In the beginning, there was football. On the first day, there was light, and Brazil illuminated the void. The second day brought forth Italy, glowing with passion. The third day saw France emerge, spurred on by fierce national pride. The fourth day dawned and Argentina weaved their way across the land. The fifth day saw a lull in creation and hence Germany was born, along with a stoic approach to their game. On the sixth day, England was created, and with them came a cultural by-product of their existence. The seventh day brought rest and recuperation from any knocks picked up by trailing legs and ill-timed lunges.
The beautiful game has seen dramatic changes in recent years. While many have been beneficial in improving game quality and international standing, others have been seriously detrimental for its reputation. The aforementioned by-product of English football is the inane emergence of the wives and girlfriends of the national team’s players as celebrities in their own right. The acronymic WAG culture has seen more headlines since its establishment than the England squad’s exploits on a football pitch, perhaps lending us a clue to its controversial prominence in one of the world’s leading sporting nations.
To study the impact WAGs have had on modern English football (especially in the light of recent revelations), we must first take a look at the shambolic 2006 World Cup. Baden-Baden, a boutique Bavarian town, secured its place in the sporting hall of notoriety after the invasion of WAGs during the Three Lions campaign in Germany. The ever increasing spending habits of the footballers’ better halves took on astronomic proportions in the once peaceful Black Forest town. However, cometh the WAG, cometh the tabloid press, cometh the scandal, cometh the arguments...and so on. The English team collapsed (yet again) in the quarter finals to Portugal and immediately, a share of the blame was laid on the Gucci covered shoulders of Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole, Nancy Dell’Olio et al. We may look back at these simpler times and wonder why such controversy was stirred up over expensive spa treatments and designer clothing splurges. However the problem was more deeply rooted than it superficially seems with changes having to be made to the squad’s schedule so as to meet with the WAGs demands.
The age of the WAG was certainly upon us, breeding countless fitness DVD’s, spats between players and needless to say, controversy. For four years now, the tabloid press of Britain has churned out daily stories on the likes of Abbey Clancy (Peter Crouch’s fiancé) and Cheryl Cole (Ashley Cole’s wife, for now). The highly publicised fall-outs, arguments and war-of-words that still continues between many of the “2006 WAGs” still provides a basis to sell newspapers. Unfortunately, one cannot see an end to this depressing trend, as the WAG provides an amalgamated sales pitch for any marketing executive-the fame brought by their footballing partner, the mandatory good looks and the often vogue-setting clothes they wear, ensures that in the current celebrity driven climate, a WAG endorsement is as good as any other.
Recent revelations have further sullied English football’s relationship with the WAG, and for now, they seem to be one of the major divisive factors in team dressing rooms. The sports world is conscious of John Terry’s infidelities and that handshake that didn’t happen with Wayne Bridge, but why the sudden rush of ill-will towards the WAG in 2010? Reasons are manifold-it’s a World Cup year and England’s “golden generation” are coming to their prime, a WAG-abetted premature denouement to the competition would mean serious consequences for those involved. Fabio Capello has marked himself out as “anti-WAG” culture and all it brings, citing the absence of such in Spain, Italy and France, England’s more successful European neighbours. Finally, the English Football Association does not wish to revisit the couture-lined streets of Baden-Baden again.
The WAG is, of course, just another part of the global brand name of soccer nowadays. Roy Keane, Alex Ferguson and the aforementioned Mr Capello disagree with the image and sway they bring to the football pitch. However, 2.5 million readers of Hello magazine can’t be wrong, can they?

After winning a record breaking 14 gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver last month the Canadians had a great choice of champions to carry the flag at the closing ceremony at British Columbia Place. However, instead of going for gold, bronze medalist in the women’s figure skating Joannie Rochette was selected as the flag barer. The metal of her medal may not have been as precious as some of her compatriots but the circumstances in which Rochette won her medal truly were.
Just two days before taking to the ice for the short programme, the first stage of the women’s figure skating competition, Rochette’s mother Thérèse suffered a sudden massive heart attack and was rushed to hospital in Vancouver where she passed away. She had just arrived from Montreal with her husband Normand to cheer their daughter on.
Naturally a grief stricken Rochette considered pulling out of the competition in order to mourn with her family. After much reflection and an outpouring of public support through out Canada and around the world, the 24 year-old figure skater decided with the support of her coach Manon Perron and father to skate on in memory of her mother.
Thérèse Rochette had spent the last ten years following her only child across Canada and the globe, making along with her husband huge financial sacrifices that had paid off with Joannie being seen as a strong medal contender in Vancouver. In interviews the Olympian often described her mother as “my best friend and the first person I always call when I have good news or if there is a problem.”
