Fears that Morocco bid is gaining edge May 13, 2004
By Staff Reporter
Although South Africa holds the sentimental high ground ahead of Saturday's World Cup winning bid announcement, the skulduggery has started and those supporting Morocco seem to have the edge.
A leaked report allegedly favouring the kingdom was published in a Moroccan newspaper yesterday but immediately denied by the sport's world governing body, Fifa.
The bombshell came as bid chief Danny Jordaan led his team into Zurich today and immediately plunged into a series of meetings.
A group of 24 Fifa delegates will decide in Zurich on Saturday who will host the event, with the winning country needing to secure at least 13 votes.
Lobbying has been intense and, in the past six months, two men whose backing South Africa was assured of are now hedging their votes.
Botswana's Ismail Bhamjee, who was born in South Africa, has indicated a change of mind after the SA Football Association refused to back his bid to become Confederation of African Football president.
At the same time, key voter Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago is not "100%" behind SA's bid.
This is despite Warner's being wined and dined by the SA bid company for the past couple of years. He wields immense power in the central American region, and if he backs Morocco, American Chuck Blazer and Costa Rica's Isaac Sasso-Sasso will follow.
Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are also in the running to host the tournament in 2010, although only Egypt has an outside chance of causing an upset in the voting, which will certainly go to a second round in Zurich on Saturday.
Morocco's al-Mountakab newspaper quoted what it said was a leaked report that there was little separating South Africa and Morocco on transport, communications facilities and hotels.
But it noted Morocco scored above SA and Egypt when it came to finance, health and security.
John Schumacher, Fifa's media officer, said: "There is only one report and that appeared on our website last week." That report gave SA an "excellent" rating while Morocco received a "very good" mark.
Danny Jordaan and his bid team swept into Zurich this morning to pave the way for South Africa's high-powered presentation group tomorrow.
Jordaan walked straight into a meeting when he landed - the first of many that the chief executive will have over the next few days as he seeks to sway vital votes South Africa's way. Many of those will be informal, though the rehearsal for the presentation will be deadly serious.
It was scheduled for 5pm, the same time South Africa is scheduled to speak tomorrow.
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