New FIFA app to live stream World Cup 2014 draw

FIFA, international football’s governing body, will live stream the World Cup 2014 draw next Friday on its new app for Android, iPad and iPhone.

On December 6 the 32 teams that have qualified for the World Cup in Brazil next summer, including African nations Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon, will discover their group fate.

The free app has already been released and will also feature content in the build up to the World Cup and information from 197 leagues around the world.

There will be match schedules, destination guides and team profiles for Brazil 2014 as well.

A World Match Centre has also been included which allows fans to customise which results from which leagues and competitions they are kept updated on.

It is expected to compete against the already established The Football App, which in October claimed it had 4.5 million active users.

Electronic Arts confirm Fifa World Cup 2014

During the most recent conference call with investors, Electronic Arts revealed that it will launch at some point games: The Sims 4, UFC, EA Sports FIFA World Cup 2014 and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Not yet known whether FIFA World Cup 2014 will be available only in digital format, as was the case with   UEFA Euro 2012 which was released as a DLC for FIFA 12.

World Cup Tickets Will Go On Sale In August, FIFA Says

Tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will go on sale on August 20.

FIFA confirmed fans will have the chance to buy tickets from the organisation's website during the first phase of sales.

Ticket prices are scheduled to be confirmed on July 1, the day after the Confederations Cup final in Rio de Janeiro. 

FIFA has previously said it expects around 3.3 million tickets to be available for the 64-match flagship tournament which runs from June 12 to July.

The first round of ticket sales will be allocated in a worldwide lottery with further briefs available after the 32-team lineup is confirmed in November.

The World Cup draw will be conducted on December 6 in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

Partner Program for 2014 World Cup in Brazil Sold Out

Bloomberg : The partner program for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil has sold out, Jerome Valcke, general secretary of soccer governing body FIFA, said. Latin American sports retailer Centauro was the final company to join FIFA's commercial program, Valcke said.

Clive Richardson Ltd won contract for six football pitches

A company from County Armagh has won a contract to work on six football pitches, which are to be used during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The contract, which is worth more than £1m, was awarded to Clive Richardson Ltd (CRL) from Craigavon.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster made the announcement as she arrived in Brazil for a trade mission. CRL recently took part in an Invest NI trade mission to Brazil.

The contract will involve preparing football pitches at the Gremio in Porto Alegre, Forteliza in Forteliza, Barradao in Salvador, Belo Horizonte, International, Porto Alegre and Corinthian's, Sao Paulo.

Speaking about the deal, Ms Foster said: "This very substantial announcement today follows CRL's success in preparing pitches for other global competitions including those used during recent UEFA European Championships.

"As a result of these successes, CRL is now firmly established as a world leader in the construction, preparation and maintenance of sports grounds.

"By enhancing their reputation through a commitment to innovation, the company has pioneered the development of unique technology that enables them to offer high profile clients expertise in the management of grass in extreme climates such as the Ukraine and now Brazil."

Clive Richardson Ltd specialise in Sportsground Construction and Civil Engineering Works. Its previous projects include building the pitches at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.

Bomb-detecting robots at WC 2014

To increase the security at the upcoming Football World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the Brazil government will reportedly use a fleet of robots that are usually used to neutralize roadside bombs and inspect areas for traces of explosives.

The battle-tested remote controlled iRobot 510 Packbots are able to climb stairs, submerge in a metre of water and have multiple high-resolution cameras and are the same robots which examined the car allegedly hijacked by the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Sky News reports.

According to the report, the Brazilian authorities are spending 7.2 million dollars to deal with any security threat from a distance at the World Cup show and also will be setting a precedent for the Olympics to follow two years later.

The government will also be spending additionally millions of dollars on face-scanning glasses which can scan 400 faces a second at a distance of 45 metre to spot potential hooligans based on a criminal database, the report added.

Rousseff unveils Brazil's vuvuzela for 2014 World Cup

BRASILIA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday unveiled the country's answer to South Africa's vuvuzela - the plastic horn that provided an omnipresent din at the 2010 World Cup.
The caxirola, pronounced ka-shee-raw-la, has the backing of the Rousseff government to be the official instrument of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The instrument is an adaption of an African caxixi, a type of shaker comprising a small basket of woven straw filled with dried seeds.
Created by musician Carlinhos Brown, the caxirola is made from recycled plastic.
"I believe that the caxirola is not only a part of football but of our country's immense capacity to make an instrument that is much more beautiful than the vuvuzela," Rousseff said during an event in Brasilia.
"I am sure that children in particular are going to have a fantastic experience with the caxirola. Carlinhos told me that it has a transcendental sense of healing, peace with the world and to be spiritually in tune with nature."
Brown said the caxirola had already been approved of FIFA and will join the governing body's line of official World Cup products.
"It amplifies the shout of a goal and unifies the fans. It's an instrument of peace," Brown said.
More than 50,000 caxirolas will be distributed free to fans before the Bahia-Vitoria match on April 28 at the newly opened Fonte Nova World Cup stadium in Salvador.