Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Jun 24, 2008 13:29:48 GMT -1
South Africa organising chief Dr Danny Jordaan says England must qualify for the next World Cup to boost their bid to host the 2018 event
Jordaan, chief executive officer for the 2010 organising committee, wants Fabio Capello's men to qualify to boost revenues - and believes it would also help the Football Association in the bid process.
Jordaan said: "England must keep a high profile given the fact they are making a bid for the 2018 World Cup, so they cannot miss 2010.
"They have to remain on the top of the minds of the global football discussions, so 2010 is important for England not just for the fans but also their campaign. They must work hard to qualify.
"In terms of why England should host it, it must be the pedigree of English football. You have the Premier League being the best league in the world and the England team not being one of the best."
Unlike England, Jordaan has been at Euro 2008 and has insisted that South Africa are on track with preparations for the World Cup.
Also in the Austrian capital was George Weah, who helped take the world's biggest tournament to Africa. Jordaan feels England must have the same strategy and use the profile of David Beckham.
He added: "Beckham is one of the players with the highest profile and can contribute. People want to associate their event with high-profile individuals and Beckham fits the bill."
Jordaan added that there are no fears of hooliganism if England do make it to South Africa.
He said: "If you look at the last two World Cups, you see less and less of that kind of thing. The last one you think about is in 2000 in Belgium but since then they have been reasonably well behaved.
"It's very important that you have teams with a high profile at the World Cup. England took 110,000 to Germany, that is quite a high number and teams like that are a must-have.
"Not only the numbers, those fans bring a special dimension to the event. I hope under Capello that England can qualify for 2010.
"(FIFA president) Sepp Blatter's own understanding is that not enough of the England players are getting opportunities in the domestic league which is why he is proposing the 'six-plus-five' (ruling on the number of overseas players per team)."
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South Africa qualified for the last world cup didn't they....
.... and you've spelt your name wrong!
