OWN CORRESPONDENT, Rio de Janeiro | Thursday 9.00am.
SOUTH Africa will present its bid to stage the 2006 World Cup to the African Soccer Confederation (CAF) executive in Cairo on Sunday, a South African diplomat said.
He said FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who has repeatedly urged that the event go to an African country if it was able to meet all of FIFA’s strict criteria regarding telecommunications, security and infrastructure, would also be present at the CAF executive session.
A team led by Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the committee that has put together South Africa’s $20 million proposal for the World Cup, will argue that other contenders should step down to allow a unified bid that would improve the continent’s chances of hosting the finals for the first time.
Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria have already dropped out of the race, but Morocco are still in contention against non-African bidders Brazil, England and Germany.
Morocco, who have twice unsuccessfully bid for the World Cup in the past, are not expected to address CAF with their proposed bid at the weekend.
All bids have to be with FIFA, world soccer’s ruling body by the end of next month. The decision on where the finals will be held in 2006 will be taken by FIFA’s 24-man executive committee in March next year.
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SOUTH Africa’s bid to host the 2006 World Cup received an unexpected boost from soccer great Pele, who renewed his attack on Brazil’s bid on Wednesday, claiming the president of the country’s football federation was talking nonsense.
”The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) can’t keep on talking nonsense. He has to work for the benefit of sport,” said Pele, who last week said he wanted no part of the Brazil bid.
”If we had a project that was transparent and everything was being done in the open, then that would be okay. But we don’t have any of this,” he said.
”Brazil has not got any stadium, any pitch, which is apt to stage a World Cup match or meet the conditions set down by FIFA,” added Pele, who was speaking at the training ground of Santos, the club where he spent 17 years of his illustrious career.
”It’s time to stop deceiving the people.”
Pele began his attack in Barcelona last week, shortly before the European Cup final. He described it as a lost cause and a waste of money and accused bid organisers of wanting ”to get some money without doing much work for it.”
CBF president Ricardo Teixeira said at the time that he deplored Pele’s comments and claimed the World Cup, if held in Latin America’s largest country, would generate jobs, stimulate stadium modernisation and increase tourism.
”All sportsmen and Brazilians in general wish for the staging of the 2006 World Cup in Brazil,” Teixeira said in a statement. Reuters