Mark Wotte has said that Scotland have the capability of reaching the World Cup finals. The Scottish Football Association's first-ever performance director comes with an eclectic CV that includes spells in Egypt, Qatar and at Southampton but the most eye-catching chapters of his career have been in his homeland, where he was technical director of Feyenoord, and more pertinently, coach of the Netherlands' under-21 squad. He helped to bring through several of the players who finished World Cup runners-up to Spain in Johannesburg last summer.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has once again promised that significant changes will be made to the World Cup selection committee in the future.

Blatter said he would like to see FIFA adopt the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) approach to selecting host countries and also told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that he would also set up a watchdog committee to supervise how FIFA works.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said that the allocation of locations of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil is set to be decided next week.

"FIFA will meet next Wednesday and Thursday and take a decision on the allocation of slots for the 2014 World Cup," Blatter told a joint media conference with African football boss Issa Hayatou.

"We have one slot decided already -- host nation Brazil -- and FIFA will come out with procedures for the remaining 31 slots," said Blatter, who attended a midweek Khartoum gathering of African football leaders.

Europe had 13 representatives at the World Cup in South Afica last June and July, including champions Spain, runners-up the Netherlands and third-placed Germany.

Brazil's football star Ronaldo has recently announced his retirement and said that he is going participate in 2014 football World Cup as a coordinator.Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin named the ex-player to his state committee coordinating the football tournament in a ceremony in a Sao Paulo stadium.

He also awarded Ronaldo, 34, a medal in honour of his sporting achievements and legacy.

"It's an honour to help the government of Sao Paulo to put on the best World Cup of all time," Ronaldo said.

The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, whose goalscoring genius led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title, confirmed his retirement on Monday in a tearful media conference.

Qatar is set to host the 2022 World Cup on its own without any help from other regions. In reply to a question from Gulf News yesterday, AFC President Mohammad Bin Hammam, wearing the cap of a high-ranked Qatari official, dismissed the move to co-host the 2022 Fifa World Cup. "Qatar submitted a bid to organise the World Cup and it is fair for Qatar to organise all the matches," he said.

"It's never actually been discussed within the Fifa Executive Committee or outside the Executive Committee that some of the matches are to be played outside. So from this point of view, I don't think any country is going to be a part of the organisation," said Hammam reflecting Qatar's position to be sole hosts.

The Asian football Confederation chief has said that the World Cup in Qatar will be held in summer. The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has suggested that the tournament could be held in winter to protect players from the 40C temperatures common in Qatar in June and July, and Michel Platini, the Uefa president, has hinted that the event could be shared with other Gulf countries.

Asked if there was any intention to move the 2022 World Cup, Bin Hammam said: "Not at all. It is not our business. Our business is to organise a comfortable World Cup in June and July. That's what we have promised the world. And we are sticking to our promise and we are keeping our promise and that is our final word."

The head of the Asian Football Confederation became the latest organisation to support a winter World Cup. FIFA executive committee member Franz Beckenbauer was the first to suggest the idea, and UEFA president Michel Platini followed him. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said it is worthy studying while FIFPro, which represents professional footballers worldwide, said the event "must be held in winter."

But the big football clubs remain unconvinced, as they are reluctant to change the international Live Football calendar and likely would be concerned over a loss of revenue from breaking up the season.

Several Asian football bodies have asked for FIFA to reschedule the World Cup in 2022. The Asian Football Confederation has urged FIFA to reschedule the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the winter months of January or February to avoid the desert state's sweltering heat.

The AFC General Secretary and South Korea Football Association's Peter Velappan said Thursday that cooling down stadiums and training grounds with air
conditioners was "not a solution" and warned that some European teams may boycott the World Cup due to the heat.

Prince William is set to do his part in securing the World Cup for England in 2018. England’s bid is considered third favourite, behind Russia and the joint bid from Spain and Portugal. Only the joint bid from Holland and Belgium is more of an outsider.

Prince William, president of the Football Association, wi the ll lead a charm offensive, in the plush meeting rooms of the Bar Au Lac hotel, where Fifa’s 22-man executive committee will be staying. "He’s really looking forward to meeting these people and telling them why England would be such a fantastic place to host the World Cup," said a spokesman for the Prince.

They may not have Lionel Messi, but Ghana have an admirable reputation in football, having been the only African side to get out of the group stage at the 2006 FIFA World Cp Germany and this year becoming the first to qualify for South Africa 2010.

Having gained experience since their 2006 attempt, when they lost to Italy and Brazil but beat the Czech Republic and USA, Ghana could be a major threat at Africa’s first FIFA World Cup. As seen on the free bets site, the odds for Ghana to go far in the World Cup 2010 is looking good.