World Cup Choice at the Finish Line
If the battle to stage the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament were viewed as a 100-meter race, Wednesday marked the point where the would-be winners leaned forward into the tape.
Germany and South Africa were neck and neck entering today’s vote in Zurich, Switzerland, with England and Morocco resigned to the inevitable.
The decision on which nation hosts the 18th edition of the quadrennial world championship could come down to only one or two votes among 24 FIFA executive committee members. It’s that close.
On Wednesday, the four candidates each made impassioned pleas to be awarded the event, trotting out unlikely casts of characters that ranged from Boris Becker to Tony Blair, from Nelson Mandela to Claudia Schiffer.
Giving South Africa the tournament would “fulfill not only my own dreams but also those of the entire nation,” Mandela, the nation’s 81-year-old former president, said.
This morning, the committee will select the host nation.
Morocco’s closing argument centered on the country’s safety for visitors--a not-so-subtle reminder of South Africa’s burgeoning crime statistics--and its proximity to Europe.
“Morocco claims the right for it--and through it for Africa--to hold the finals of this major event,” said Ahmed Moussaoui, Morocco’s sports minister.
Two-time World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer made Germany’s presentation, using German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, former Wimbledon tennis champion Becker and model Schiffer merely as set decoration.
“Beckenbauer told me that sometimes, it’s much better not to say anything,” Schroeder said. “I didn’t take it personally, but there is some truth in it.”
Said Beckenbauer: “We had it [the World Cup] in 1974, but that was a different Germany. We were a divided country then. Now we’re unified and everybody will be able to come.”
In a presentation reported to be upbeat and flawless, during which he addressed executive committee members by name, Beckenbauer also screened a film that showed children kicking a soccer ball through a wall, a reference to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
He drew widespread laughter when he walked onto the stage carrying a piece of turf with a soccer ball resting on it.
“This is a bit of the pitch of Munich’s Olympic stadium and it’s on this that the kickoff of the 2006 World Cup in Germany would be made,” he said. “I have to give it back because Bayern Munich need it to start the new season.”
England’s hopes have been scuttled by fan hooliganism, but that did not prevent 1966 World Cup star Bobby Charlton from making a final plea.
“Think about the passion, the atmosphere, the superb stadiums and facilities that are already there,” he told executive committee members. “You have seen it all for yourselves.
“I have been part of English football for more than 50 years, and I can tell you that we have never been better placed to offer you, FIFA, a World Cup that will be a true attraction and that will be safe for everyone.”
Blair, the British Prime Minister, pledged government support for the tournament in a videotaped message, but the general mood in the English camp was said to be downcast.
“This is no fun whatsoever,” one member said. “It is not a nice experience coming here and knowing what the inevitable outcome is going to be tomorrow.”
For Germany and South Africa, it is not at all inevitable. The race is too close to call.
“Once the early rounds are over and England and Morocco are eliminated, the votes of two executive members in particular have been identified as being absolutely vital,” one FIFA official told Reuters.
“The leaders of both bids know who those members are and, depending on how they vote, the outcome will be determined.”
While Germany’s bid has rested on the country’s unquestioned and proven ability to stage the world’s largest single-sport event, South Africa’s challenge has been based on emotion and the concept of fair play.
“There are people lighting candles of hope all over South Africa as we speak, praying that you award the World Cup to a continent that has yet to host football’s most prestigious event,” Irvin Khoza, chairman of the South African bid, told FIFA.
Danny Jordaan, the South African bid’s chief executive, was equally eloquent.
“There are 45 million people in South Africa and 400 million people on the continent who want the World Cup and are asking you to hear their call,” he said.
“FIFA is a ship designed to sail to all nations on earth and Africa hopes that after 100 years, we will be the next port of call.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
