OWN CORRESPONDENT, Rabat | Friday 3.00pm.
MOROCCO said on Friday it will not withdraw from the race to host the 2006 World Cup, dashing South Africa’s hopes of a possible deal during a visit at the weekend by South African Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour.
South African officials said on Thursday that Balfour would try to persuade Morocco to pull out of the race, leaving South Africa as the only African candidate.
”Our brotherly South Africans are very welcome to visit us any time they want. But they should not be under any illusion that this means the slightest concession in our campaign to host the 2006 World Cup,” Driss Benhima, vice-president of Morocco’s bid committee, said.
”We have accepted to meet the South African delegation but we really don’t know what the agenda would be,” Benhima said.
It is not the first time Johannesburg has tried to persuade Rabat to withdraw. South Africa has long believed the Moroccan bid has weakened its chances against the three other candidates — Brazil, England and Germany.
Fifa’s 24-man executive committee will meet in Zurich on July 5 and 6 to choose the winner.
Morocco has devoted 50 million dirhams ($4.80 million) to its bidding campaign. Work to expand the North African country’s sports, roads and hotels infrastructure has already started as part of a $560 million plan. — Reuters