play-off matches 1-0 to qualify for the world cup.

In South America, Brazil topped the group with 9 wins and 2 defeats. Chile, Paraguay and Argentina joined them with automatic qualification, whilst Uruguay had to battle it out with Costa Rica in a play-off match. Uruguay won their 2 leg match battle 2-1 on aggregate. This group will be remembered for how close Argentina came to not qualifying, an 84^th minute goal from Bolatti helped them to reach the finals in the end.

There are many companies offering fans the opportunity to see more of these battles in South Africa, with various world cup packages to suit you, whether that is following your country throughout the tournament or just watching the group stage matches in Johannesburg or Cape Town. Out of the 32 teams competing, who will win the 2010 World Cup?