RUGBY WORLD CUP TICKETS...
Another 100,000 tickets will go on sale on Thursday (10am, tickets.rugbyworldcup.com). Available across all the price ranges (beginning at £15) there is a surprisingly large swathe of games back on the market, including both quarter-finals at the Millennium Stadium, England v Uruguay, New Zealand v Argentina, France v Ireland, South Africa v Scotland and France v Italy. Expect to put in some time on the website, however, as heavy demand on previous occasions has made it a long and often frustrating process of attempting to secure a spot in the stands.
FIFA BEANO...
Sepp Blatter faces the vote for re-election as president of Fifa on Friday and, rather like the Politburo of old, a surprise is not expected. But the congress in Zurich begins on Tuesday and several other thorny issues will be discussed. Among them is the proposal to suspend Israel from the organisation due to security restrictions limiting the movement of Palestinian players (ultimately to face a vote next May), plus Blatter’s own favoured plan to block a continent that has hosted the World Cup from bidding for the following two editions. Should that go through Europe would not be involved again until 2030 at the earliest.
SKILLS FOR KIDS...
Strange enough to be worth a watch by grown-ups too, John Motson and England’s Rachel Yankey join forces in a new show that encourages children into football by emphasising passing, thinking, skills and playing as a team. They do so, of course, with the help of animated canines, the titular Footy Pups (Monday, CBeebies, 4.30pm), who each week will learn a new skill they put into practice in an animal league that features hippos, ducks and cheetahs. That’s right, a show with Motty and hippos. Finally.
FA CUP BUILDUP...
Opening with Gary Lineker on the Road to FA Cup Glory, the BBC’s more usual (and noticeably hippo-less coverage) of the Cup final is, to its credit, commendably broad. Lineker brings a personal perspective to the season (Tuesday, BBC1, 10.45pm), showing footage from clubs behind the scenes at various rounds. He also visits the hospital with Fabrice Muamba where the former Bolton player was taken after his heart stopped in a tie in 2012 and talks to Ryan Giggs, Ian Wright, José Mourinho and Roberto Martínez about their Cup experiences. It’s followed on Wednesday by The Road to Wembley (BBC1, 11.15pm), recounting the best moments from this season, and on Saturday by FA Cup TOTP2 (BBC1, 2.05pm) when Mark Radcliffe trawls the Beeb’s archives of Cup songs. The match buildup begins at 3.55pm.
EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL...
The other big final this week is between Sevilla and Dnipro in the Europa League in Warsaw (Wednesday, ITV4, 7.45pm) and there is more than silverware at stake. A Champions League place is open to the winners, a position neither side are able to claim from their league positions, so much as it is the poor relation in European football this is still a huge final. Sevilla, last year’s winners, are favourites, having lost only once since March, and are looking to become the first team to win the title for the fourth time. Dnipro are strong defensively and can strike on the counter, having beaten Napoli 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
GOLF BONANZA…
Hosted by Rory McIlroy on behalf of his charity the Rory Foundation, the Irish Open begins this week on Thursday (Sky Sports 4, 8am). The tournament is part of the European Tour and McIlroy has managed to attract a fine field to the event at Royal County Down. Among them: Rickie Fowler, Sergio García, Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and new Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke. Equally he has the venue they deserve, Royal County Down is a classic links course, hugely demanding and offering a unique challenge that will be enthralling to watch.
