Category Archives: Australian Football

Football/Sports Tips: How to Effectively Communicate With Your Players

  By O-Posts Team | October 19, 2021 - 22:56 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Premier League Results

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Premier League 2014/2015 scores, Football England
Premier League 2014/2015 results on FlashScores.co.uk have all the latest Premier League 2014/2015 scores, tables, fixtures and match information.

Premier League 2014/2015 scores, Football England - FlashScores.co.uk

Communication is key in any sport, especially team ones such as rugby and football, where the success of the club depends on effective management of large pools of talent. Keeping track of the well-being, health and fitness of each individual player is essential to manage your resources and ensure that the group on the pitch is able to get the best results. It can also help you to avoid injury, overrunning certain players in the build up to important events, and overseeing opportunities as they arise.

 

Face-to-Face Communication

Whether you are training or giving the team a talk during half time, it can be difficult to get your message across clearly both to the team as a whole, and individuals who need specific advice or criticism. Especially during intense situations such as games, mistakes made by players can be frustrating for the coach and manager, but a negative approach to communication can only have adverse effects. In any situation, try to build a criticism into a compliment. Tell them what they were doing well, then how they can improve their game, and you are much more likely to get a positive response.

Listening is as important for coaches and managers as it is for the players. Instead of giving them a 5-minute talk on where they have gone wrong and how they could improve, get them more actively involved in the conversation. Ask them where they think things went wrong, and talk through their situation to come to a solution. By being approachable and willing to hear what the athletes themselves have to say, you might also be surprised at how many of them are perfectly capable of self-diagnosis, and ask for advice of their own accord.

 

Interacting off the Pitch

However much you might try to cover every base in the time spent with your players, you inevitably can’t keep track of each player at all times. Yet understanding their feelings and physical situation is crucial to effective team management, and a passing comment during training from a player might easily get lost in the pipeline. Equipping your players and your organisation with sports performance management software allows you to interact off the pitch.

Your players can fill in surveys on their performance and fitness, whilst you can co-ordinate their training and development remotely, accessible on mobile devices to fit around the busy lives of every member of the organisation. By doing so, you can secure on-going communication with your team, and make sure that everything is professionally tracked and recorded.

In a modern world where mobile technology offers the opportunity to interact any time, anywhere, as a sporting organisation or individual, communication on the pitch is only one half of the picture today. Investment in sports performance management software and makes interaction with your players easier and more effective. Combined with an approachable and positive style of coaching and management, you can get the best out of your team to watch the success speak for itself.

 

Article by Kelly Gilmour-Grassam, freelance copywriter from Yorkshire. Kelly loves the great outdoors, interesting places and fine foods. You can follow her on Twitter at @KellyGGrassam. This article is written with support from The Sports Office.

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Football: What does it mean and how us fans shape our lives around it

  By O-Posts Team | February 12, 2022 - 21:53 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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There comes a time where we must all grow up. Young boys stop playing with little action figures and move on to games consoles, young girls stop wearing their mothers make-up and start wearing their own. We all go to secondary school, reach an age where an interest in the opposite sex grows and we watch more shows created for an older fanbase, as opposed to the kid’s TV we used to enjoy.

We can change our minds so easily when we grow up. We outgrow almost everything from our childhood, be it a show, a board game or an obsession with our favourite teddy or toy that never left our side. Even hobbies find their way of slowly drifting from our routines and finding their place in our memories, never to be forgotten.

One thing that seldom changes, however, is relationships. Some even grow stronger. Childhood friends become school friends, school friends become work friends, maybe even partners. Having an affinity with something rarely changes, and it’s the same with football.

Football can shape the childhood of children so easily. We watch and become transfixed by one player, one team or just the sport in general. For children in football mad families, it is inevitable that they will watch football from early. As a young boy in an Arsenal mad family there was no other team I was ever going to watch, and when I did watch I was hooked by Thierry Henry.

He was my first idol, the first player I fell in love with. And even today, the sight of Thierry Henry or the mere mention of his name buckles me up and takes me down the greatest evocative road I’ve ever journeyed on. Reliving the moments that lit up my childhood, experiencing those moments again. Just fantastic.

To this day, as an 18-year old, I will admit that if it come down to going on a date with a beautiful female or going to watch the Arsenal, I’d pick Arsenal. She may be upset by that so I’d invite her along. If she says no then that’s her problem, not mine. However strong that may sound, football has played a part in my life so huge that living without it would be fairly difficult. It’s an escape, and the same for many other people.

