FIFA making enemies at World Cup in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - While the majority of South Africans, as well as invading soccer fans, are oblivious to the minority's growing frustration, there is a definite undercurrent of anti-FIFA sentiment.

And it seems to be spreading.

South Africans are discouraged by FIFA's "domination of the country," its "draconian branding rules," and the "mafia-like control of the country's public space" - this according to the Mail & Guardian, a Johannesburg newspaper.

Earlier this week, police detained a group of Netherlands fans, all women, for "ambush marketing." The women wore orange minidresses that, if you looked closely enough, featured tiny Bavaria beer labels. The brand was "an unlicensed beer brand."

This incident led a Cape Town-based artist to produce, and sell at no profit, 120 T-shirts emblazoned with an insult directed at FIFA using transposed vowels.

In increasing numbers, local newspaper columnists and protesters are speaking out against FIFA and the World Cup, which has cost South Africa a reported $4.3 billion in preparations.

None of the aforementioned political sentiments spilled over into Friday's clash between the United States and Slovenia. The stadium, Ellis Park in Johannesburg, was dominated by the red, white, and blue. About 30 minutes before the game, a wandering camera spotted a U.S. supporter holding a sign that read, "Where is the quarterback?"

The North Korean team has been the most secretive of all the World Cup teams, which was expected given the team's secretive homeland. Per FIFA rules - and not even an intensely Communist regime can circumvent those - North Korea must hold a pre-match day press conference.

Even those press conferences are difficult to navigate. When addressing North Korea, one must avoid saying "North Korea," one must say only "Chosun" or "Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

When one unfortunate journalist mistakenly addressed the country as North Korea, the team's coach Kim Jong-Hun sternly reprimanded, "there's no such country called North Korea. Only the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

Ah, the democracy is overwhelming.

The South African police went on "football hooligan alert" before Friday's match between England and Algeria in Cape Town. The match was labeled "high risk" because the English are known for hooliganism, a.k.a. drinking too much beer and becoming a little too involved in the match's outcome.

Nearly 30,000 English supporters were expected in Cape Town.

"South African police have identified the potential for sets of fans to get a bit boisterous," English Chief Superintendent Dave Lewis, commander of the British police contingent traveling with the team, told reporters. "They have a plan to separate them out."

Late word out of Cape Town indicated that English fans were drinking amicably with their Algerian counterparts, despite the match's nil-nil outcome.

The World Cup courts, set up throughout South Africa, convicted a Nigerian man on charges of fraud; he was sentenced to three years in prison. The man was found in possession of 30 stolen World Cup tickets.

After Friday's 2-2 tie between Slovenia and the U.S., midfielder Landon Donovan repeatedly used the phrase "American spirit," which led to much eye-rolling in the post-match press area.