MIKE COLLETT, Tokyo | Tuesday 1.00pm.
CRICITCS of South Africa’s bid to stage the 2006 World Cup are making too much fuss over the country’s crime statistics, campaign officials said on Tuesday.
Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the South African bid, told reporters: ”Our opponents are clutching at straws in their efforts to undermine our campaign — and this is the only straw they have. But the figures they quote do not represent the truth… (they) are not an accurate reflection of South African society.
”If you walk down the street of any major city in the world in the early hours of the morning flashing your jewellery, you are likely to get yourself attacked. That is not just unique to South Africa.”
Krish Mackerdhuj, the South African ambassador to Japan, and the former president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, said he could not understand why so much was being made of South Africa’s crime statistics in relation to the 2006 bid, when it was not an issue when the 2003 Cricket World Cup was awarded to South Africa.
”I was involved in the discussions to award the cricket World Cup to South Africa and the security situation was not an issue. Why should it be such an issue in the build-up to the World Cup?”
South Africa has four rivals for the 2006 tournament — Brazil, England, Germany and Morocco.
The South African bid was boosted on Monday when Brazilian soccer legend Pele reiterated his support for the campaign, saying it was Africa’s turn to stage the event.
On Tuesday, Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who was elected on a platform of supporting South Africa’s bid as long as they met all of Fifa’s conditions for hosting the tournament, said he still supported it, but was remaining neutral in the run-up to the vote by Fifa’s Executive Committee on July 5 and 6 next year.
Fifa agreed on Tuesday to use an elimination-style vote to decide the host nation if one candidate did not get an absolute majority on the first vote. With 24 members voting, the winning bid needs to collect 13 votes. If that does not happen on the first ballot, the country polling the fewest votes will be eliminated until one country triumphs. — Reuters