Hello my name is Clint Dempsey, I play midfield for the United States soccer team. I am here to talk to you about the ethnic strife and conflict in South Africa. South Africa was colonized by the British in the 17th century. In the 1960s people from the National Party invented the apartheid system of Government which was meant to maintain white control. This system created racial segregation between four different groups: the whites, the blacks, the coloreds, and the Asians. As a result black people were forced to move out of white areas, and into more rural areas. This created conflict between the different racial groups because different views on the subject. Nelson Mandela, a popular and charismatic leader of the blacks was against the apartheid system and was put into jail for 27 years because of his views. In 1989 when F.W. de Klerk became president he released Mandela from prison after 27 years. After many years of segregation, in 1991 Mandela and a group of anti apartheid people created a bill that ruined the apartheid system completely. Mandela then became the President of South Africa. Today the political structure of South Africa is still shaped by the old apartheid system. The education system has also been greatly effected, because of the segregation schools are trying to incorporate kids from every race in each school. The abolishment of segregation in South Africa opened the door of opportunities for blacks and colored and the country took a step in healing the number of misdeed that apartheid created. However, there is still a hostile relationship that exists between the racial groups; none of which should bother our team during our stay in South Africa. I feel very great about this season and think that we'll do great!!

Go USA!

USA's Time to Shine

Hello this is Jozy Altidore from the U.S. 2010 World Cup team and I am here to take a few moments to talk about our team and our chances of winning the World Cup. With the guidance of our coach Bob Bradley we were able to place first in the hexagonal qualifier of the Caribbean zone, North America, and South America. This was a great experience and certainly helped our team's confidence as we looked on to prepare for the finals. We showed that we are a great threat and that we have what it takes to win the whole thing in South Africa. This will be our 6th consecutive appearance at the finals and we are sure that we have enough experience and talent to be worthy competitors, and take out every opponent we face.
On Sunday we arrived at the airport to go on a 17 hour flight to South Africa. When we got there we went in through the arrival area to bypass the crowds of fans. Once we were there it really set in that the World Cup was almost here and we began to realize that the day we win it all is coming up. When we win the World Cup we hope to make soccer a more popular sport in the U.S. Where soccer is currently only the 5th most watched sport. We cant wait to come back mid July after the championship and see that the citizens of the U.S. Have become more familiar and enthusiastic about soccer.