David Beckham says he is determined to make a “swift and full recovery” from the ruptured Achilles tendon that has left his dream of playing in a record fourth World Cup finals for England in tatters.

The 34-year-old midfielder flew to Finland this morning to visit Dr Sakari Orava, professor of orthopaedics and traumatology at the Mehilainen Clinic in Turku, who is expected to perform surgery on the player’s left tendon this afternoon.

Dr Orava confirmed it would take a minimum of four months for Beckham to fully recover from the injury, prompting some to predict the setback could even curtail his illustrious 18-year playing career.

Yet Beckham has already set his sights on a return to the game. “I am on my way to Finland to see a specialist and have a scan on the injury,” Beckham said in a statement released on his website earlier today.

“I am upset but want to thank everyone for their messages of support. I hope to make a swift and full recovery.”

The injury occurred when Beckham pulled up under no pressure from an opposing player in the final minutes of AC Milan’s 1-0 victory over Chievo at San Siro last night. The former England captain hopped from the pitch in obvious pain and collapsed on the sidelines. He was treated for about five minutes on the touchline before eventually being carried from the arena face down on a stretcher in tears, mouthing “it’s broken, it’s broken” to those on the home bench, while members of Milan’s backroom staff tried to comfort him.

David Beckham arrives to airport in Turku, Finland - images via daylife

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Nike and Kobe Bryant today announced the debut of the Nike Zoom Kobe V, the brand’s lowest-profile and lightest basketball shoe to date. Bryant challenged Nike to make his signature shoe even lighter and lower than the Nike Zoom Kobe IV and they responded with the Nike Zoom Kobe V.

The new shoe features a 10 mm forefoot profile and weighs 10.6 ounces – one ounce lighter than the Nike Zoom Kobe IV.

The initial inspiration for Kobe’s low-profile shoe came from an unexpected place: the soccer field. “I watch a lot of soccer and have seen how the best footballers in the world make sharp cuts at top speed in lightweight, low-cut footwear,” Bryant said. “The demands they make on their feet and ankles aren’t that different from what I’m doing on the court, yet nobody assumes they should play in high tops.”

“I wanted to push the envelope with a shoe that meets the demands of my style of play,” Bryant said. “The Kobe V is lighter, lower and more stable. Nike has done it again.”

With Bryant’s observation as inspiration, the Nike Sports Research Lab conducted hundreds of hours of testing to create a low-profile shoe that did not compromise stability or lockdown. By modifying the medial arch and sculpting the external heel counter, Nike researchers created a shoe with exceptional performance that moves with the foot and allows for multi-directional cutting. An enhanced outrigger provides lateral stability, while the de-coupled heel maximizes contact surface. The shoe also features a glass/carbon fiber weave shank plate for mid-foot control and rigidity.

“The journey from a high-top to a low-top basketball shoe is far more complex than simply cutting off the ankle collar, as we demonstrated with the Nike Zoom Kobe IV,” said Matt Nurse, Senior Researcher with the Nike Sports Research Lab. “With the Kobe V we constructed an even lighter-weight support system that provides superior, one-to-one lockdown while moving with the foot, not against it.”

LIGHTWEIGHT PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES EVOLVED
Building off the success of the Nike Zoom Kobe IV, Nike Performance Footwear Creative Director Eric Avar wanted to further reduce the weight of the shoe while still enhancing support and stability.

“For the Kobe V, we started with the science and performance elements and built from there,” Avar said. “We wanted this shoe to be a true reflection of his game and persona. As Kobe continues to evolve as an athlete, so will the footwear we create for him.”

The Nike Zoom Kobe V also features a lighter, stronger version of Nike’s innovative Flywire technology, that’s strategically placed to perform like synthetic tendons while cradling the foot like a second skin. The shoe’s overlays were bonded with heat welding, which is lighter, more consistent, and less abrasive than traditional stitching. Nike Zoom units in the heel and forefoot, as well as lightweight Phylon-injected midsole, provide a cushioning system that reduces pounding without adding bulk or weight.

Bryant’s input and inspiration was also instrumental in shaping the aesthetics of the Nike Zoom Kobe V. Avar and the design team in Nike’s Innovation Kitchen incorporated aspects of Bryant’s game and personality into every detail in the shoe. The heartbeat traction pattern on the outsole is inspired by the heart, passion and self-described “maniacal will” Bryant brings to the court. The dot-matrix symbol on the front edge of the outsole – found throughout Bryant’s footwear and apparel product this season — represents a codified language sequence. Nike will offer clues to deciphering its meaning throughout the season.

