Showing posts with label Fifa Fever - 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fifa Fever - 2010. Show all posts
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
FIFA Fever: Kerala soccer fan paints Argentine colours on his auto rickshaw
A soccer fan from Kerala has painted his three-wheeled auto rickshaw in the blue and white stripes of the Argentina flag and offers free ride to those, who support the Latin American team.
Parakan Nazeer supports Argentina because he believes its soccer stars are among the favourites to lift this year's world cup that kicks off in South Africa next week.
Nazeer, an auto rickshaw driver by profession, drives around in his colourful auto trying to garner support for his favourite team in the coconut-laden backwaters of Kerala.
"Right now, I am quite anxious, there are many teams with a chance, who will be the lucky one, we don't know. Argentina has a chance and I am supporting Argentina," said Nazeer.
He has spent around 5,000 rupees to convert the auto into the Argentinian flag colours.
Nazeer travels to the nearby villages in a bid to increase the number of supporters and also explains about each players, their style and strong point of defense.
"The Brazilian supporters have been telling me to convert my auto into the yellow colours of Brazil, but I am an Argentine supporter and sticking with my team," Nazeer added.
He plans to continue driving his vehicle in its current avatar until the world cup ends and Argentina lifts the trophy.
Nazeer has also placed some heavy bets on Argentina and hopes that his team will repay his faith in them with a victory.
The World Cup 2010 will be held from June 11 to July 11 in South Africa. (ANI)
Parakan Nazeer supports Argentina because he believes its soccer stars are among the favourites to lift this year's world cup that kicks off in South Africa next week.
Nazeer, an auto rickshaw driver by profession, drives around in his colourful auto trying to garner support for his favourite team in the coconut-laden backwaters of Kerala.
"Right now, I am quite anxious, there are many teams with a chance, who will be the lucky one, we don't know. Argentina has a chance and I am supporting Argentina," said Nazeer.
He has spent around 5,000 rupees to convert the auto into the Argentinian flag colours.
Nazeer travels to the nearby villages in a bid to increase the number of supporters and also explains about each players, their style and strong point of defense.
"The Brazilian supporters have been telling me to convert my auto into the yellow colours of Brazil, but I am an Argentine supporter and sticking with my team," Nazeer added.
He plans to continue driving his vehicle in its current avatar until the world cup ends and Argentina lifts the trophy.
Nazeer has also placed some heavy bets on Argentina and hopes that his team will repay his faith in them with a victory.
The World Cup 2010 will be held from June 11 to July 11 in South Africa. (ANI)
World Cup flag flutters across Malappuram
The World Cup finals are two more weeks away. But football mania has already gripped Malappuram. The flags of 32 nations taking part in the World Cup football championship in Germany are fluttering across the district.
The World Cup has come at a good time for the youngsters of the district. Those who are heartbroken at the defeat of their parties in the Assembly elections have already taken recourse in football euphoria.
The demand for the World Cup flag has been on the rise as the days are being counted down for the June 9 kick off. Dozens of football lovers and fan clubs are approaching Lovely Hamza Haji who deals in flags of different shape and size.
Lovely Fancy, his shop in Malappuram, has already become a flag sale centre. The Haji buys polyester clothes in bulk and makes the flags at home. Often he struggles to meet the demand, especially when football-crazy clubs place bulk orders. A club manager from Areekode made an order for 300 flags of his choicest nations on Sunday.
The demand for the Argentina flag has been so much that sky-blue polyester cloth is in short supply here. Brazil is next in demand, followed by England, Germany, Italy and France.
"I use polyester because it will last, and the colours won't fade fast," says the Haji. But he says he is unable to meet the demand for jerseys, hairbands, photographs and wristbands of their favourite players and nations.
The cost varies according to the intricacy of the flag design. Some flags, like that of the U.S., Australia and Brazil, are difficult to make. "So I charge more for them," he says.
He has flags of different shape and size. A mini-flag of one-foot length costs Rs.10 and a 3x2 metre flag costs Rs.250. A Brazil flag of that size costs Rs.300. The Haji says the most difficult flag is that of Saudi Arabia because it has an Arabic calligraphy inscription on it. The simplest are that of Ukraine and Poland, because they have only two colours.The Haji started his flag sale during the 2002 World Cup. Himself a football fan, the Haji had decorated his shop with miniature flags of World Cup nations four years ago. When people approached him for such flags, he saw the future of a seasonal market. His flags fluttered across the State during the Copa America championship two years later.
Kerala gets ready for World Cup fiesta
With the football World Cup set to start in South Africa in a fortnight's time, millions of lovers of the game in Kerala are gearing up for the fiesta as the sport is followed passionately in the state.
The enthusiasm is already visible on the streets, especially in the districts of north Kerala and Malappuram, as the June 11-July 11 event approaches. Shops too have piled up soccer memorabilia.
