Earlier today, FIFA released the official tune of the 2014 World Cup featuring Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez: “We Are One (Ole Ola)”. Cuban-American rap artist Pitbull, born Armando Christian Pérez, has not always been the most popular rapper in the United States, but this song with Lopez is actually pretty catchy and represents the exciting culture of Brazil pretty well. Who knows, maybe this song will be as popular as the 2010 World Cup un-official song “Wavin’ Flag” by K’Naan or the official hit “This Time for Africa (Waka Waka)” by Shakira, which amassed over 600 million views on YouTube.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/10749628/Today-on-YouTube-Fifa-release-official-World-Cup-song-We-Are-One-Ole-Ola.-Does-it-get-your-vote.html

Pacesetter Soccer Club, based in Sylvania, Ohio, has entered into a partnership with Aston Villa of the English Premier League. Pacesetter, a premier club founded in 1980, has experienced great success in the Midwest and throughout the United States. This partnership originated last spring, as Aston Villa sponsored the brand new Pacesetter Super 20 Team, a team which features former Toledo high school standouts, and reached the national championship of the Super 20 League.

The partnership will serve as a potential scouting network between top American players and Aston Villa. Jimmy Walker, the executive director of coaching at Pacesetter, and a former Villa player, is very excited about the announcement. “The academy in Aston Villa is rated as one of the top five in the world for producing young players,” he stated. “This year we talked about the whole club being a partner. It’s a bigger move for the club.”

Pacesetter plans to take two teams to Birmingham, England this summer, where Aston Villa is based.

http://www.bcsn.tv/news_article/show/373560?referral=rss&referrer_id=986280

Mexican League team Puebla has stirred up a bit of controversy with Jurgen Klinsmann and the USMNT for refusing to release Americans DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco for this Wednesday’s USA v. Mexico friendly match in Phoenix. Klinsmann is upset because both the MLS and the majority of clubs in Liga MX honored the idea that both national teams would have access to their domestic-based players for this prestigious friendly match. He is especially irked because Puebla isn’t even competing in the CONCACAF semifinals; several USA and Mexico internationals are competing in these semifinals this Tuesday, and did not receive call-ups for the national game. According to regulations, Puebla is allowed to withhold the players because the game does not fall on an international calendar date. The USMNT will compete with a 20-man roster in the match.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1770053/puebla-refuses-release-damarcus-beasley-michael-orozco-us-mexico-friendly?cc=5901

The Brazilian Football Team may not have been kind to the South African team, but they were extremely welcoming to a young fan of the opposing team. Following a 5-0 beating of S. Africa, a young South African supporter made his way onto the field and approached the Brazilian players. Instead of calling for security, the Brazilian players, led by superstar Neymar, hoisted the boy on their shoulders and paraded him around the field. Neymar even went as far as to post a picture of himself and the young boy on his private Instagram account following the game.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2574147/Brazil-stars-lift-young-South-African-pitch-invader-heartwarming-scenes-win.html

Kofie Sarkodie, a former soccer player at the University of Akron was honored by SportsScience for his ‘Outstanding Reaction’ during a game earlier this year. During a game against D.C. United earlier this season, Sarkodie recorded two goal-line saves within seconds, displaying his outstanding reaction skills. Sarkodie, originally from Huber Heights, Ohio, has also won awards for Defender of the Year, Ironman of the Year and Play of the Year. Sarkodie currently plays for the Houston Dynamo of the MLS and has made appearances for the U!7, U20 and U23 USA National Teams.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/blog/post/2014/02/17/kofi-sarkodie-wins-outstanding-reaction-inaugural-espn-sport-science-awards

Social media has been on the upswing over the past decade, so it will come as no surprise to most that ‘Brazuca,’ the official football of the World Cup has it’s own personal Twitter account. The Twitter account will follow the ball as it travels around the world on it’s journey to the 2014 World Cup Finals. In addition to the social media account for the ball, every baby that was born on 12/3/2013 in Brazil won a free soccer ball, representing the Brazilian notion that “every Brazilian is born with a soccer ball at his or her feet.” The word ‘Brazuca’ is a Brazilian slang term that is often used to represent national pride.

You can follow the ball with the Twitter handle @brazuca.

http://gamedayr.com/sports/brazuca-2014-fifa-world-cup-match-ball-twitter-90830/#

Not only is 2014 a huge year for football players worldwide; two  manufacturers who make up 80% of the market for soccer products are starting to clash for the top position. Adidas, of Germany, and Nike, of the United States are battling for the title of “market leader in the supply of hi-tech boots and jerseys to fans.” Adidas, who has been designing boots since the 1950’s believes that football is their territory, and is hoping to curb the rise of Nike, who has overtaken Adidas in many other sports. For now, it seems as if the football manufacturing giants are even; Adidas designed the ball for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, while Nike won the bid to provide the uniform kits for 10 of the 32 teams, including host Brazil.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/10/us-soccer-world-cup-kit-idUSBREA290ID20140310

With the 25th hat-trick of his young career, Lionel Messi tied and broke the Barcelona all-time scoring record this past weekend. Messi’s record-breaking day led his team to a 7-0 win over Osasuna. His 371 goals with Barcelona put him ahead of Paulino Alcantara, who scored 369 goals in 357 caps for Barcelona during the years 1912-1927. Messi, at age 26, and with just over 400 appearances for the Spanish team, is sure to break many more records in the future.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/16/sport/football/barcelona-milan-messi/

In early February, Swiss voters (by a 50.3% majority vote) passed by referendum a controversial bill to cap immigration quotas on those migrating from the European Union. Many in the EU are extremely upset, as the law potentially opposes laws relating to the EU’s Freedom of Movement.

Mathias Bolton, Senior Coordinator of Commerce at UNI Global Union produced an image illustrating the effect the immigration quotas would have if the Swiss Men’s National Team was unable to select players from immigrant backgrounds. The Swiss team qualified as the number one team in their group for the 2014 World Cup, due to the talent of many immigrant players. How would the team fare if only players of Swiss descent could compete?

http://world.time.com/2014/02/11/switzerland-referendum-immigration-eu-soccer/