Growing up in the village of Île Dupas in the province of Quebec, a native French speaker Rochette first donned skates at the tender age of 22 months and was encouraged as she got older by her father who was the local ice-hockey coach.
When she first stepped onto the ice for her short programme Rochette was greeted with boisterous support from the capacity crowd in the Pacific Coliseum. The BBC commentary duo of veteran sports broadcaster Sue Barker and figure skating expert and former single men’s gold medalist Robin Cousins willed on the young Canadian to land every double axel, triple flip and triple loop and the emotion could be heard in their voices as she gave a poised, technically excellent yet passionate performance.
Once the music had faded the emotion of what she had just done could be seen across her face and in the “kiss and cry” area when she awaited the judges’ scores she broke into tears saying in French “this is for you”. Despite the emotional turmoil of the previous few days Rochette received a season’s best score of 71.36, the third best score of the night.
Two days later Rochette came back to skate her free programme to Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saëns and in spite of a miss-timed landing on a triple flip she held out to secure Olympic bronze behind South Korean teen sensation Yu-Na Kim and the graceful Japanese Mao Asada, winning gold and silver respectively. Once again Barker and Cousins gave an emotionally charged commentary and like many watching in Canada and around the world they were choking back the tears as Rochette glided off the ice to rapturous applause.
Afterwards Rochette explained that her mother had been her inspiration after an extremely stressful four days “I didn’t have much strength,” she said. “I didn’t sleep much. But that last triple, my mom was lifting me up because I had no more legs. I really feel that it happened.”
Upon return to her home province of Quebec, the bronze medalist gave an emotional press conference in Montreal citing that part of the reason she decided to skate in honor of her mother was after she was sent a message from an eight year old girl who had also recently lost her mother encouraging her in the Olympics. She asked for privacy to grieve for her mother and for time to allow the events of Vancouver to sink in. She confirmed she will take part in the World Figure Skating Championships in Turin at the end of the month.
Rochette was not the only Winter Olympian to triumph in the face of adversity during the Vancouver games. Slovenian cross-country skier Petra Majdic came into the games as a favourite in the individual classical sprint and the classical 30 kilometre race after strong performances in both the Salt Lake City and Torino Winter Olympics.
Majdic’s chances of reaching the podium in British Columbia looked to be over after she experienced a horrific fall into a deep gully, sliding on her back on a sharp curve and tumbling a further three metres onto rock during training before the classical sprint. The 30 year-old emerged from the accident with five broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Against all the odds, the hardy Slovenian insisted on competing with her face contorted in pain as she skied. She barely made it into the final but through sheer grit and determination she fought until the very end winning bronze, the first ever cross-country medal for Slovenia. She explained how she managed to get the finish line “At that moment I was thinking ‘It’s over, but the second part of me was just screaming ‘I want to go to the finish.’”
After the race, the skier hobbled up on the podium for the flower ceremony and needed an escort to prop her up when walking to the news conference who helped her into her chair as she grimaced with pain. Majdic then expounded on what her medal meant to her “Today, this is not a bronze,” she said. “This is a gold with little diamonds on it!”
Like Rochette, the Ljubljana native was asked to carry her country’s flag in the closing ceremony but was unable to as she was in hospital recovering from her injuries and exhaustion. She gained a special place in the hearts of the Canadians and along with the courageous figure skater was honored with the Terry Fox Award at an emotional ceremony in Vancouver.
This award was created by the Fox family and the Vancouver Organizing Committee in order to honour Olympians who embodied the same spirit as Terry Fox, the young amputee who lost a leg to cancer yet set out to run across Canada in 1980 in his Marathon of Hope to raise funds for cancer research. Fox died of cancer before he could complete this but the legacy of his courage and determination lives on today through a foundation in his name.
Rochette and Majdic may not be golden girls but both have created great Olympic moments that will be remembered for many years to come. By over coming personal loss and pain they inspired the people of Canada and Slovenia and millions of sports fans worldwide.