People shape their lives around football. Socially and professionally, everything is built around football. Unfortunately though, not for me, professionally speaking. I work when most Arsenal games are on, and as an 18-year old I’m sadly unable to dictate when I work.

Money comes first when you’re building for a future. Needs must. But it’s not the same for others. People book days off from work to go to games. Even if they’re just going to watch it down the pub with some friends, football comes first.

It’s a strange connection, as people who don’t love football are unable to comprehend the feeling felt by fans when a goal is scored, a pass is misplaced or the ball is controlled. All these footballers are really are just normal people who can kick a ball better than the rest of us, but it’s not as simple as that.

As kids we idolise these men and treat them as superheroes and when we grow up we just sit back and watch in awe. They become parts of our lives and on the back of interviews and performances we end up feeling like we know them.

It even influences the way we use social media, particularly on Twitter. Many people you’ll find on there use it solely to air views and discuss football. There’s something about mixing social media and watching football that results in a narcissistic belief that our views are superior to others. Opinions in the world vary, but on social media the passion we hold for our clubs exudes into 140 characters and any objection comes across as disparagement. So, naturally, we bite back.

Peronally speaking as a reserved individual, football provides a platform for conversation. With not many interests other than the beautiful game finding a middle ground is difficult, and relating to people is rare. With all this in mind, football is the most important thing in my life and it’s played a huge part in the development of me as a person. It’s taught me many different emotions and even a few swear words along the way. Like millions of my fellow humans, I don’t know where I’d be without football.

Football elicits emotion that is not comparable to anything in life. Loyalty to your club is not a choice, it is an obligation; something that is very much permanent; like a birthmark, or a mole - something we cannot remove from ourselves. No matter how frustrating we may consider our connection with a football club to be, there is no doubt that however illogical perserverance through frustration sounds, it would sound even more illogical to contemplate removing your loyalty.

So loving football isn’t necessarily a choice, it’s a requirement. And it’s fun to be part of a community that’s so widespread yet united as one. It’s a wonderful feeling. And that’s why football will always come first.

 

Written by Ryan Goodenough

Follow Ryan on Twitter @SidelineArsenal

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Footballers and their Cars: Their Top 5 Favorites In 2013

  By O-Posts Team | November 18, 2021 - 01:03 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Love them or hate them Footballers are some of the highest paid professional sports players in Europe and the rest of the world. The also court a lot of controversy with their off-the field shenanigans of wild parties and wild women.

The one thing that most of them all do when they hit pay day is to buy cars,but not just any model cars, the kind that come with a limited edition logo and cost enough money to feed a small Peruvian village. Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris are amongst the many high priced cars that come with the celebrity and fame of being a footballer.

 

1.     RANGE ROVER SPORT

This year it would seem the Range Rover Sport is the most popular expensive toy for Premier League players. This Mother of all SUV’s has everything a boy would want, looks, performance and tricks. Its the kind of car you cannot ignore when you drive past it and it is intimidating enough to get the best Mercedes Benz move out of the way.

If cars were a reflection of the person who drives them, then Wayne Rooney, Darren Bent, Jon Obi Mikel, John Terry, Danny Rose, Javier Hernandez and Ryan Gigs should be described as intimidating, fast and tricky and maybe they are but who knows.

This powerful SUV has an impressive 385 bhp, a top speed of 140 mph and a price tag of £102,900!

 

2.     PORSCHE CAYENNE

The Cayenne is Porsche’s most successful SUV so far. Everyone who is anyone would love to own this car, if not for the power then for the genius of an SUV that runs like a racing car. This car has been a favorite of many soccer players like Liverpool’s Steven Gerard and Kolo Toure to Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, Robin van Persie, Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling.

Priced at £90,790 it is just right for these guys who pull in £70,000 a week! When pitted against the Rover, it is faster, and has more power, and has to be taken out on the open road once in a while to let it stretch itself and roar.

 

3. AUDI Q7

This is the Germany’s most impressive muscle car yet. It looks just as good as it runs and is favored by the likes of Chelsea’s Fernando Torres, Man United’s Rio Ferdinand and Luis Nani, Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Moussa Dembele.

The car is priced at £95,260, reaches 0 to 60 mph in 5.5 secs and has a top speed of 55mph.

 

4.     ASTON MARTIN DB9 

Britain’s best car is also probably the most expensive car with a serious following amongst footballer’s and Britain’s celebrities. It is sleek, cool and super fast. Darren Bent owns a DB9; Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata have also been seen in a DB9 so has Liverpool’s Glen Johnson, Man City’s James Milner and Livermore of Tottenham Hotspur.

This is a serious sports car with 470 bhp of horse power, a 4.6 seconds time o getting from 0 to 60 mph and a top speed of 190 mph. The price is a staggering £128,653.

 

5. BENTLEY CONTINENTAL

No best car’s for football player’s list would be complete without the inclusion of the Bentley Continental. Wayne Rooney has one, Samuel Eto’o has one, Ashley Young has been seen and David Silva of Man City has had this car for some time.

At £132,150 and with all the bells and whistles that come designed into this car, you wouldn’t think anyone would want to spend £20,000 “pimping” a car that is proud of its regal roots to say happy birthday to your girlfriend but if your name is Stephen Ireland and you had a guaranteed check of £70,000, you can do whatever you want to do, and he did whilst he was at Man City.

This is the same guy who tricked out his £97,000 Audi R8 to a white and blue trim, a petrol cap shaped into a Superman and alloy wheels with a number 7 to match his jersey number.

 

Author Bio - Bradley Taylor is a UK freelance writer who has a passion for cars and you’ll often find him writing about luxury cars. He’s also an avid Derby FC fan! Connect with him on Google+ and Twitter.

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Feature: 5 Sports With The Highest Risk Of Injury

  By O-Posts Team | October 30, 2021 - 22:56 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Sports are great fun to participate in, and they’re great for your physical and mental health. Not only do you get exercise, but you get the opportunity to participate in a confidence building activity with friends that share your interests. However, sports can also be very dangerous.

If you are looking to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle while avoiding serious injury, maybe you should be aware of the sports that have the highest risk of injury. Here is a compilation of sports with the highest injury risks based on emergency room admissions across Australia and in the Latrobe Valley.

 

Australian Football

Australian football is the most common cause of sports-related injury in adults, accounting for more than 20% of all sports-related injuries. It is also a very common cause of injury in children, accounting for nearly 12% of all childhood sports injuries.

According to Dr. David Lee, a Sydney dentist, “The high rate of injuries in Australian football is partly due to the reluctance of players to use much in the way of safety equipment. Fortunately, the one piece of safety equipment they do use regularly is a mouthguard, so tooth injuries are reduced.” However, other types of head injuries are common, accounting for about 20% of all injuries.

According to the smaller-scale study in Latrobe Valley, the injury rate for Australian Football may be about 37/1000 in a two-week period, though most injuries are inconsequential.

 

Cycling

Based on national injury reports, cycling is the most common cause of sports-related injury in Australia for children, accounting for more than a quarter of all childhood sports injuries. It is also a major cause of injuries in adults, accounting for about 10% of adult sports injuries.

However, because cycling is one of the most popular activities in Australia, especially for children, its injury rate is relatively low.

 

Soccer

Soccer accounts for less than 10% of sports related injuries for both adults and children, but it is high on the list for both groups. Not surprisingly, soccer has the highest incidence of lower extremity injury of any sport, especially in adults, where they account for nearly 60% of all injuries.

The most common type of injury is a sprain or strain, although fractures were also common, especially among children. According to the Latrobe Valley study, the injury rate in soccer was higher than for Australian football, about 107/1000.

 

Basketball

Basketball had a fairly high rate of injury for both adults and children. In children, basketball and its variant netball had the highest rate of injuries to the upper extremities. Mostly these are sprains and strains, though fractures are common. For adults, lower extremity injuries were more common in basketball and netball.

Likely, this is more reflective of the degenerating condition of adults’ lower extremities than the character of the sports.

 

Cricket

When it comes to the last sport on this list, it’s hard to distinguish between cricket and rugby. Both  have numbers of injuries among adults, but low among children, coming out very close to one another in total numbers.

However, in the Latrobe Valley study, cricket had the highest rate of injury out of any sport (242/1000), which merits its inclusion on the list. Among children, head injuries are common, but among adults, there is no injury location that stands out as characteristic of the sport.

No matter what sport you participate in, it’s best to always take precautions to avoid injury, including proper warmup and cooldown that can help you avoid strains and sprains.

