The first phase of tickets to be released for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa go on sale February 20th.

In local news, Metro Soccer NY has sent out an important and urgent message about how the City may close all artificial fields.

On Monday morning the City Council of NY is meeting to decide whether it might ban all artificial turf playing surfaces in the city. The exact wording of the bill includes the following

" It shall be unlawful to use crumb rubber or crumb rubber infill for any purpose in any park or for any surface intended for use at any time for recreational purposes within the city of New York. c. All parks or other surfaces intended for use at any time for recreational purposes within the city of New York that presently contain crumb rubber or crumb rubber infill shall be changed within one year from the enactment of this legislation to materials that do not contain crumb rubber or crumb rubber infill. d. For six months following the enactment of this legislation, there shall be no construction or renovation in any park or of any surface intended for use at any time for recreational purposes within the city of New York that utilizes any material made in whole or in part from synthetic or artificial turf."

Please act on this email now by writing to your elected official. it will take you five minutes but could mean saving you or your children's sports programs

In this current climate we know that if this happens there is no money to replace these fields and the consequences will be extreme for all the children and adults who play in the city. We feel these measures are draconian and follow on from a research study in NJ where it found that 2 out of 12 artificial fields had elevated lead levels. 10 out of the 12 were therefore safe and had no lead exposure. The Center for Diesese Control recommends washing hands and clothes after playing and limiting six year olds and younger from playing. Our elected officials however, seem to have decided to stop everyone from even playing on these fields.