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Archives for October 2010

Fifa still has questions to answer

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James Pearce | 10:22 UK time, Saturday, 30 October 2010

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I blogged a few days ago about how important this week was going to be for Fifa. Well now we're at the end of it and the truth is, very little happened.

So the remaining question: "Has Sepp Blatter missed his chance to restore credibility to the World Cup voting process, or is there still time?" still needs to be answered.

that I've never seen him do before. He admitted that he'd made a mistake.

To regular Fifa watchers that was as unexpected as it would have been if he'd stood up and announced that he'd found .

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Fifa faces credibility test

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James Pearce | 20:33 UK time, Tuesday, 26 October 2010

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The official agenda for the meeting of on Thursday and Friday could hardly be more bland. Let me give you a little taste of it just to whet your appetite:

"Reports and Updates on the 2010 Fifa World Cup, 2014 Fifa World Cup, 2018 and 2022 Fifa World Cups, and the 2010 Fifa Women's Under 20 and Under 17 World Cups."

Important stuff, of course, but hardly fascinating. The reality, as we all know, is going to be very different.

Hidden behind the words on the agenda "2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups" lie that the credibility of the whole bidding process is in question.

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Did Delhi live up to expectations?

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James Pearce | 06:48 UK time, Thursday, 14 October 2010

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It is easy to forget as these Games draw to a close that they came fairly close to never happening at all.

Even Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Delhi organising committee, that, at the height of all the problems with the athletes' village, he had feared that some teams would withdraw.

So, it's been quite an adventure over the past month for all of us involved in this project - organisers, team officials, competitors and media.

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Suresh Kalmadi: A long way from sorry

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James Pearce | 14:04 UK time, Monday, 11 October 2010

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What stands out more than anything else is 's confidence - the confidence of a man who wields the power that comes with the title of chairman of the .

As he walked towards the television camera, which we had set up outside his house for the interview, he looked at me, pointed at his manicured lawn and proclaimed: "This is the finest garden in the whole of Delhi."

When you have faced over the past few months, confidence is probably an essential characteristic.

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Empty seats need Indian fans to fill them

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James Pearce | 08:39 UK time, Tuesday, 5 October 2010

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The sport is now under way at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi but I am still finding it hard to focus entirely on the competition.

We all witnessed a spectacular opening ceremony on Sunday. However, it is currently impossible to ignore what is happening in front of my eyes. Journalists are often told to "report it like you see it". Well, I've spent much of the past day looking at

Let us be absolutely fair. No Commonwealth Games could boast on day one. Some of the first-round events are not always that appealing. If you are a fan of badminton or netball, for example, you might well decide to save your money for the latter stages of the competition.

Never, though, have I seen a major sporting event as badly attended as the beginning of these Delhi Games. I spent much of the first day touring venues, trying to judge the spectator experience.

My honest conclusion can only be that there is currently little interest amongst the Indian public in attending these Games, as hardly anybody turned up to watch at all.

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