 

This article was artfully written by Matthew Candelaria for Off-Topic Media. Thanks to Dr. David Lee of My Hills Dentist in the Baulkham Hills area of Sydney, NSW, for his contribution to this article.

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Sydney FC: A Club On The Rise

  By O-Posts Team | October 25, 2021 - 01:16 | , , ,
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Sydney FC is a football team based in Sydney Australia playing in the A-League. They have been around since 2004 since the beginning of the A-League. They have had numerous stars over the years including Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill, Dwight Yorke and even until now Brett Emerton who have both played for Australia and Trinidad respectively on many occasions… including World Cup appearances by all players.

Its fair to say that Sydney FC is one of the most successful teams in Australia and look to be on the rise as they develop their youth and buy more international stars. The game of Football is forever picking up in Australia, while it may never be as good as European leagues the A-League provides a great base for Australian football players to start their career and give them the great start needed to be successful in any of the overseas competitions.

Football in Australia is really on the rise and who knows maybe one day we will even see a world cup held in Australia which would be amazing just think how good the Sydney Olympics where!

Sydney FC have won 2 championships in 2006 and in 2010 and have come close many other times. Sydney are also the only club to have won the OFC Champions League. With their home ground at Allianz stadium (Formerly known as the SFS) holding over 45,000 people.

The club has high profile directors, board members and backers in general and a growing fan base making them a force to be feared in the Asian competitions in the next 5-10 years. Who knows maybe we will see Sydney FC take on some giant clubs in the future such as Manchester United and cause an upset.

With its youth, strong backing and great management team Sydney FC really is a club on the rise.

 

The A-League

The Australian top level league known as the A-League is also a competition on the rise. Started in 2004 after the failure of the National Soccer League. There are at the moment 10 teams in the league but they are looking to expand.

All 10 teams bar one are based in Australia with one team based out of New Zealand somewhat like the NRL Rugby League competition and the NBL which all include 1 New Zealand team. The competition is held in the summer months of Australia from October to April. the main reason they did this is there is less competition in Summer for sport in Australia with the only other competition for fans being the cricket.

In the winter there is AFL, Rugby and Rugby League all in Australia which make up the most popular sports. But the A-League has found its niche in summer as a new high growth sport. With more and more young fans and players joining all the time and crowd levels on the rise, the A-League will hopefully one day be known as in international standard football league.

With more and more players coming to join the A-League all the time not just to join Sydney FC but other A-League clubs, it won’t be long before its recognised the world over as a top flight football league

 

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Feature: The Increasing Success of Football Betting

  By O-Posts Team | October 17, 2021 - 18:27 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Football betting has long been popular amongst those that like to gamble, as illustrated by the ubiquitous presence of betting shops on high streets across the United Kingdom. Yet unlike many formerly popular industries, the world of football betting has thrived in the era of the internet.

Indeed, all of the major bookmakers like bwin.be have setup online versions of their physical shops, leading to not only a mass exodus from the high street to the virtual world of online gambling, but it has tempted a greater proportion of the population to gamble on sports than ever before.

Now, in terms of popularity, football betting is matched only by the wealth of similarly popular online casinos.

Reasons for the continued and increasing popularity of football betting:

1. Convenience – this is arguably the main reason for the aforementioned surge. The added convenience has been generated by giving those interested in sports betting the ability to find tips and odds information, in addition to being able to place bets securely online.

The World Wide Web has therefore made football betting into something that is very accessible in terms of the ability that the average punter now has to make an informed betting choice.

 

2. Audience – There has been a marked increase In the level enthusiasm for sport in general amongst the public, but it is football – and the Premier League in particular –that has seen a surge in popularity and therefore in the number of people betting on its results.

 

3. Advertising – The likes of Bwin are experts in marketing their brand and bringing themselves to the attention of a mass audience. Indeed, sponsorship deals with European footballing behemoths, Real Madrid and AC Milan, have obviously brought the betting site to the attention of a massive audience, thus helping to increase the popularity of sports betting on a global scale.

 

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Feature: How Exactly Do The Football Trials Work?

  By O-Posts Team | October 15, 2021 - 19:10 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Interested in football trials?  Fancy yourself as the next Luis Suarez, Robin Van Persie or even Mesut Ozil? Then you need to get yourself on the football trials as soon as you can.

