The USA’s World Cup team arrived Monday at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, after a 17-hour flight from the United States.  It looks like the Americans will have good fan support in South Africa.

“The USA won the hearts of many South Africans when they made it to the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup last year and we welcome them back to South Africa,” said Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of South Africa’s 2010 World Cup Organizing Committee.  Jordaan added, “With over 136,000 tickets already sold to their fans, the USA will be followed by many passionate fans in the coming weeks.”

Photo credit: VOA's Parke Brewer

Perhaps the most passionate U.S. fans are members of “Sam’s Army,” a supporters club that waves American flags and stomps and cheers throughout U.S. men’s national team matches.  I’m sure we’ll see “Sam’s Army” at the USA’s opening World Cup match 12 June against “mother country” England in Rustenburg, South Africa.

Here’s a Sonny Side of Sports salute for my VOA colleague Howard Lesser, who is retiring after 30+ years at the Voice of America.  Howard is a big sports fan, and I’m sure he’ll be watching some of next month’s World Cup football matches in South Africa on TV.  I would often engage in sporty banter with Howard when he came in on the evening shift to host our Daybreak Africa show.

For many years, Howard was paired with the late Al James on Daybreak Africa, and they were familiar voices for millions of Africans waking up to start their day.  In recent years, Howard has been on the show with my colleague James Butty.

Austin Njoku, writing from Nigeria’s political capital of Abuja, says Howard’s retirement is a huge loss for listeners of the Voice of America.  And Florence Masajuwa, writing from Benin City, Nigeria, says she will surely miss Howard’s voice on Daybreak Africa.

Enjoy your retirement, Howard!

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell recently attended a USA World Cup team practice at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.  Russell helped the Boston Celtics win 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons from 1956-1969.  The 76-year-old Russell is not the only basketball great getting some kicks from World Cup soccer.

Two future members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and Kobe Bryant of the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, are both big football fans, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see one or both players in South Africa during the World Cup.

As I write this, Nash and Bryant are currently playing against each other in the NBA Western Conference finals.  If Nash decides to go to South Africa, it would be a homecoming of sorts.  He was born in Johannesburg, where the World Cup’s opening match and final will be held.  Nash describes himself as a passionate supporter of Tottenham in the English Premier League, and he’s expressed interest in owning a piece of the club.  His father, John, and brother, Martin, have both played professional soccer, and Nash has said he thinks he could have played professional football if he had focused on the sport.

For his part, Kobe Bryant was introduced to soccer as a young boy growing up in Italy, where his father played professional basketball.  Kobe says one of his boyhood dreams was playing for the Italian club AC Milan.  In recent years, Kobe has also shown support for the Spanish club Barcelona, and the Lakers star currently appears in a new Nike TV commercial promoting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Defending champion Italy opened its World Cup training camp Sunday at the ski resort of Sestriere, which is located at an elevation of about 1,980 meters.

England and 1998 World Cup champion France are also holding training camps at altitude, while the Asian teams Japan and South Korea are considering tents and masks that simulate altitude conditions.

Matches at seven of the 10 World Cup stadiums in South Africa will be played at elevations ranging from 660 meters in Nelspruit to more than 1,600 meters in Johannesburg.

While there haven’t been many studies on the effects of altitude on football teams, it typically takes an adjustment period to get used to playing at altitude.  The USA team is scheduled to arrive at its World Cup base camp, located at about 1,450 meters between Johannesburg and Pretoria, on 31 May.  That will give the Americans nearly two weeks to acclimate to the altitude before their first World Cup match against England on 12 June in Rustenburg, South Africa.

A recent Sports Illustrated article on American striker Jozy Altidore described him as the USA’s “biggest goal-scoring threat” at next month’s World Cup in South Africa.  The 20-year-old Altidore earned that description even though he probably will be the youngest player on the USA’s World Cup team.  Altidore has played with the USA national team at the three main age levels – U-17, U-20 and U-23.

On 17 November 2007, 11 days after his 18th birthday, Altidore made his first international appearance for the USA’s senior national team in a friendly match against 2010 World Cup host South Africa.  He was a key player for the Americans during their World Cup qualifying campaign, with his most prolific performance coming last year in the southern U.S. city of Nashville, Tennessee.  Altidore scored all three goals for the USA in a 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago, making him the youngest American to score a hat-trick in an international match.  Overall, Altidore has scored eight international goals for the USA senior team.  One of them came during the USA’s 2-0 upset of European champion Spain at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa.

