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With the 2010 World Cup qualifiers now in full swing right across Europe, conventional TV channels (whether satellite based or otherwise), only show a fraction of all the live action. Any self-respecting football fan, wherever in the world they may be located, will surely not be happy with this state of affairs. Imagine also a situation arising whereby you are stuck at work with no TV and your national team is playing an important qualifier. What if there was a way of watching a plethora of World Cup qualifiers live without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home (or work, as the case may be)?

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With England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all involved in qualifying, interest in the fortunes of the “home” nations has never been higher. Every person will be willing their own particular country on to the final destination, which is of course South Africa in 2010.

No home nation was drawn in a group with another one this time around which could turn out to be a blessing in disguise but the fact that only one team will automatically qualify for the finals from each group, could make things tricky. Whereas the aim for England is to win the group and qualify automatically, surely the realistic aim of the other home nation teams is to secure a play-off spot which will give them the opportunity of trying for a 2010 berth via a play-off.

England finds themselves in group six alongside bogey team Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra. With a new manager in place in the shape of Fabio Capello, England hope for a much better qualification campaign this time around, unlike the shambles of Euro 2008 qualifying where the team only finished in third place therefore missing out on the finals. Then manager Steve McClaren was widely criticised for his leadership, or lack of it, and was subsequently sacked from his position. With a new-found sense of optimism for 2010 world cup soccer qualifying, the country, the team, the players and the manager, all expect qualification through to South Africa – anything else will be considered a disaster.

Northern Ireland are in group three alongside Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and San Marino and probably face the hardest task of qualifying than any of the other home nations. They will battle away as all Northern Irish teams have done in the past but it may turn out to be futile.

Wales also have a tough group to contend with after being placed in group four alongside Germany, Russia, Azerbaijan, Finland and Liechtenstein. Obviously Germany and Russia will be the two favourites to qualify via the winning spot or the playoff and if Wales are to have any chance at all, they have to take points off these two teams.

Scotland has been placed into group nine with Holland, Macedonia, Norway and Iceland and will feel the have a half decent chance of making an impression. With the travelling Tartan army to help out their cause in the away games, they certainly have a chance.

Finally, the Republic of Ireland, although not technically a “home” nation, find themselves in group eight with the likes of Italy, Cyprus, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Georgia to keep them company. It is a tough group for the Irish but with a new manager in the form of Trapatonni at the helm, they will be hoping for better results than the last qualification threw up, which, incidentally, included a 5-2 drubbing away to the improving Cypriots.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 which will be taking place in South Africa, will be the nineteenth finals but the very first one ever to be held on the African continent. Out of these nineteen finals, only seven different teams have won it and when you consider there are over 200 countries in the world, this is some record.

Going into a bit more detail, we find that Brazil have won most times, with five wins. These came in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Next is Italy with four wins; 1934, 1938, 1982 and the last World Cup to be played, that of 2006. Germany comes next with three victories; 1954, 1974 and 1990. Next in the list come two South American teams, Argentina and Uruguay who have both won the World Cup twice, Uruguay won the very first World Cup in 1930 and then again in 1950 while Argentina won it in 1978 and 1986. Finally, England and France have won the cup once each, England famously in 1966 and France in 1998; both teams winning as host nations.

Surprisingly, only four other teams have actually appeared in a World Cup live final and they are Holland (1974, 1978), Czechoslovakia (1934, 1962), Hungary (1938, 1954) and Sweden (1958).

The 2010 live World Cup will kick off on June 11^th 2010 and will last a whole month, with the final being played on July 11^th 2010. Nine cities will be hosting the games, namely Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit, Polokwane and Rustenburg with stadium capacities ranging from 42,000 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg to 95,000 at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg (the venue for the final).

Preparations for the World Cup are not going as smoothly as anticipated and there are some grumblings that the wrong choice was made in giving the finals to South Africa. Indeed, even the great Franz Beckenbauer has voiced strong concerns over the country’s suitability. This being said, preparations are still carrying on, with the construction of five new stadiums and major upgrades to five others. Public transport infrastructure is also being given an overhaul and safety and security issues for all visitors are on top of the priority list.

One thing is for sure though, when the finals do finally kick off on June 11^th 2010, no matter which teams have qualified, the colourful atmosphere anticipated to be created by the hosts will be like no other seen thus far.

Roll on 2010…