2010 update - preparations officially begin : england train for altitude and bafana fans boycott jersey
So the 32 teams have qualified and its time to officially begin training with the dream of lifting the world cup trophy. England prepare for the altitude with some intensive regime under Capello while the Bafana Fans rage at the overpriced jersey.
Fabio Capello is leaving nothing to chance and is making sure his three lions squad is ready for the altitudes they could face here in South Africa. In the past altitude has plagued the English side at World Cups, none more memorable than 1986 when Maradonna absolutely dazzled the English Mexico City.
Capello will be utilising the services of the altitude centre in London in which Players will breathe through a ‘gas mask’ while pedalling on a bicycle, all the time the oxygen supplied (reduced) mimicking that of the potential stadiums in South Africa. Experts believe that this is just the start and altitude tents to sleep in could be implemented to help player’s acclimatise before they get here.
Capello is not only using this to prepare his squad but believes that if it is 50/50 between picking 2 players for his 23 man squad, these results could be decisive. Fabio believes that the ability to handle the altitude is not only a question of fatigue, but one of mental function and decision making. Intriguingly, the highest English stadium is at 551 ft while Joburg, for example is ten times higher at over 5000 ft. It seems the English are leaving nothing to chance and I feel they will be huge contenders for the crown next year.
Domestically, it is not only Bafana’s lack of goal prowess catching the headlines, but supporter preparation to. Fans are outraged at the price of the new Bafana Bafana jersey, at R1500, which just seems too much money to show support for the nation. The jersey is available for roughly R500, but the official jersey (the only difference being the presence of the Protea) cost R100 more!
Fans are appealing to government to intervene and SAFA is investigating solutions. We shall see. Will government subsidise the cost? Who set the value of the Protea?
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Chris Edington
said:
 |
... yeah heard a huge thing on the radio the other day on 5fm, saying "Do not buy these jerseys for that price!" I definatly wont. What are the povo's gona do?? |
Maggels
said:
 |
... R1500 is a chee ck considering you but a premier league jersey for about R600. what people don't realise is that the bokke jersey costs the same witha cheaper supporters option. they obviously didn't think that R500 * 1 million fans would be greater revenue than 3 jerseys (bought by corporates anyway) would achieve. they must not get koud about cost price because the extra R1000 is for the protea badge and not space materials |
James Gilmour
said:
 |
... I agree that it is very expensive... however i just read the following! These are not the only jersey to be sold... this is a limited edition offering that is supposed to be a collectable! they did the same with the bokke and it retailed at R1800! and all are sold out!? i believe that they are producing the standard jersey for R550 and will be offering a replica for R300... So although it does seem like i ridicolous price it must all be taken in context... i dont think that Safa or Adidas are expecting the masses to rush out and try get there hands on the collectors edition... but this is just what ive heard and look forward to getting some more light on the topic! the people running the admin side of sport in this country dont exactly have the best track record so who knows... Viva Bafana Bafana Viva |
Kenrick Hendricks
said:
 |
... That is rather pricey hey! As mentioned you can get an official premier league kit for far less- thats a huge fail... It should be subsidised so that everyone in SA has the opportunity to get a jersey and rock the support for Bafana!  |
Show/hide comment form
