All photos from African Arenas © Thomas Hoeffgen

At this stage of the tournament, with so many favored teams crashing out (see yesterday’s Brazil v. Holland shock) and with the hopes of entire continents dashed by the sporting fates (poor Ghana! perfidious Suárez!) it may be time for a reminder that the World Cup is, after all, about football. At the heart of the carefully managed fanfare of this four-yearly feast is a simple game, played with no more than a ball and a set of posts. A new book by photographer Thomas Hoeffgen, African Arenas, captures just that pared-down beauty of the game…

Continue reading...

Ahhh.. the good life! Not only is it World Cup time, summer is also in full-swing (at least, in our neck of the woods), making these Havaianas just the perfect thing to complete that head-to-toe hooligan look you’ve been going for. The Brazilian beach shoe legend launched their first World Cup flip-flop for the ‘98 series which, with the little Brazilian flag on the strap…

Continue reading...

My voice is hoarse from a week and a half now of hooting and hollering at the television screen, I wish more than anything that my beloved French were still dancing the the ball across the pitch and into the net as was the norm in their heyday (I think I might be going with my Dutch roots for this round of World Cupping), and I feel a wee bit of childish glee when those vuvuzela drown out all other sounds from the South African stadiums. Yep. It’s here. I have it. The FIFA fever!!

Clockwise from top left: Freitag F74 Bob Bag, Eding:Post’s Picnica bunny bag, Magno Design radio, Resource Revival bottle opener, Fernando and Humberto Campana’s TransNeomatic Bowl, and Esque Studio’s Recycled Glass Slump Vases… More after the jump!