 

How do they work?

The first thing you need to do is to register.  This is free and once you are registered you will have access to a whole world of information.  The idea is to get you focused and as prepared as you can possibly be.  They can be highly competitive things, football trials, so the more prepared and ready you are the better chance you will have.

Once you are registered we will give you £50 worth of free information.  This includes what you should be eating, drinking and what exactly the football scouts will be looking for. Inside information.

The scouts and coaches come to the trials to hunt out the best talent around.  They have the chance to pick from the cream of the crop, so the more information you have surrounding what they look for, the better.

Other information includes drills that you should be working on, skills you should be practicing and examples of success stories.  Clear and up front information is the only way you will know if the football trials are the right thing for you.

This is your opportunity to really shine.  But, if you pick up the information and feel that now is not the right time then it is best that you hold back and keep practicing until you feel ready.

There could be a coach or scout out there who sees such potential in you that your life is changed forever.  Are you ready for that?  Are you prepared?  It is your chance to shine so you need to know that you have exactly what it takes to put your football skills to the test.

 

10 to 14 assessment

The trial consists of an assessment.  For those aged 10 to 14 it will last around two hours.  You will have the chance to work with a coach who will really put you to the test.  You will also have a 75 minute assessment by a world class UEFA licenced coach.

There will be a grading system against a 10 point criteria and feedback will be provided so you can see the areas that you need to improve.

Finally, 45 minutes of small sided matches will take place where the pro club scouts can really see you at work.  Show ‘em what you’ve got.

 

15+ assessment

For those aged 15 or over you will have a longer session with the UEFA licenced coach and will also undergo a pro club session including a dynamic warm up and a visual assessment from the scouts.  Pro club testing that assesses your speed and agility will also be required.

Overall you will be provided with plenty of information, guidance and assistant on how you can improve your strength, skills, agility and core stability.

Seven days after your last trial you will receive an email to let you know whether or not you have been selected. If you have you will be assigned an agent.  Remember, your dream.  Isn’t it time you made your dream a reality?

 

Written by Harry Price - an avid football fan… When he’s not watching football, he’s spending time with dogs, wife, and son.

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Tips: Preparing Your Football Team For The New Season

  By O-Posts Team | September 25, 2021 - 20:05 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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There are some areas of interest that manage to capture the attention and have an effect on the lives of people all over the world. Football is one of the best examples there is and although it is true that not everyone loves it, the number of those who live and breathe it is well into the millions. Due to this, there is a shared excitement felt by lovers of the game when the new season begins to approach.

No matter what level of competition the team is in it is absolutely fundamental that they have a good standard of kit to play in and this is just one of the preparations that have to be made before the schedule for the upcoming campaign gets underway.

Football operates at so many different levels, from those who earn the most handsome of salaries at the top level, to those who sacrifice their spare time just to play it on a park field on a weekend morning.

Amateur and junior teams can be found almost anywhere and if you are in charge of one of these clubs then there are some arrangements to take care of before the next season begins.

 

Secure a pitch and training facilities

In any league season, you have to be able to host half of the games so you need a home pitch to be able to play on. At amateur level, there is likely to be at least one if not plenty more pitches in the local area. It is up to you to get in touch with the people who are responsible for allowing permission for matches to take place at these venues.

It is a sensible idea to go to every effort to hire a place that each member of your team will be able to reach easily and the same rule applies for the sports hall or floodlit facility you will choose for your training sessions.

 

Make sure you can afford the costs

Football clubs below the professional level survive due to the commitment of those who are involved, whether it is the players, the managers, coaches, or parents of those in a junior team. Funds are needed to cover the cost of hiring out pitches and providing the equipment such as training cones, nets, corner flags, team kit and footballs for example.

Fundraisers are a big part of an amateur club and this is when a lot of the money to cover the costs of the season comes in.

 

Put in some pre-season training

The physical pain that comes with the first training session after the summer break is not something that is strictly limited to those who are professional. It is important to get your team together a good few weeks before the league season begins and this will allow you to cast your eye over the players that you will have available.

Friendlies are a necessity during the summer for fitness and practice reasons and they also allow everyone to look forward to the competitive games starting.

 

Tom Mason has had an involvement in grass-roots football coaching for many years and he buys his team football kits from Toga Sports.

