Morocco's bid to host World Cup, first class, says consultant
Morocco, Sports, 9/26/2003

Morocco's candidacy to host the 2010 world soccer Cup Çexceeds all the FIFA requirements," said Ian Rothenberg, a consultant for the Kingdom's bid.

"We have put together a first-class bid. It's (Morocco) a stable country where four million people cross to Europe by ferry every year. There are stadiums in place and three others are under construction. It's really a spectacular country", he told the New York Times.

Rothenberg, a lawyer from Los Angeles who managed the soccer tournament at the 1984 Olympics and the 1994 World Cup in the United States and was one of the founders of Major League Soccer, was speaking in a telephone interview after the United States-Sweden Women's World Cup match on Sunday in Washington.

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, has said the World Cup will be awarded to an African nation. Six countries in Africa (Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Libya, Egypt and Tunisia) plan to send their representatives to Zurich next Tuesday to present their proposals. FIFA is expected to make its decision in May.

South Africa, which lost by one vote to Germany in its bid to be host for the 2006 World Cup, is widely viewed as the front-runner for 2010, but that could change, according to the New York Times which noted that Libya and Tunisia are considering a joint bid, but Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, has said that difficulties at last year's World Cup in South Korea and Japan rule that out.

The newspaper also recalled that two top FIFA officials - Michel Platini of France and Angel Villar Llona of Spain - are believed to favor Morocco because it is close to southern Europe.

This will be the fourth time Morocco is willing to play host for the most popular sports event in the world.

After three unsuccessful bids, Morocco has now embarked on a nationwide awareness campaign to mobilize all Moroccans to show to FIFA, as the president of the Moroccan committee in charge of promoting Morocco's bid, Saad Kettani put it, that this project is "carried " by the whole Moroccan people.

An Advertisement campaign on TV and radio and billboards will be launched shortly with as a slogan "we can if we want" with the participation of the three Moroccan sport stars Salaheddine Bassir (international footballer), Younes El Aynaoui (tennis man) and Hicham El Guerrouj (four time world record holder in 1500m race).

Kettani, who pledged that more stadiums will be built in Morocco, said during a press conference Wednesday in Casablanca that "Morocco's chances are serious and we have a solid case."

Previous Stories:
  Morocco's El Khattabi 2nd in philadephia semi-maraton   (9/23/2003)
  Morocco on the right path for the World Cup Organization, CONCACAF chairman   (9/11/2003)
  Morocco moves forward in FIFA ranking   (6/26/2003)
  Football: Morocco expresses intention to bid for 2010 world cup   (11/21/2002)

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