In 2005, Emily Wax wrote an article for the Washington Post entitled ‘Facing Servitude, Ethiopian Girls Run for a Better Life’.  The piece explored the many bleak realities faced by young girls growing up in Ethiopia.  Despite a national law prohibiting child marriage, the east African country of Ethiopia has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world.  Sixty percent of girls younger than 18 years old are married and in the Amhara region, fifty percent of girls under 15 are married.  Due to these premature marriages, Ethiopia also faces one of the highest rates of childbirth injuries in the world with 1 in 27 mothers facing the risk of death during labor (compared to a 1 in 4,800 chance of death in the U.S.)  According to UNFPA, Girls aged 15 to 20 are twice as likely to die during childbirth as women in their 20’s and girls under the age of 15 are five times more likely to die of maternal causes.   The reasons behind child marriages are cultural.  Families marry their daughters early in an attempt to keep them more subservient, in an effort to keep their daughter’s chastity intact and to maximize child-bearing years, all of which enhance a family’s status.  Poverty also plays a vital role.  In a country where a shocking eighty percent of its people live on less than $2 a day, families struggling to stay alive are forced to marry their daughters off early.  Parents also hope to shield their daughters from premarital sex, by finding them a husband who can act as a guardian.  Five thousand metre runner Meseret Zenebe, 19, relates, “Abducting girls as young as 12 for marriage is an accepted way of finding a bride in southern Ethiopia…The usual procedure is to kidnap a girl, hide her and rape her.  Then, having taken her virginity or by making her pregnant, the men can contact the village elders and claim her as his bride.”  One way in which these young girls try to avoid early marriage is by training as long-distance runners.  Aster Megitsu, 20 states, “Today, in Ethiopia, there are only three ways to escape forced marriage – turn to prostitution, commit suicide or run for your life.” And run is exactly what many of these girls do.  Aster adds, “I wanted to escape from the influence of my family and live my own life.  My older sister was 14 when my parents forced her to marry a man in his forties.  I looked at her and I ran.  I knew that if you’re good, you’ll get spotted and a running club in Addis Ababa will pay for you to move to the city.”  Aster is not to only one who isn’t motivated by winning medals for her running.  Thirteen year old Tesdale Mesele who is interviewed in Wax’s article states, “I also run because I want to give priority to my schooling.  If I’m a good runner, the school will want me to stay and not be home washing laundry and preparing injera.”  There have been a number of success stories for female Ethiopian runners.  Athletes such as Derartu Tulu who became the first Africa woman to win an Olympic gold medal, Meseret Defar won gold medals in the 5000m at both the World Championships and the Olympics and Tirunesh Dibaba, the current Olympic 5000m and 10000m champion.  Dibaba who was born in the village of Bekoji began doing athletics at the age of 14 in order to avoid an early marriage.  She now earns an estimated £300,000 a year and is married to 2004 and 2008 Olympic silver medallist Sileshi Sihine.  Long distance running, like football elsewhere in Africa or baseball in the Dominican Republic can offer the younger generation a ticket out of poverty.  Dr. Patricia E. Ortman, a retired Women’s Studies Professor embarked upon the task of raising money for the Girls Gotta Run Foundation, a volunteer organization which was established three years ago to provide new shoes for girls training to be runners in Ethiopia.  Ortman argues that suitable running shoes are vital to an aspiring athlete.  She says, “In some cases, girls are forced to give up on their dream of becoming professional athletes due to injuries caused by lack of proper attire and shoes…That’s the big reason why GGRF focuses on sending them money to buy running shoes.”  Dana Roskey, a director of the Tefsa Foundation, an organization that funds early childhood education for disadvantaged children in Ethipoia stresses, however, that running alone cannot be the solution to the problem.  He says, “Girls are more vulnerable to exploitations and misfortune, and their fate is somewhat limited.” He stresses the importance of primary education and adds, “Ultimately running is not their only destiny, and there are other options.”  But for many, becoming an athlete means pride, independence, security and freedom.

A growing phenomenon which can be seen in betting is the emergence of Spread Betting amongst punters. In layman’s terms, payouts are based on the accuracy of the wager, rather than a simple “win or lose” outcome, such as fixed-odds with conventional bookmakers. With this in mind, a spread can be defined as a range of outcomes, and the bet is whether the outcome will be above or below the spread.
The following example should convey the simplicity of Spread Betting- In a football match the bookmaker believes that 10 or 11 corners will occur, thus the spread will be set at 10-11. A punter believes there will be more than 11 corners, and “buys” at €20 a point at 11. If the number of corners is 14, the payout is €60 (14-11=3x€20). However, if the number of corners is 8, the loss is €60 (11-8=3x€20).
Spread betting carries a level of risk compared to its fixed odds counterpart, with potential losses or gains far in excess of the original money wagered. However a stop loss will incur so large losses can be limited. The same principle as detailed above applies to many aspects of sporting events-points in a rugby game, winning distances in a horse race, batman’s runs in a cricket game, total goals in a football match etc.
These two way markets give you the opportunity to bet for or against the prediction by going higher or lower. The more right you are, the more you can win, but of course, the opposite is true if you are wrong.
A stark indication of the volatility of this form of betting can be seen in the Euro 2004 game between France and England. A shrewd punter bought Zinedine Zidane’s goal minutes at 11 for £50 per point. This means any goal that Zidane scored he would get 1pt for every minute of the goal time. France went on to win the game 2-1, with two late Zidane goals, both in the 90th minute!
