World Cup 2006

[TommyBB]

As of today, we're 36 days away from the start of Germany 2006

In the latest news besides teams being named you have THIS.

Poland’s thugs plan Hooligan League

Remember everyone bashes the English, who HAVE earned their reputation, but they're not the only ones.

POLISH football fans intent on disrupting this summer’s World Cup with organised fights are planning to establish a “hooligan league” which will be headed by the most violent thugs.

The Polish fans, many of whom will be armed with knives, axes and 3ft truncheons, are preparing for battles with fans from rival countries, including England, throughout the five weeks of the tournament in Germany.

They say they will be seeking “pre-arranged fights” with travelling England fans because of their reputation as “the best of the worst”. One group of Polish hooligans has warned that if the English “ignore invitations to fight, they will be attacked anyway”. ...

**SNIP**

Polish hooligans interviewed about their plans boast that they will be able to slip across the border into Germany without being detected. They talk of night-time raids on the campsites where many of England’s 80,000 to 100,000 travelling supporters expect to stay.

Although few of the 2,000-2,500 hard-core Polish hooligans have tickets for matches, they plan to organise fights away from stadiums where they will not be monitored by CCTV and a huge German police operation.

The shocking level of violence at Polish football matches is far worse than that seen during the dark days of the 1980s in Britain. Virtually every professional club has developed a fan base rooted in hooliganism. In Krakow eight fans have been stabbed to death in the past 12 months.

At a clash in Warsaw between Polonia and Legia a fortnight ago, more than 1,300 riot police armed with backpacks of CS gas and carrying rifles loaded with rubber bullets failed to contain a crowd of 3,000 fans.

Instead of keeping rival supporters apart after the game, the police shepherded them away from the football ground and into the city centre, where running battles followed. ...

Don't forget the prostitution angle, too. The German government has ordered these little temporary single-car garages for drive-in prostitution. Those articles have been in the news for months.