There have been plenty of criticisms of the Adidas Jabulani ball, to the point where FIFA have said they will look into the concerns about the ball.

Seems to me like it is a bit too late.

We are in the middle of their show-piece tournament and that FIFA have made this admission now (given their reluctance to even acknowledge the discussion on technology) shows they are not happy.

Adidas have a contract with FIFA to supply the ball for the next World Cup in 2014. They paid over USD300 million for the right to do so.

I think one of the key reasons for the problems with this ball is the significant change from previous models. There seems to be a complete change is feel to the ball and the way players are describing how it acts will mean that they have some getting used to it.

The fact that the first free kick to be scored from came in the last round of the group stages again highlights how long it has taken to get used to the new ball.

The Jabulani has been available to national teams for months before the finals, but given most leagues (Especially, the English Premier League, La Liga and Serie A) use Nike balls, they could not be used consistently to gain experience.

Ironically, Germany’s Bundesliga was the only major European league to use the Jabulani in normal domestic matches.

I expect for the next games to play better as teams are coming to grips with it. But it shouldn’t take this long.

I would hope that Adidas are put on notice for 2014, to either provide a ball similar in characteristics to what is being used throughout the world or provide it much earlier for teams to practise with.

Unfortunately, with Nike’s domestic league dominance, if Adidas decide to push the boundaries again, we could have the same problem in four years time.

I am an unashamed football nut, have been forever. I was young but remember the ‘82 World Cup (I was even given some Spanish stamps commemorating it from a friend that went)

I have been reading and watching the current All Whites World Cup campaign from the early stages: relatively routine progression through the Oceania Group, the warm up game vs Jordan, then the nail biter in Bahrain in the first leg of the qualifier.

I was even lucky enough to be one of the near 35000 who was at the game on “that” night in Wellington.

But then the wait, six months before the true build up to the World Cup itself.

Expectations have been varied, from Ivan Vicelich’s possibility of getting past the group stages, to some of the bookmakers who were giving big odds for us even scoring a single goal.

Recent warm up games have given some optimism, that we will be at least competitive and not the walk overs we were talked as. But more than that, while our midfield is light, especially in technique, our defence is looking strong and the most pleasing things is that we actually look like a genuine threat at the pointy end.

I would expect us now to most likely score in each of our pool matches. If that is the case, we give ourselves the best opportunity to get results in every game.

Who knows, Ivan could be right.

I couldnt let the biggest game in Europe go by without congratulating Barcelona. At times played breathtaking football.

So both teams end up with three trophies, I am sure Barca will be the happiest though

Well done!

As a football fan, it’s great to see the footballers making fun of themselves.

For those of you who follow football, this was a recent sketch from Comic Relief.

Interestingly, Peter Crouch (one in the front row) did the “rope” as part of his celebration after scoring a goal in tonight’s 2-1 win over Ukraine.

Well done that man.

Comic Relief Sketch is here