So, in the 89th minute the punter was 11x £50 down = £550. Three minutes later he had 180 points in the bank. He ended up winning 180 - 11 = 169pts x £50 = £8450, a truly incredible turnaround! From this betting coup alone one can see that there is no more exciting way to bet on sports than via the medium of spread betting.
Dublin-based firm Sportsspread is Ireland’s sole Spread Betting Company and offers a large range of markets on a multitude of sports events every day. One of the key attractions and benefits of Spread Betting over traditional fixed-odds betting is that you can bet right up to the final whistle. Sportsspread offer prices ‘in-running’ so you can take a profit, cut a loss or simply make a decision ‘in-running’ on an event you are watching live. It is free from commission unlike Betfair, who charges a commission on all winning bets, which is set at 5% of the net winnings.
Without doubt, it is an aspect of betting that interests me as a writer and a punter, and if you too are looking new ways of betting, it is well worth spreading your horizon.

The 2009/2010 soccer Megaleague continues to be arguably the most enthralling sporting competition in Europe, if not the world.  Nineteen remarkable teams entered the well-established competition in September of Michaelmas term, with high hopes to become either Saturday or Sunday league champions. Now, as the delights of spring hit Dublin, the final few fixtures of both leagues are inevitably going to be fascinating battles. Suitably named side, ‘Unreal Madrid’, have dominated the Saturday league.  They have combined stringent organisation and discipline, with skill and flair to top the league by an impressive margin. The top of the Sunday league however is remarkably close as halls representatives Temple Road Wanderers and Dartry Road Rovers, are engaged in a dramatic fight for the top spot.
However there has been delightful football played by all of the sides involved in both leagues. Although Mark McCann’s Unreal Madrid can be seen as the hotshots of the Saturday league, other teams such as Lincoln Celtic and Mendel have had solid seasons with creative football coming from both sides. C.F.R Clunge have entertained the ‘Santry loyal’ with their fast paced style and explosive attacking football as have the newly established Galaclassaray. Additionally, A.C.T.T.T., a team of intelligent post-graduate physicians also deserve praise for their endeavours in the Saturday league. Captain Rob Lennox has created a strong, organised outfit who play with true sporting pride. 
The Sunday league has also thrown up some close battles this year. Sporting Lisbon Treaty have created moments of truly artful football that Eric Cantona would be proud of; Cian O’Reilly must certainly be proud of his loyal squad. Brian Free’s Whispering Eyes have played clinical counter-attacking football and are known for going forward down the flanks. Moreover, Hair of the Dog, a team of engineers have shown that hung-over football can also be beautiful football. Cian O’Carrol-Lolait’s Banter F.C. have been consistently strong this season and hope to trouble Taste of Dunfermline and the two halls teams for the Sunday championship.
However, what supersedes all excitement over the culmination of the leagues is the coveted Megaleague Cup. The draw has thrown up some interesting fixtures with each side hoping to claim ultimate glory in the final which is to be played on College Green on Thursday 22nd of April. 
Reigning champions Lincoln Men are looking for a repeat performance in the cup. Captain Mark McLaughlin believes that his team of teeth-fiddlers have what it takes to go all the way. Yet they will be up against stiff competition in A.C.T.T.T. in the first round. Last year’s finalists Banter F.C. are hoping to claim the glory of the cup this year as they face Galaclassaray.
The captain of the predominantly vacant side Cool Runnins’, Brendan Segalas, has hinted that his side will certainly turn up to the first round of the cup: “My team is fresh, fresh like bacon. I hope we get at least to the semi-finals and meet Hair of the Dog who we will decimate.” However, Hair of the Dog captain Billy Kinane released a provocative statement, reminiscent of a certain Kevin Keegan, just after the cup draw: “But I’ll tell ya, you can tell him now if you’re reading this, we’re fighting for this cup, I’ll tell ya honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it!” Strong words.
Chief Commissioner of the Megaleague, Tommy Dunne hopes that the competition for the cup will result in soccer matches of the highest standard. Dunne asserted: “I’m looking forward to the final, I’ll see you there, College Green, 22nd of April, 2 o’clock!”  Megaleague referee and all round aficionado Patrick Skinner has stated: “Football is my life; The Megaleague is my world. Oh my days this draw is exciting. I cannot wait to see who will take the cup this year. The Megaleague has seen the most competitive soccer in Europe. I wish the best of luck to all teams involved.” Many people agree that nothing in football is certain. However, I beg to differ, it is certain that this year’s Megaleague cup will be the most exciting tournament since the game began.