You gotta love designers. Tell them that it’s a World Cup year, and they’ll find a myriad of pointless ways to incorporate Joga Bonito into your life. Tell them that the World Cup is being hosted in Africa, however, and all the silliness goes away. They’re going to save the continent through football, dammit, and there’s no stopping them.

That’s not to say all their ideas are condescending, of course. Some, like the soccKet, seem quite useful. Created at Harvard University, the soccKet is basically a football with an inductive coil inside that can build up electricity as it gets kicked around. For many African university students studying on the curb near a street light because they can’t get electricity into their homes, the soccKet could allow them to do their homework under much better conditions.

Then there’s the Swirl (pictured above), which is basically a giant ball that you can fill with water and use to wash your clothes. It comes with handles so that you can roll it to the water, but you can also detach the handles, give it to the kids and let them have a kickabout while they’re doing their laundry. This is also a pretty good idea — right up to the point where one kid says, “Hey, let’s be like Wayne Rooney and practice our headers.”

We’re going to see more of these ideas as the World Cup approaches. Brace yourselves. In the meantime, here are some other football-related goodies from around the web:

• Ben Roethlisberger is expected to be suspended for up to 6 games for code of conduct violations. In other news… hey! It’s Byron Leftwich. [SB Nation]
• Terry Bradshaw’s one-man show is headed to Vegas. Vegas is saved! [Shutdown Corner]
• Joe Nedney takes on a robot in a placekicking contest. You might be surprised at who wins. [Playbook]
• The Australian Football Wars continue apace. This week’s battle front? Televised games on Anzac Day. [Herald Sun]
• Despite the Brisbane Lions roaring (sorry) to a 4-0 start, the life of new Lion Brendan Fevola seems to be going in the other direction. [Herald Sun]
• GolTV HD is coming to DirecTV. Fox Soccer Channel in HD? Not anytime soon, apparently. [EPL Talk]
• Football’s own Devil’s Dictionary. [Left Back in the Changing Room]
• Claudio Reyna is U.S. Soccer’s new Youth Technical Director, but will he address youth soccer’s biggest technical problem? [SignOnSanDiego]
• Is football better off without technology? [The Run of Play]

Finally, if you’re a soccer fan and you’re not reading Zonal Marking, you’re missing out on the best source of tactical analysis on the web. Go bookmark that site right now.