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Special Feature: Demand For Engineers Escalates In Lead Up To World Cup 2014

  By O-Posts Team | September 5, 2021 - 21:48 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Within the space of two years, Brazil will host the world’s two biggest sporting events: the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016. This is an opportunity for the nation to give the world a taste of its famously vibrant and open culture, and its historic passion for football. But, aside from that, preparations for the world cup have spurred a nationwide investment in infrastructure that many feel to be long overdue.

Brazil is viewed as an inspiration for developing nations due to the progress it has made over the last two decades. During this time it has overtaken the UK to become the world’s sixth largest economy. In the next few years, billions will be spent to ensure that it has the infrastructure to reflect its burgeoning economic power.

 

World Cup fever is coming

Brazil has won the Soccer World Cup more times than any of the eight nations that have lifted the trophy since the inaugural event in 1930. Yet, until Spain’s victory in 2010, it was the only World Cup-winning nation to have never won the tournament on home soil. The last time Brazil hosted the event, which was in 1950, the country was left in stunned dismay as Uruguay beat the team in the final and took the trophy it thought was in the bag.

Fans hope they will take this opportunity to set the record straight. First and foremost, however, Brazil intends to succeed as hosts, for this is every bit as essential to their sense of national identity as success on the football pitch.

Work on 12 stadiums is underway throughout the country, including one in the city of Manaus, which lies deep in the Amazon rainforest and is difficult to reach by road. This underlines the fact that the transport networks that connect the host cities are every bit as essential as the stadiums themselves, especially considering the geographic size of Brazil.

 

Investing in infrastructure

In 2007, it was announced that Brazil would host the 2014 World Cup, and the size of the task was soon made clear when the 2009/2010 World Economic Forum in Geneva rated the quality of Brazilian infrastructure to be amongst the worst in the world (giving it a score of 3.4, which is below the world average of 4.1).

Only 12% of Brazil’s roads were paved at the time, and it had a smaller railway network than France, despite France being one-thirteenth its size. It was clear that significant investment was needed if Brazil was to host the world’s two biggest sporting events in quick succession.

In 2010, the outgoing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched an initiative to invest $900 billion in infrastructure, with a focus on improving transportation, electrical supply, and the nation’s ports.

It’s estimated that the Brazilian government will have spent $25.3 billion on its rail network alone by the time it hosts the World Cup in 2014.

 

Addressing skills shortages

Over the years, Brazil’s economic growth has drawn attention to its skills shortages, particularly in areas such as engineering. Now, with the investment in infrastructure and a Soccer World Cup on the horizon, addressing those skills shortages has become a matter of urgency.

Social inequality and a school curriculum imposed by the federal government have contributed to the lack of preparedness amongst many Brazilian students who undertake university courses. For example, of the 130,000 students that start an engineering course every year, only 35,000 will graduate. This is due to the price of tuition fees and a lack of adequate training in mathematics, physics, and chemistry in public schools. As a result, Confea, Brazil’s Federal Council of Engineering, Architecture and Agronomy, has reported an annual deficit of over 20,000 Brazilian engineers.

Government and industry have recognized the need to promote education in scientific, engineering and IT fields, and federal programs such as the National Engineering Plan, Science Without Borders and Pronatec (National Program of Access to Technical Learning and Employment) aim to do just that, by establishing technical schools in poorer regions of Brazil, and by offering scholarships and exchange opportunities so students can receive their training overseas.

As for short-term solutions, the government has cut down on the regulations and procedures required to obtain work visas in the hopes of encouraging an influx of foreign workers.

It’s clear that hosting a successful Soccer World Cup and Summer Olympics are not the end goal, but rather the first stage in a much longer journey, as Brazil looks to establish an infrastructure that can meet the needs of its growing economy, and provide an educational system that can produce the skills required to do so.

 

Matthew Flax writes about the preparations underway for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, because, like any true football fan, he knows the Brazilian way is the best way.

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A Guide to Football Memorabilia

  By O-Posts Team | August 22, 2021 - 17:44 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Football has been played, in one form or another, since at least the 3rd Century BC. It has evolved over the centuries – with many and frequent modifications to style, rules and regulations – to become the game we know today. You may know it as soccer, depending on where you’re from, but no matter what you call it – the beautiful game remains the most popular sport on the planet.

The significance of football, and its impact on cultures around the world, can hardly be quantified. A testament to the game’s popularity is the fact that its governing body, FIFA, has more members at 208 nations than does the United Nations itself.

