Lack of Respect for Africa
Saturday, February 13, 2010
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has hit out at the critics who have commented on the security situation in South Africa, claiming that they have a lack of respect for Africa as a continent.
Blatter has made it clear that he believes Europe to be part of "the Old World" of prejudice as concerns over security and high travel and hotel costs become ever more apparent in the media.
"Every year 11 million tourists go to South Africa and nobody says they should not go there," he said. "It's a kind of anti-Africa prejudice. I think there is still in the so-called Old World a feeling that 'why the hell should Africa organise a World Cup'.''
Blatter also maintained that Europe is responsible for taking the best players out of the continent and blamed a lack of respect.
''Colonialists over the past 100 years have gone to Africa and taken out all the best things - and now they are taking all the best footballers. There's no respect," he added.
Some senior figures in the game have spoken out about South Africa's security concerns, with Uli Hoeness, the president of Bayern Munich, claiming the decision to give South Africa the World Cup was "the biggest wrong decision" FIFA has made and Phil Brown, the Hull City manager, stating that the terrorist attack on the Togo team put a question mark against this summer's finals.
However, Blatter said: "It is a nonsense to combine what has happened in Angola, a terrorist attack for political reasons, and mix it up with the World Cup in South Africa."
FIFA are concerned that the latest batch of 400,000 tickets, which are now on sale, will not all be claimed as the fears of European hard-core football fans over safety and costs grow. {# }
Labels: FIFA, South Africa
posted @ 11:00 AM,
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