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So the FIFA World Cup 2010 is just a few short days away, with the opening fixture set to take place on Friday (SA vs. Mexico) at 3.As all the players perform their last preparations for the tournament out in the cold weather of South Africa (it's winter there), there's a handful of players who will be sat back in England with a. As all the teams and players get ready for the tournament out in South Africa, there's a small collection of players that will be sat at home with a desk fan to warn off the heat whilst watching it with the rest of us.

There appears to be a good number of players missing the tournament through injury, and a surprising amount of them come from the Premier League:

Rio Ferdinand (injured)
Nani (Man Utd) INJURED
Didier Drogba (doubtful)
Michael Ballack (injured)
Michael Essien (injured)
Mikel (Chelsea) INJURED

Actually, looking at that list, maybe it should be the curse of Manchester United and Chelsea ¦ especially when we consider John Terry's antics in the run up to the competition. Even players who used to play for United or Chelsea appear to be caught up in it:

Arjen Robben (doubtful)
David Beckham (injured) Ex-Manchester United

So what is it about playing in the English Premier League that seems to lead to an increased amount of injuries? It's an interesting statistic that pretty much all of the injured World Cup players come from the two teams that finished first and second in last years' Premier League seasons.

Most pundits agree that the English top flight division is one of the toughest leagues to play in in the World. The pace of the game is quicker, there are more games (on average) per season for the biggest clubs and the players are generally closed down faster and tackled harder.
It's clear that playing in the English Premier League may give you the chance to play at the best stadiums in front of some of the best fans in the World, but it certainly decreases your chances of playing in major international tournaments.

It's by no means the first time England have suffered from problems with injury either; take Wayne Rooney's broken metatarsal or Michael Owen's collapse in the last major tournament.

Luckily, Rooney has managed to survive this time (touch wood, fingers crossed, pray), whereas Michael will be sat at home for the first time in his career, playing about with the dehumidifier.

So if you want to play in major World tournaments, perhaps the English Premier League (or at least its top clubs) isn't the place you want to be playing your football. If nothing else, at least England, Ghana, Germany and Portugal will have an excuse this year ¦ if only the curse had reached Ronaldo!

Oh well, if nothing else, at least the players staying behind this year can take some comfort from the fact that it's winter in South Africa. So while the other players are concerning themselves with umbrellas and coats, we'll be dusting off the air conditioners!

The official match ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is the most perfect and high-performance ball ever created. It is called the Jabulani, which is taken from Zulu language, a language in South Africa, which means “to celebrate”.

The World Cup 2010 Ball is the best football ever created to date. It took well over three years of extensive research and development before it is finally released. The ball is designed and produced by Adidas, who is the a leading football producer in the world, with extensive experience from producing high-performance match balls since 1963. The ball is packed with features, one of them being the innovative Grip ‘n’ Groove profile. What it means is that the ball is covered with raised micro structure which allows strikers increased precision, and the ball also has aerodynamic grooves allowing the ball to fly straight. With this feature, the ball becomes the most stable and most accurate ball ever. It is able to fly straight and true under any condition, allowing exactly identical quality and performance characteristics every time it is kicked. With this ball the players can show their true skills.

The Adidas Innovation Team tested the 2010 World Cup match ball extensively. First they performed scientific tests at the University of Lougborough in conjuction with the Sports Technology Research Group. The ball was tested under the toughest laboratory conditions possible. Additionally, it is also tested on the field, tested and played by professional players and clubs. All these tests were performed to ensure that the ball meets the highest quality standards set by FIFA. These tests reveal that the 2010 World Cup match ball does not only meet FIFA’s standards, it actually surpass them.

The Jabulani is appropriately decorated to represent South Africa, the location where the 2010 FIFA World Cup is to be held. It has 11 different colors, which represent the 11 official languages of South Africa, the 11 diverse South African communities existing in the country, and the 11 players in a football team.

So let us celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup with the Jabulani, the most perfect foot ball to date.