Football permeates nearly every aspect of our lives today, from a child’s dreams to follow in the footsteps of legends to Israeli-Palestinian matches, conducted to ease political tensions between the two countries.

The beautiful game serves as a bridge – connecting people all over the world and bringing them together. Some might follow only the weekend game, others are more enthusiastic about their favorite teams and players, and yet others are so fanatic about the game that it borders on religious fervor.

Regardless of which category one might fall under though, footballs fans around the globe are all united in their love for the sport and everything associated with it, such as signed football memorabilia.

 

The Significance of Memorabilia

Football is no ordinary sport. Football is passion – indeed, for many, it is a complete lifestyle. It gets passed down from generation to generation, with son following father into the fandom of a particular team. The players on these teams are idolized and hero-worshipped globally, and the gear they use becomes treasure to the fans.

Autographed football memorabilia, such as signed football shirts and various other accessories with football signatures, are valued particularly because of their rarity. They become objects of desire, to be treasured and to be displayed proudly, declaring the love for a particular player or team.

 

The Purposes of Memorabilia

Signed football memorabilia, especially authentic ones, are rare indeed and thus can be incredibly expensive. The reasons people would part with huge amounts of money to purchase such autographed football memorabilia are many and varied.

Sentiment: Most fans purchase items such as signed football shirts or other accessories with football signatures purely out of sentiment. These memorabilia serve as an expression of their love and devotion for a particular team or player. They are then put up on walls or encased in glass cabinets to be displayed to friends, family and guests.

Collection: Accessories with football signatures and other football merchandise are collected by passionate fans, just like books, stamps and coins are. These collections serve either as personal treasure troves or proud monuments for their favorite teams and players.

Significance: There are particular pieces of memorabilia which are extremely limited in number, or are related to one significant event. They could have particular historic significance attached to them or might be part of a special edition release. As such, they are even rarer and more valuable compared to other football memorabilia, and are highly coveted by the more zealous of fans.

Occasionally, the people who buy such items might not even be real fans, but may only be attracted to the purchase so that they can show them off proudly.

Investment: As expensive as such authentic, signed football memorabilia can be, they only increase in value over the years. Football memorabilia dealers specialize in locating such items that can serve as long-term investments.

Say a football player passed away, leaving behind only a limited number of signed football shirts. These shirts would become incredibly valuable in the future, as new generations of fans search for an item to own from a legend of the past.

Family Heirlooms: Authentic and rare pieces of football memorabilia, such as ‘I Was There …’ shirts and autographed items become proud and precious possessions for fans across the globe. Merchandise from a favorite team, a signed shirt from a favorite player, or a souvenir from a historic game – they are all owned and taken care of with pride, devotion, and even jealousy.

Over time, they might become extremely valuable financially as well. And just as passion for a football team is passed from father to son, these memorabilia are handed over as family heirlooms too.

 

The Source of Memorabilia

There are thousands of football memorabilia dealers around, yet it might not necessarily be a good thing. Firstly, such variety of dealers may become confusing and make it harder to choose a particular one.

Secondly, it becomes extremely difficult and frustrating to separate the reliable dealers from the bogus ones. It is essential to opt for a reliable football memorabilia dealer though, as autographed football memorabilia can easily be faked and sold as part of a scam.

The demand for football memorabilia is high, and the prices that some of these items sell for are even higher. As such, there is massive potential for fraudulent business in the market. Fans can often be gullible due to their passion for the sport, and end up losing huge amounts of their money on worthless pieces of junk.

It becomes even more important then, to find a trustworthy dealer, someone like Up North Memorabilia.

 

Up North Memorabilia

Up North Memorabilia was born out of a passion to collect authentic autographs. What had started as a personal collection grew so huge that its owner started trading, and then selling, parts of it until he founded a company upon it.

Since its establishment in 2003, the company has gone from strength to strength, eventually to become one of the most trusted sources of autographed memorabilia, football or otherwise, for collectors around the world.

So, whether it is out of pure passion and devotion, or part of a long-term financial plan, one can find all kinds of rare and valuable memorabilia here.

The items on sale might include a signed goalkeeper glove or a hand-signed football boot, one can rest assured that whatever they purchase from Up North Memorabilia is guaranteed to be authentic, and to provide value for every cent and dollar spent on it!

 

Written by Katherine G.

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