Flags, banners and cutouts of the teams and star players are getting ready. Some of the cutouts of Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, Italy, not to mention Ivory Coast, have already found their way to the streets. Over the next few days, giant size pictures of stars like Kaka, Robinho, Thiery Henry, Lionel Messi, Theo Walcott, Didier Drogba, Peter Crouch will signal the arrival of the World Cup.
In the central Kerala district of Kottayam, unlike in the past, this time the enthusiasm has gathered momentum early with various clubs and shops piling up stocks of banners, posters and jerseys.
"In the last World Cup we were not ready because we were not sure if we would be able to do business in selling the national jerseys of various teams and were a bit cautious," said a textile shop owner near Kottayam.
"Once the event started, we did get a steady number of inquiries, but by then it was too late. So this time we have made arrangements with leading manufacturers that they would supply us any number of jerseys at short notice."
Football enthusiast and two time independent legislator Manjalamkuzhi Ali, who hails from Malappuram, said as always he would follow the Brazilians.
"But this time, I do not have high hopes of how far they will reach. Even though they are capable of making an impact, they are equally capable of disappointing their fans. Let us wait and see. This time any prediction will be tough, but nevertheless it is going to be a few weeks of football mania," Ali said.
With the IPL fiasco and the Indian cricket team crashing out of the T20 World Cup last month, for the time being cricket has taken a back seat and children as well as youth are concentrating on football.
"I am a keen football fan. During my 90 minutes of travel to college everyday, I have observed that interest in football has picked up," remarked Shreya Punnoose studying in a college in Pathanamthitta.
Sports shops in the state capital are leaving nothing to chance as they stock up footballs, jerseys, boots and stockings.
"We are fully ready with stocks and sales are gradually picking up. Sales will peak once the first round of matches gets into high gear," said C. Rajesh who owns a premier sports shop.
To whip up football passion across the state, former players of Kerala Police are organising an exhibition football match against a rest of Kerala team comprising veterans like former India captain Xavier Pious, Victor Manjila and Najummudin.
"We feel this is the right time to have an exhibition football match to be held here so that the mood is created in the minds of Keralites," senior police officer P.P. Thobias said.
Thobias, who captained the Indian youth football team and also donned the colours for the senior national team, said he will put his money on Brazil.
There is a hitch though. With a leading cable distribution company having a dispute with sports channels over telecast rates, football fans in Kerala are wondering if they be able to catch the action live on their television sets.
The enthusiasm is already visible on the streets, especially in the districts of north Kerala and Malappuram, as the June 11-July 11 event approaches. Shops too have piled up soccer memorabilia.
Flags, banners and cutouts of the teams and star players are getting ready. Some of the cutouts of Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, Italy, not to mention Ivory Coast, have already found their way to the streets. Over the next few days, giant size pictures of stars like Kaka, Robinho, Thiery Henry, Lionel Messi, Theo Walcott, Didier Drogba, Peter Crouch will signal the arrival of the World Cup.
In the central Kerala district of Kottayam, unlike in the past, this time the enthusiasm has gathered momentum early with various clubs and shops piling up stocks of banners, posters and jerseys.
"In the last World Cup we were not ready because we were not sure if we would be able to do business in selling the national jerseys of various teams and were a bit cautious," said a textile shop owner near Kottayam.
"Once the event started, we did get a steady number of inquiries, but by then it was too late. So this time we have made arrangements with leading manufacturers that they would supply us any number of jerseys at short notice."
Football enthusiast and two time independent legislator Manjalamkuzhi Ali, who hails from Malappuram, said as always he would follow the Brazilians.
"But this time, I do not have high hopes of how far they will reach. Even though they are capable of making an impact, they are equally capable of disappointing their fans. Let us wait and see. This time any prediction will be tough, but nevertheless it is going to be a few weeks of football mania," Ali said.
With the IPL fiasco and the Indian cricket team crashing out of the T20 World Cup last month, for the time being cricket has taken a back seat and children as well as youth are concentrating on football.
"I am a keen football fan. During my 90 minutes of travel to college everyday, I have observed that interest in football has picked up," remarked Shreya Punnoose studying in a college in Pathanamthitta.
Sports shops in the state capital are leaving nothing to chance as they stock up footballs, jerseys, boots and stockings.
"We are fully ready with stocks and sales are gradually picking up. Sales will peak once the first round of matches gets into high gear," said C. Rajesh who owns a premier sports shop.
To whip up football passion across the state, former players of Kerala Police are organising an exhibition football match against a rest of Kerala team comprising veterans like former India captain Xavier Pious, Victor Manjila and Najummudin.
"We feel this is the right time to have an exhibition football match to be held here so that the mood is created in the minds of Keralites," senior police officer P.P. Thobias said.
Thobias, who captained the Indian youth football team and also donned the colours for the senior national team, said he will put his money on Brazil.
There is a hitch though. With a leading cable distribution company having a dispute with sports channels over telecast rates, football fans in Kerala are wondering if they be able to catch the action live on their television sets.
