ERSKINE McCULLOUGH, Zurich | Sunday 6.00pm.
THE battle for the right to host the 2006 Soccer World Cup officially gets underway in Zurich on Monday when the South Africa kicks off the presentations with their 30-minute pitch before Fifa president Sepp Blatter.
Morrocco and England follow as the five bidding coutries formally present their cases to the world governing body. Twenty-four hours later Brazil and Germany complete the campaign launch for the right to the world’s biggest sporting event.
Although there are five entrants, most observers are convinced it will be a three-horse race between South Africa, Germany and England.
Blatter has made no secret of his desire to be the first man to bring the World Cup to Africa and South Africa are banking on former president Nelson Mandela to sway the 24 Fifa executive committee members who will decide the winner next summer.
But South Africa knows it faces a tough task to convince Fifa members that it will be able to meet all the standards set down. Rivals England and Germany are quick to point out the growing crime-rate in South Africa and the economic problems facing the country.
But both are so worried about South Africa that the two nations considered trying to reach a deal with South Africa – to pull out of 2006 and win European support for 2010. South Africa were uninterested and both England and Germany dropped the idea.
But the bitterest battle for 2006 is between the two European giants. German football officials are still smarting over the fact that England even put a bid in. Germany claims there was a gentlemen’s agreement between themselves and English football officials nearly 10 years ago – giving England the European Championships in 1996 and allowing Germany to be the sole European represenatative for 2006.
When England first announced they would go for 2006, officials denied such an agreement ever existed. They have recently been less strident, saying that if such an agreement did exist it had been a mistake.
Morocco’s bid has prevented a united African bid but the Confederation of African Football are still hoping that before next year’s Fifa vote they will be able to present a single candidate. Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt had all announced they would bid for 2006 but after talks with the CAF agreed to withdraw.
Brazil finds itself not only battling the four other candidatures but also the country’s greatest-ever footballer – Pele. Pele refuses to support the Brazil bid, saying that the amount of money needed to bring the stadiums up to standard would be better spent helping the poor in the financially-strapped South American country.
All five countries know that with 12 months to go before the vote anything can happen. This week’s campaign launch is only the start of what will be a rollercoaster 12-month ride – with the winner likely to be in doubt until the final day. — AFP