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South Africa will “definitely” host the 2010 World Cup, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has confirmed.
Last week, Blatter revealed that contingency plans were in place in the the event of South Africa being unable to host the finals. But he dismissed concerns about moving the finals when he met with delegates at the Asian Football Confederation’s congress.
“I can tell you that if there is no catastrophe which is a natural catastrophe, then the World Cup 2010 will definitely be organized and played in South Africa,” he said.
In an earlier BBC interview, Blatter said “we definitely must have a possibility to go somewhere else.”
He had listed the United States, England, Japan, Spain, Mexico and Australia as potential alternatives.
FIFA would “always have contingency plans somewhere … but the World Cup 2010 will not be taken away from South Africa,” he explained Tuesday. “This is my last statement on that.”
South Africa has faced problems in overhauling its outdated infrastructure and there have also been concerns that the stadiums will not be ready in time for the finals. However, organisers have consistently insisted that they were ahead of schedule.
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