There’s only one football topic that’s been whipping the web into a frenzy this week – the World Cup. With the draw taking place later today, everyone has started to focus on next year’s tournament, considering what could be the ‘group of death’ and staging their own versions of the draw. Football On The Wire have done their own draw, and here at Umbro we also staged our own, lo-fi version last night, which we should have up on the blog later today.

The official World Cup song has been announced this week as well, a track called Wavin’ Flag by Somali-Canadian rapper K’Naan. You can check out a video of the catchy if unspectacular song over here at Kwaitoball, a new World Cup-specific blog from the people behind Two Footed Tackle. The guys there have also suggested their own alternative World Cup anthem, Umdlwembe by Zola, as have the people behind Football And Music, so we thought we’d throw another South African act into the mix – check out Lakeside by BLK JKS for a taste of the real Johannesburg.

Two bits of World Cup news also reached Umbro this week that we found alternatively exciting and….interesting. The best news we heard this morning was that Baddiel & Skinner will be reprising their double act for the World Cup, hosting a series of podcasts and live shows throughout the tournament next summer. The more interesting news is that next year’s events will be available to watch in 3D. Gizmodo reports that Sony will be filming 25 matches using 3D cameras in South Africa, which will be screened in select cinemas around the world. It certainly brings new meaning to the phrase ‘getting close to the action…’

Of course, once the draw has been made, all talk will be about the teams to watch and the tactics that will shape 2010’s tournament. Jonathan Wilson is the man in the know when it comes to football tactics – he’s written a book on the subject – and his article here on The Guardian’s website about the way Fabio Capello has turned a potential weakness into an advantage for England is an illuminating read.

Obviously Umbro has changed a lot over the last year or so, with the work we’ve done on the latest England shirt and the whole Tailored By England concept being a great example of what we’re hoping to do in the future. For more of an insight into what we’re planning to do, Marketing Week have conducted an interesting interview with our Chief Marketing Officer, which you can read here.

Finally, a quick note about that picture at the top. It’s the winning design from a competition Umbro hosted for young Manchester City fans to design a kit for their club, with the prize of being the mascot for tomorrow’s game against Chelsea. Congratulations to 7 year-old Ethan Hodge, who’s design is pictured above, and who will lead out City tomorrow. We’ll have more of the designs up on the blog tomorrow ahead of the match.

With just the Play Off games left to go, the World Cup suddenly seems a lot closer. Here at Umbro, we’re trying to build up to the main event in South Africa by getting an idea of what the country is like, starting with a look at their domestic football setup.

Most of us here in the UK will only be familiar with South African players who’ve come over to the Premiership to play – Lucas Radebe, Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar – or perhaps the Kaizer Chiefs, the domestic team made famous by a bunch of musicians from Leeds. Indeed, the majority of the South African national team is made up of players who play in European leagues.

However, there is a thriving domestic football scene in South Africa. The top division, the ABSA Premiership, features sixteen teams, including the Kaizer Chiefs, current champions Supersport United and teams with exotic names such as the Orlando Pirates and the Golden Arrows. Two teams in the top division play in Umbro kits – Mpumalanga Black Aces and Free State Stars, are both currently sitting in mid-table.

Just below the Premiership, the National First Division is split into two regional streams – Inland and Coastal – with the top two in each getting the chance to reach the top division through a series of play off games.

Although attendances at the games is dwarfed by English football crowds – 5,000 to 10,000 is a typical figure in the top division – the actual fanbase of the teams is much larger. Because of the large distances between grounds  – it’s a seventeen hour drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg – many fans watch the matches on TV in shabeens – semi-illegal bars that crop up in the townships, where the fans can offer noisy and colourful support.

The domestic season will come to a close in May, just weeks before the World Cup begins. Some of the domestic stadiums, such as Kaizer Chiefs’ Ellis Park ground, are being used in the tournament, but most of them have been built especially for the event. The 70,000-seater Green Point Stadium (pictured, above), nearing completion, sits on the coast of Cape Town with the iconic Table Mountain in the background.

With most of the stadiums nearly finished, excitement in South Africa is building, and will depend heavily on the progress of the national side. Fears still remain amongst residents about the logistical difficulties of hosting such an event, but not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of those who have neglected the domestic league in favour of the English Premiership or other European teams, and are looking forward to seeing the top stars in the flesh. Hopefully, once the tournament has been and gone, South Africa’s domestic league will also benefit from the exposure to football’s top attractions.

If you’d like to learn more about South African football, two of the best sources of info are:

kickoff.com

soccerladuma.co.za