The Nike Zoom Kobe V will be available first online with a unique Nike iD retail campaign launching December 26, 2009. A broader global brick and mortar retail launch will occur January 1, 2010 in China and January 16, 2010 throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.

image and text via nike media.

In these handout photos released by the English Football Association, England soccer player David Beckham plays soccer with a group of children involved with the ‘Coaching For Hope’ project at Ikhusi Primary School near Cape Town, South Africa, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009.

more images and info on the “Coaches for Hope” project after the jump…

Beckham said in a press release: “It is amazing to visit a project like this and see the effect football has on young people. Football has the power to change lives and these youngsters are able to learn valuable lessons through their love of the game.

“I feel privileged to have met these children and despite the fact we come from different backgrounds we share a love for the game of football.”

England’s David Beckham (C), England’s World Cup 2018 bid ambassador Lucas Radebe (R) and England’s Football Association Chairman David Triesman (L) meet children and volunteers from the “Coaching For Hope” project

CfH not only teaches football skills, but also promotes social awareness for issues such as AIDS and substance abuse. Access to sport is limited in some areas, and so a CfH tournament aims to boost self-esteem, confidence and build life skills for those who participate.

“Aids is a very real problem in places like Khaylitsha and football must ensure it does whatever it can to help educate young people of its dangers and make a difference,” Beckham concluded.

David Triesman, the FA chairman, added: “It has been inspiring visiting this Coaching for Hope session. Watching the boundless energy and promise of these young people has been an amazing experience.

“Football has a power to inspire change. I am in awe of the coaches here who have the ability to make a difference to the future of these children. “Schemes such as Coaching for Hope make me proud of the work of The FA’s International Development Programme. It is a fantastic example of a project using the universal language of football to help promote positive change in people’s lives.”

source, images via daylife/EFA

The Story
The story begins in 1975. The then 35-year-old manager Blatter is the first European to organize a football tournament in Africa. For Coca Cola he invites young Africans to the event. One year later hundreds of thousands of Black people demonstrate for their rights on the streets of Soweto near Johannesburg. The uprising is brutally crushed. It marks the beginning of the end of the apartheid era. 35 years later a Black president is heading the country and former ANC activists are organizing the biggest sports event in the world…an event that Sepp Blatter brought for them to South Africa.

The Concept
African Dream tells the story of Sepp Blatter’s dream of organizing the first football world championship in Africa. And the dream of the Black population in South Africa to finally receive recognition through the 2010 World Cup. The film begins with the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup – Blatter inaugurates the event and fulfils his long-awaited dream. We interview Blatter shortly before he retires to sleep on that day; it is this interview that holds the film together. We go back to Sepp Blatter’s roots, to where he grew up. We accompany Blatter to the Sepp Blatter Tournament in the Swiss canton of Valais (with statements from Platini & Beckenbauer) and to a celebration with his old friends. We show where this man comes from. We’re at the FIFA Palace in Zürich where Blatter painstakingly plans the gigantic event and where he receives African heads of state. We show Blatter on a journey to Africa a year before the championship – here we speak to adults and children from the townships about football. And we accompany Blatter on the final days leading up to the World Cup.The Filming
For this documentary a Dutch-Swiss film team researched the partly controversial career of Sepp Blatter, accompanied the FIFA president over the course of two years, spoke with South African president Jacob Zuma and for several weeks questioned eye-witnesses in Soweto on the past and present.

The Post Production
The HD produced film has a length of 53 minutes and can be converted into all television formats.
The film will be ready for broadcast directly after the opening ceremony in South Africa. The World Cup matches themselves are not part of the film.

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Singer Bono (R) and footballer Didier Drogba pose for photographers after a news conference to launch a partnership between Nike and (RED) in London, November 30, 2009. The two groups will unite to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS through the sale of red colored laces and other products in the run-up to the soccer World Cup.

The laces will drop December 1st (World AIDS Day) at Nike stores.

Closeup of the boot after the jump…

images via daylife

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, right, kicks the ball next to Barcelona’s Carles Puyol, center, during the launching of the “1 Goal Education For All” international campaign in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. In the background are former players of the Spanish national soccer team who posed for a family photo at the 100-year anniversary of the Spanish Soccer Federation.

75 million children are out of schoool, and millions more struggle to stay in school. This is a battle we can win – with the right political will and resources Education for All is possible.

A short film was produced for the Education for All: Class of 2015 that was launched at the UN in September 2008. The class brings together celebrities, world leaders and activists to ensure that Education for All becomes a reality. See the video after the jump…

image via daylife