The two workshops, one targeted at goalkeeping coaches and the other at football development directors, attracted high-ranking representatives from all ten of CONMEBOL’s member associations, and were held at the national team training academy in the Ecuadorian capital, a facility built with the support of the FIFA Goal Project.

Overseeing the goalkeeper coaching course was Miguel Angel Espana, who has been Spain’s national youth team goalkeeping coach for several years now and was giving his first seminar as a FIFA instructor.

Presenting the various preparation and training techniques habitually used in each country, the seminars then sought to identify a common thread for the creation of a consolidated programme based on the instructors’ recommendations and to be applied on a continual basis in all training programmes.

The goalkeeping programme is FIFA’s latest training initiative for ADR Training and CPC Training and is aimed at coaches working for the region’s national associations. Aldo Bobadilla (Paraguay), Miguel Calero (Colombia) and Lorenzo Carrabs (Uruguay) were among the familiar faces on show, all of them experienced former custodians turned coaches looking for innovative ideas to apply in their new careers.

They shared their experiences and knowledge of the trade with a highly qualified audience that included Esteban Pogani (Argentina), Otto Cardoso (Bolivia), Rogerio Maia de Brum and Thiago Costa (Brazil), Anibal San Martin and Gonzalo Martinez (Chile), Eduardo Mino (Colombia), Pedro Antonio Zape, Francisco Reinoso, Carlos Enriquez and Fernando Moya (Ecuador), Oscar Ibanez and Carlos Silvestri (Peru), Mario Alles and Jose Luis Sosa (Uruguay), and Vicente Rosales and Cesar Baena (Venezuela).

Laying the foundations
No less impressive was the list of participants in the seminar for football development directors, and application performance testing which was given by Roberto Perna of Switzerland and Roberto Vargas of Paraguay, with the assistance of Francisco Maturana (Colombia) and Joao Gomide (Brazil).

Among the luminaries in attendance were Carlos Bilardo (Argentina), Douglas Cuenca (Bolivia), Julio Comesana (Colombia), Sixto Vizuete (Ecuador), Julio Carlos Gomez and Blas Cristaldo (Paraguay), Oscar Hamada (Peru), Daniel Banales (Uruguay), Lino Alonso (Venezuela) and Ecuador’s national team coach Reinaldo Rueda.

The audience listened intently as the speakers explained how to create a solid structure at grassroots level with a view to promoting and encouraging the growth of the game in each country.

“The aim is to introduce medium- and long-term policies designed to enhance the work we are carrying out for the good of football,” said Vizuete, the Ecuadorian FA’s Football Development Director. “The know-how acquired here and in the seminar organised beforehand in Ibarra (Ecuador) will help the national FA make administrative and technical improvements, the aim being to develop the game in the region.”

Notwithstanding the English Premier League is arguably the best football league in the world, with some of the biggest names in football industry plying their trade for Premier League English clubs and with an Umbrella Company tax regime supporting most of them!

Despite the recent recession and challenging economic environment large sums of money continue to be invested into the football clubs who play in the Premier League and demand for Chelsea Tickets, Manchester United Tickets,Liverpool FC Tickets & Arsenal tickets, Euro 2012 tickets remains high for these global football brands.

Season tickets for key matches are hard to come by so there is a thriving market in football ticket resales. However, these tickets are often difficult to come by since ticket re-sale is not allowed on the usual online marketplaces such as e-bay, gumtree so many football tickets are only available through other channels.

Tickets availability at the big name stadiums such as Old Trafford, Anfield, Highbury and Stamford Bridge is always challenging due to the limited space in these football stadiums for non season ticket holders. These stadiums are renowned as being the best stadiums in the English Premier League and siginfiviant investment has been made to update and maintain the quality of these stadiums, all of which are dedicated football stadia.

The best football stadia in the English Premier League is arguably Old Trafford, nicknamed the field of dreams. The view and sheer atmosphere of the Stretford End needs to be seen to be believed. Fanatical Manchester United supporters throng this area which also boasts the reputation as being the venue for the loudest and lewd football songs and chants. The facilities are a far cry from the olden days of leaking loos, mists of cigarette smoke and a damp hot dog. The influx of money into football has ensured that everything is of merchantable quality and no opportunity is lost to empty the pockets of the faithful on Red Devil merchandise, programmes, food and drink.

It remains to be seen whether the new Olympic stadium at Stratford will become the best stadium in the English Premier League after the recent is it on, is it off purchase of the stadium by East London club West Ham. They promised to retain the running track but North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur planned to remove the running track to improve the view of the pitch for football fans. The West Ham deal has now fallen through due to legal wrangles and squabbles and the future of the Olympic stadium as a football venue remains to be seen.

Given what we know Old Trafford remains arguably as one of the key epicenters of world football vying with the San Siro, Bernabeu for the title of the pre-eminent global football stadium. The success of the Manchester United team, excellent transport links and club heritage all combine to make a trip to Old Trafford truly memorable for the avid football fan of any team or persuasion.

The Russian World Cup will feature 14 host cities in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhni Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Saransk, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Ekaterinburg, Podolsk, Yaroslavl and Sochi.

There will be a total of 16 stadiums – with plans to build 13 of the arenas from scratch and upgrade the other three. The varied climtate, size of Russia country and long distances between the cities could make transport a key area for the tournament organisers. There are planned improvements to the rail and air networks, though with government guarantees.

The World Cup is the greatest sporting event in the world (the clue is in the name) be sure you don’t miss out on this spectacle and get your Football tickets early from official sources to avoid paying over the odds.