World Cup Special

Expert Analyst Teo Yong Kang has a special interview with Jenkins Chng. He has a passion for football and has a interesting view about the World Cup 2010 in South Africa so far and has shared with us his opinion.

What do you think about the price all Singaporeans have to pay to watch the World Cup? After watching about 20 of the World Cup matches, do you think the price you paid to watch the World Cup is going to be worth it?

He replied: "The price is ridiculously high, and considering the number of goals scored so far, this is the most expensive sports subscription to date if you calculate that based on the ratio of goals to subscription rate. Obviously, for the reason said above, the price will not be worth it."

Subcribers to Singtel to watch the World Cup have complained that there is a few seconds lag when they watch the World Cup matches comparing with Starhub subcribers. Is that a reasonable claim or just a gimmick to get their money back?

He replied: "I am not a Singtel subcriber, but it is a norm to have a second or two delay, especially if you are dealing with IP TV screening. Of course this minor shortcoming would be easy overlooked if there are more richness in the programme offering such as multimedia, which is the capability that IP TV can provide. Unfortunately this is not the case, so it is a substandard at a overly priced plan.'

Many footballers are blaming their mediocre performance due to two main reasons: The fans with their vuvuzuelas and the match ball, the Jabulani. Rob Green of England, Iker Casillas of Spain and others have all either crumpled in the hands of the Jabulani or have critisised the ball. Also, Patrice Evra, captain of France, Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of Portugal, and others have critisised the vuvuzuelas for being overly disturbing and therefore performed badly. Others have even maligned the vuvuzuelas as a distraction to the other nations as South Africa are the only team who are unaffected by the noise. What is your take on this?

He replied: "While these are valid concerns, as professional footballers, one should not be affected by these factors, but instead should work to overcome these challenges. If players like Messi and Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama can remain unaffected by these alleged problems, I don't see why the rest can't do the same. At the end of the day, it is these unexpected situations that differentiates a world class player from a mediocre individual."