By Nick Harris and Brian Sears 3 June 2010 English football clubs will again be sending more players to the World Cup than clubs from any other country, cementing English football’s reputation as the No1 melting pot for the cream of global football. A new study by sportingintelligence has found that 118 players who earn […]

By Keira Daley 2 June 2010 The Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt has today accepted an invitation from the US Soccer Federation to join the board of directors for the USA’s bid to stage the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. The full story is online at the USSS website and the move is sure to […]

By Nick Harris 2 June 2010 The USA’s World Cup squad will share a bonus pot of more than $20m (£13.8m) if they defy the odds to win the tournament in South Africa this summer. The potential payout is the most lucrative confirmed bonus scheme in the history of the tournament and could net the […]

By Nick Harris 2 June 2010 An analysis of the strikers from Europe’s leading nations heading for South Africa – and their records at domestic level in 2009-10 – proves that Darren Bent is uniquely unfortunate in not being selected to be part of England’s 23-man squad. The 26-year-old Sunderland forward is the only footballer […]

By Pete Wilson 1 June 2010 . England’s 23-man World Cup has been confirmed this afternoon and sportingintelligence brought it to you first, both here and in a Tweet two hours before official confirmation. After all the rumours, chatter and betting market moves, the squad is revealed to be (those omitted from the 30-man squad […]

By Keira Daley 1 June 2010 West Ham United’s South African striker, Benni McCarthy, his country’s all-time leading goal scorer with 31 goals for Bafana Bafana from 79 senior caps, has surprisingly been left out of the host nation’s 23-man squad for the World Cup. The 32-year-old forward spent much of the run-in to West […]

1 June 2010 Three British-based players – Manchester United’s Park Ji-Sung, Celtic’s Ki Sung-Yueng and Bolton’s Lee Chung-Yong are among eight midfielders named today in South Korea’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup. The squad, nicknamed the ‘Taeguk Warriors’, was announced at the Korean training base in Neustift, Austria, by the coach, Huh Jung-Moo, and details […]

By Pete Wilson 19 May 2010 The mascots for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were revealed today: Wenlock and Mandeville. The full story of their background and future can be seen on the official 2012 site, and on a special mascots sub-site. You can also see images and watch in different languages here, […]

By Nick Harris 19 May 2010 Goldman Sachs, the global investment bank, and their chief economist Jim O’Neill – the head of the Red Knights group of super-rich fans who want to buy Manchester United – have produced a 70-page report, ‘The World Cup and Economics 2010’, that includes the prediction that this summer’s World […]

16 May 2010 Lord Triesman will step down as the head of England’s bid team for the 2018 World Cup after suggesting in a private conversation – taped by an acquaintance and sold to the Mail on Sunday – that Spain and Russia would collude to ensure corrupt referees took part at this summer’s World […]