King Mohammed meets FIFA chief
Morocco, Sports, 3/25/2000

King Mohammed VI on friday met in Rabat Sepp Blatter, president of the FIFA (world football governing body).

The king, who was accompanied by his brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, President of the National Committee in charge of promoting Morocco's bid to host the 2006 World Cup, decorated Blatter with the Grand Cordon of the Alawite Wissam.

The FIFA chief said he felt honored to meet King Mohammed VI. "It was a happy opportunity to meet the king again and exchange views in a brotherly atmosphere," he said.

"Today I met again with the king of a great people, who honored with me with this decoration," he added.

Blatter was later a guest at a dinner banquet offered in his honor by Prince Moulay Rachid. On Saturday morning, he visited the Hassan II Grand Mosque of Casablanca.

Blatter arrived Friday in Morocco with head of the African Football Confederation CAF, Issa Hayatou, for a 24-hour visit.

Morocco is campaigning against South Africa, Brazil, England and Germany to host the 2006 World Cup. FIFA will select the host country next July.

The candidate receiving the fewest number of votes in each round of voting for the 2006 World Cup will be dropped from contention until one bid is left with a clear majority, FIFA confirmed on Friday.

If two bids finish a round equal last, a separate vote will be taken to break the deadlock with only one team being dropped.The decision to eliminate one candidate in each round instead of two, was part of the detailed procedure outlined by the FIFA executive committee for the July 6 vote that will decide the host of the world's biggest single-sport competition.

One day before the vote on July 5, the five candidates will make their final pitches to FIFA's 24 voting members and the world governing body's president Sepp Blatter.

Previous Stories:
  FIFA, CAF chiefs in Morocco   (3/22/2000)
  More than 150 European figures back Morocco's World Cup bid   (3/15/2000)
  Belgian-luxemburgian committee to back Morocco's world cup bid   (3/9/2000)

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