Paul, the retired Oracle Octopus Cephalopod and official ambassador to England’s 2018 World Cup bid, has died peacefully in his sleep. He was found dead this morning. This is according to a statement released by Ariane Vieregge, spokesperson of the Sea Life Centre in Oberhauzen, Germany. The staff of the centre are said to be “devastated.”

Paul’s agent, Chris Davies stated this morning “It’s a sad day. Paul was rather special but we managed to film Paul before he left this mortal earth.”

The centre manager, Stephan Porwoll stated “We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life.”

According to his Wikipedia page, the funeral arrangements have yet to be arranged, although there is some talk of either a cremation or burial with a funeral service and a monument in his honour at the centre in Germany where he spent most of his life.

Paul gained world-wide fame during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, as well as some world-wide hatred as he correctly predicted the outcome of all of Germany’s matches, as well as the winner of the tournament, Spain, who beat Holland 1-0. The odds of predicting the results of these matches correctly is 256 to 1.

He retired from predicting match outcomes on the 12th of July this year. On August the 20th, he was made an honorary ambassador for Englands’ bid to be the host nation of the next-but-one World Cup soccer tournament in 2018. A documentary film is due to be released about his life, and plush toys have been released for the Christmas Market.

Paul was a highlight of the 2010 World Cup tournament and will be missed.

Rest in peace Paul.

You know that something is coming to an end when you hear words like ‘final’ and ‘closing’.  On Sunday 11 July 2010, at Soccer City in Johannesburg, the closing ceremony for the long awaited Fifa World Cup took place.  It was really something special and different.  If you missed it, here is a basic run through of the events.  Nice one SA!

With the last match in Cape Town having come to a close, it is down to Johannesburg to delivery the new FIFA World Cup champions.

After the long wait the World Cup almost drawing to a close, we thought it best to have a look at the highlights for Cape Town over the last few weeks.

1.The Welcome to Cape Town Concert and parade with the Kaapse Klopse and R Kelly at the Grande Parade also known for the past few weeks as the Fan Fest

2.Opening of the Fan Fest on 11 June 2010. The area had to be closed off long before the game and fans felt the need to stand on roofs to see the action.

3.The first goal soccered by Bafana Bafana

4.The celebrity soccer match with Jacob Zuma as the captain of the team.

5.ALL the matches at the Green Point Stadium!

We wish  Spain andNetherlands  all the best of luck for their game on Sunday and we look

forwad to welcoming our new FIFA World Cup champions.

Many scoffed at the idea of a psychic octopus when rumours began to emerge about such a creature at Sea World in Oberhauzen, Germany. However, last night’s corker of a game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban changed the tides somewhat, when Spain successfully ousted Germany from the running of World Champion by beating them 1-0. The psychic octopus had correctly predicted that Spain would win, something that most soccer fans had not expected. Germany’s game so far has been a powerhouse of skilled co-ordination, military precision and complex tactics, with many supporters believing the country to be the inevitable winner of the coveted trophy.

And yet, Paul the Octopus saw the embarrassing defeat of the German side before the rest of the world, and many unstable fans have resorted to death threats in attempts to intimidate the poor creature. When Paul predicted the fall of Argentina, a local newspaper El Dia published a paella recipe – including Paul as the main ingredient. A group of Germans have called for Paul to be braaied in public. However, the world famous cephalopod remains ‘unfazed’ with the threats to his safety.

Of course, everyone is now asking what the result between the Netherlands and Spain will be on Sunday evening. However, in a bid to avoid over burdening the revered sea creature, he has not been asked to predict the winner as yet. His method for predicting the results of matches is not as confusing as one can imagine. According to the UK Telegraph,

“Paul’s handlers will follow the now familiar routine. Two boxes will be lowered into his tank, each containing his favourite seafood food as well as the flags of the two opposing teams.

Whichever box Paul picks food from first is adjudged the winner.”

And it’s as simple as that!

We think that the crazed soccer fans with death wishes for poor Paul need to relax – he’s just doing his job.

Thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk

Pablo Dorado of Uruguay scores the first goal of the first World Cup Final in 1930 Photo: http://www.britannica.com

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is progressing nicely. The tournament is almost half – over, and many teams have been sent back home after losing matches and not making the qualification for the round of 16. We thought now would be a great time to have a look at some interesting trivia of the most popular sporting tournament in the World.

• There have been 19 World Cup soccer tournaments in history, starting in 1930 and played every four years, except in 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War.
• The first match was played between Mexico and France in Montevido in Uruguay. France won 4-1.
• There has never been a host-country eliminated in the first round… except South Africa.
• However, out of 19 tournaments, the host nation has won six times.
• The country to win the World Cup the most times is Brazil, with five wins of the coveted trophy. Italy is second with four wins, then West Germany with three, Uruguay with two and Argentina with two.
• The most common score in a World Cup finals match is 1-0.
• In case you were wondering why players aren’t swapping shirts – shirt swapping was banned by FIFA in 1986 as the federation did not want players to expose their chests on the field.
• Think 65,000 people in a stadium is a big deal? Try this one for size – the largest crowd attendance at a match was at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janerio in 1950. 199,854 people squeezed in to watch the deciding match between Uraguay and Brazil.

The first…

• Player to score a goal in a World Cup match was Lucien Laurent of France against Mexico during the first ever World Cup match in 1930.
• Player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match was Bert Patenaude of the USA against Paraguay in the 1930 World Cup first round.
• Player to be sent off was Captain of Peru, Mario de Las Casas against Romania in 1930.
• Player to be replaced in a World Cup match was Alex Thepot, the French goalkeeper in the opening match of the first World Cup tournament. Thepot was kicked in the jaw by a Mexican player and was replaced by Augustin Chantrel, a mid-fielder for the French side.
• Team to win the World Cup was Uruguay, with Argentina as the runner-up. The final match score was Uruguay 4 – Argentina 2.

Info from http://www.topendsports.com