Jozy Altidore would like nothing better than to score a few more goals in South Africa during the World Cup.  He says the surprise showing of the USA at last year’s Confederations Cup tournament, in which the Americans reached the final before losing to Brazil, should help the team when it returns to South Africa for the World Cup.

In that same Sports Illustrated article, it mentioned that Altidore will be part of a USA team in which half or more of the players have at least one parent who immigrated to the United States.  While Jozy was born in New Jersey and raised in Florida, both of his parents are from Haiti.  And, since the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January, Altidore has been active in relief efforts for the island nation.  He also sometimes pays tribute to his Haitian heritage by wearing a wristband with both the flags of Haiti and the USA during matches.

Here in Washington, the White House says Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will represent the USA at the football World Cup’s opening ceremonies 11 June in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The announcement appears to rule out the possibility of President Barack Obama attending the World Cup.  Last year, during a meeting with world football chief Sepp Blatter at the White House, Mr. Obama said he hoped to be able to go to South Africa for the football fiesta.

Mr. and Mrs. Biden are also planning to attend the USA’ s opening World Cup match against England on 12 June at the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa.

Vice President Biden is an avid sports fan.  In high school, he was a top halfback and wide receiver in American-style football at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware.  Mr. Biden also played football at the University of Delaware.

I’ll be celebrating my 22nd VOA anniversary in South Africa next month during the World Cup.  When you work at any place that long, chances are, you’re going to meet a few interesting people.

As I look forward to the World Cup, I’m a little sad that I can’t share some of the World Cup excitement with VOA’s late, great “Gallant Ghanaian,” “King”Richard Kotey.  Richard died in 2003 due to complications from a stroke.

Richard and I sat right across from each other in our office, and when he was especially happy, he would break out into song.  And let me tell you, sports fans, Richard had a booming voice.  Richard often sang fight songs about his beloved “Black Stars” of Ghana, the country’s national football team.

“The Black Stars” made their World Cup debut at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where they were the only African team to reach the second round.  “The Black Stars” have high hopes of going even farther in South Africa.  “King”Richard Kotey did not get to see Ghana qualify for either World Cup.  But, I know Richard’s spirit lives on, and when Ghana is on the pitch in South Africa, I’ll be saying three words, “GO BLACK STARS!”

U.S. men’s national soccer team coach Bob Bradley is leading a pre-World Cup training camp this week at Princeton University in New Jersey.  It’s a homecoming for the 52-year-old Bradley, who was born and raised in New Jersey, and who previously played soccer and coached the men’s team at Princeton.

U.S. team press officer Michael Kammarman told VOA that Princeton is a great venue and was an easy choice for the training camp because it’s Coach Bradley’s alma mater.

Bradley was only 22-years-old when he began his coaching career at Ohio University.  He then moved on the University of Virginia and then coached at Princeton.  Bradley led “The Tigers” of Princeton from 1984 to 1995, before going on to coach in Major League Soccer and the USA’s national team program.

Coach Bradley comes from a family of athletes.  His brother Scott played for Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners club and is the current baseball coach at Princeton.  And his son, Michael, was also born in Princeton and is a top midfielder for the USA’s World Cup team.

Keen viewers of my “In Focus” TV segments filmed at my VOA cubicle will notice a trusty back-drop in many of the shoots – his name is “Footix,” and he was the official mascot of the 1998 World Cup in France.  “Footix” is a rooster, one of the national symbols of France.

World Cup mascots usually show a characteristic feature of the host country.  One of my objectives during my first trip to South Africa in June is to give a high-five to Zakumi, the official mascot of the 2010 World Cup.

Zakumi is a leopard, a common animal found in South Africa, and his green and gold colors represent the national colors of South Africa’s national sports teams.  A high-five for you, Zakumi!

Ethiopian athletics great Haile Gebrselassie was one of the celebrities who attended the FIFA World Cup draw in December 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.  Haile took the stage in Cape Town with other big names like England soccer star David Beckham and South African actress Charlize Theron.

Seeing Haile on stage in Cape Town reminded me of one of my great sporting thrills.  In 2001, the Voice of America sent me to Edmonton, Canada, to cover the IAAF World Championships in Athletics.  As luck would have it, a special 800-meter “media race” was held in Edmonton, and I decided to test my speed.

While I didn’t set any records, I did get a chance to meet Haile Gebrselassie, who attended the race as a special VIP.  I guess you might say it’s the only time I’ve been able to catch up with speedy Haile, the world record holder in the marathon.