"Anyone who flies the South African flag while blowing a vuvuzela and mentioning the current year is in direct contravention of FIFA copyright laws and will be summarily transported (to Siberia).”

FIFA has signed off all 10 venues for this summer’s World Cup even though the venue for the final will not be officially handed over for another month.

‘Carbon-neutral’ seems to be the catchphrase of the year, and the international community is hoping that hosting the world’s largest sporting event will have a positive impact on South Africa’s green energy projects.

The City of Cape Town’s latest housing initiative is to relocate street children and homeless people 30 km away from the city centre. Critics call the plan a ‘clean-up operation’ for the World Cup, while the municipal government defends it as a humane programme that happens to coincide with the tournament.

Although official reports praise the economic benefit following the SA World Cup, reality is a potentially negative effect on local businesses and industries.

South African state prosecutors have found evidence that a man - who allegedly appeared on a national TV news programme saying that he would "rob and kill" tourists during the 2010 World Cup - may be schizophrenic.

FIFA has moved to quell anxiety in the South African media over press freedom by making written promises to a group of media owners in a letter received by Play the Game.

South Africa’s Competition Commission (CC) has started an investigation into price-fixing among six leading airlines that will take thousands of supporters to this summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa.