Adam Hofstetter: American’s don’t care about World Cup (Sports Illustrated)
When Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology announced that final exams would be given June 3-29, hundreds of students stormed the vice-chancellor’s office in an attempt to have finals postponed for a month so that they don’t coincide with the World Cup. And the Bangladesh soccer team isn’t even in the tournament.

2006 World Cup Preview: Where in the World? (Sports Illustrated)
In early 1999, during the bleak days following its last-place finish in World Cup ‘98, U.S. Soccer began a grand experiment. Wanting to close the gap with the rest of the world, the federation invited the nation’s top 20 players under 17 to move to Bradenton, Fla., where they would train and take high school classes in a full-time residency program at the IMG sports academy founded by tennis guru

Soccer-World-Unofficial World Cup goods can damage your health (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
People buying unofficial World Cup merchandise risk possible illness, injury or even death, top customs officials said on Tuesday.

‘F-word’ banned in World Cup-free hotel (SABC News)
A British hotel is offering football-free breaks for “soccer widows” desperate to escape wall-to-wall coverage of the World Cup. Any guest who overhears a member of staff mentioning the f-word, “football”, will be given a free glass of champagne.