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England footballers to give one-million-pounds for WAGs’ safety in S. Africa

After the Football Association (FA) told England stars that their WAGs and relatives would be their responsibility in unruly South Africa, the players are set to spend a staggering one-million-pound to ensure the protection of their loved ones.

Fabio Capello''s men can either fork out more than 43,000 pounds each on ex-military guards for their loved ones during the tournament or spend up to four weeks abroad on their own.

News of the World quoted a source as saying: "South Africa is heaving with ruthless and well-drilled criminals who are rubbing their hands at the prospect of having so many well-known multi-millionaires on their turf.

“The players themselves will be safe enough at the team hotel and training complex but their friends and family face a security risk. Kidnap for ransom, robbery and carjacking are the three key threats to players'' families,” he added.

Despite providing security for the players themselves, the FA is taking no responsibility for their partners and kids, who will be staying at least 50 miles from the team base near Rustenburg.

Each family unit will require at least two armed bodyguards - many former Special Forces soldiers - to cover them day and night, on top of security patrols.

John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Gareth Barry are now ready to put costly close protection teams on their loved ones.

"If the players want their WAGS and families with them in South Africa, then they shall have to pay their way. The cost of protection is very high. But any price would be small to ensure the safety of the families of such high-value targets,” the source said.

"Lots of footballers have been robbed and burgled at home. But the worst they are likely to face here is a machete, because criminals want to avoid more serious charges if they are caught with guns. InSouth Africa there will be no such qualms," he added. (ANI)

Panasonic becomes jersey sponsor for Indian football team

Indian football received a boost Saturday with Japanese electronics major Panasonic becoming the jersey sponsor of the senior national team.

All India football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel said it was a positive development not only for football but also for other sports. The deal is worth Rs. 47.5 million for a period of three years.

"Panasonic has a big presence in international football. Their association with the national team will boost the sport in the country. This is also a crucial juncture for Indian football as we are heading towards the Asian Cup in 2011," he said.

The national team will now have to play a minimum of six international matches every year and are likely to play Thailand, also sponsored by Panansonic, in an international friendly soon.

"From this year, we will play lot of international matches. This will help us to prepare not only for the Asian Cup but also move up the rankings ladder," Patel said.

AIFF secretary-general Alberto Colaco said that chief coach Bob Houghton will be in India next week and will chart out the team's final roadmap to Qatar for the Asian Cup in January, 2011.(IANS)

Becks'' dog does it like Beckham, flies £2k flight in posh pet jet to LA!

Don''t expect David Beckham''s dog to be anything less than a pet diva and especially not after the pooch reportedly flew an almost 2,000-pound flight with a posh pet transportation company.

Beckham was said to have shelled out the staggering amount for the British Bulldog pup to be transported from England to their family home in Los Angeles.

The canine, a Christmas gift for the ace footballer from wife Victoria, was purportedly flown first class for the 5,500-mile journey in PetAir after feasting on a meal prepared by the family''s celebrity chef pal Gordon Ramsay.

"In its very short life, David''s dog has already seen the kind of luxury it will be treated to. It''s been fed top-notch food by the UK''s leading star chef, and has now been flown in total comfort to LA," News of the World quoted a source close to the Beckhams as saying.

The source added: "It''s one lucky animal, but David only wants the best." (ANI)

Anand meets Karjakin in Corus Chess first round

Five-time champion Viswanathan Anand will take on young Sergey Karjakin in the first round of the 72nd Corus Grandmasters chess tournament. A record number of five Indian players feature in this year's tournament at the Dutch seaside town of Wijk Aan Zee.

All five Indians in the three Groups will open their first round with black pieces. In Group B, Pentala Harikrishna will meet Anish Giri, whose father is Nepali and mother Russian, while Parimarjan Negi takes on D. Howell.

In Group C, Sowmya Swaminathan faces Robby Robinson while Abhijeet Gupta meets R. Swinkels. While Anand, the reigning World Champion, and a five-time winner here, has been a regular feature in the highest category ?A Group', India has two participants - Harikrishna and Negi - in ?B' and two others - Abhijeet Gupta and Sowmya Swaminathan - in the ?C' category.

Apart from hosts, the Netherlands, no other country has more than three participants in all three categories put together while India has five. The Corus Grandmasters Chess tournament is considered one of the strongest and biggest classical chess events in the world. It will be held from Jan 15-31 at the traditional De Moriaan Community Centre.

The Corus Chess tournament has three main segments. They are played according to the 'round robin' system, whereby each competitor plays in turn against every other during the tournament. All three Grandmaster groups have 14 players and start January 16 after a formal opening a day earlier. All rounds begin at 13.30 hours, except for the last round January 31, which begins at 12.30 hours. The rest days are January 20, 25, and 28.

Learn more at the Wiki

First round pairings: Group A: Caruana, Fabiano - Ivanchuk, Vassily; Dominguez Perez, Leinier - Kramnik, Vladimir; Karjakin, Sergey - Anand, Viswanathan; Leko, Peter - Shirov, Alexei; Smeets, Jan - Nakamura, Hikaru; Tiviakov, Sergei - Carlsen, Magnus; Van Wely, Loek - Short, Nigel. (IANS)

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