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Blatter backs SA Olympic bid |
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has added his voice to South Africa’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics and backed the first African World Cup hosts to succeed in staging the global sports showcase.
South African president Jacob Zuma, impressed by the manner in which his country has successfully hosted the World Cup said he would want to see the nation take a step further and seek to host the Olympic Games in 2020.
The 2012 Olympics are scheduled for London in England, while Brazil will stage the Games in 2016.
But Zuma has made it clear he wants South Africa whose city, Cape Town came third in the bid for the 2004 Games, eventually held in Athens, Greece, to put in another bid for the 2020 edition and use their World Cup success story as the basis for that bid.
Now the country has received a huge vote of confidence from World football’s number one man — Blatter — with the Fifa president indicating that he would throw his full weight behind the South Africans’ bid.
No African country has ever hosted the Olympics.
"If a country can organise Fifa’s World Cup, it can also organise the Olympic Games because the Olympic Games are mostly confined in one city.
Blatter said he would "fully support" a South African bid as he praised the World Cup hosts for an outstanding World Cup.
The Fifa boss has already given his resounding thumps up for the World Cup even before English referee Howard Webb blows the final whistle tomorrow night that will also give the competition its eighth winner.
Tomorrow’s game — an all European affair — will also guarantee the World Cup a new winner as neither Spain nor Netherlands had previously won the tournament with the Dutch only ending up as losing finalists in the 1974 and 1978 editions.
"We are not yet at the end but you can see a president who is satisfied.
"Africa can be proud to have organised this World Cup. South Africa can be even higher,’’ said Blatter.
Blatter championed the idea of staging the tournament in Africa and helped stave off doubts and concerns about South Africa’s capacity to stage the tournament.
The Fifa boss looks set to also champion Africa’s bid to host its first Olympics.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said last month he would welcome such a bid and added that he would discuss the issue with Zuma during tomorrow’s World Cup final between Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City.
Rogge was also in South Africa for last month’s World Cup opening ceremony at the same venue.
With London hosting the 2012 Games and Rio de Janeiro the 2016 edition, South Africa could only aim for 2020 and beyond and the port city of Durban has made known its interest in staging the Games.
Given that Cape Town’s bid for the 2004 Olympics, came third behind Athens and Rome South Africa should fancy their chances this time around, what with the World Cup having received thumbs up from across the sporting fraternity.
German legend Franz Beckenbauer yesterday became the latest high profile football personality apart from the Fifa officials to praise the manner in which South Africa has hosted the tournament and said the country has much to be proud of.
"So far it has been a fantastic World Cup. Right now the whole world is watching South Africa and they are doing a great job."
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