The kingmakers

When FIFA's five-man inspection team touches ground in Cairo on 23 January, Egypt's bid to host the 2010 World Cup -- until now the stuff of dry stadium designs and international flag-waving -- will surge into frenzied life. Endless months of preparations, assessments, promotions and enthusiasm will boil down to the week in which this team of varied experts will spend combing the country, scrutinising its sporting facilities, hotels, hospitals and a host of other qualifications crucial to a World Cup bid. Everything -- from the spirit of the people, to the roads we drive on and the quality of the air we breathe -- will be under examination, as the eyes and ears of the world's football megalith assess Egypt's ability to host one of the premier sporting events.

The 2010 World Cup will be the first on African soil, although former bidders South Africa and Morocco have contested strongly in the past. Predominantly held in Europe and Central and South America, the World Cup was held once in Asia and never in the Middle East or Arab world.

Having received its list of requirements for a World Cup bid on 28 February, Egypt's bid team unpacked the dos and don'ts with the help of French consultants. "The French have experience in bidding and hosting one of the most successful World Cups in 1998," remarks Hisham Azmy, a FIFA advisor and prominent member of the bid team. A sub- committee then evaluated the FIFA requirements, determining what facilities Egypt already has, what can be refurbished and what would need to be built. Egypt then officially threw its hat into the ring on 26 May, telling FIFA it was planning to make a bid.

Presentation is everything, and consultants -- along with old hands at World Cup bids like Azmy -- laboured to make Egypt's bid slick, modern, and comprehensive. That meant designing catchy artwork for the bid logo and packaging it in CDs and a PowerPoint presentation that would not put FIFA officials to sleep. On 30 September, Egypt presented its 30-minute pitch to a panel of FIFA officials in Zurich. Azmy, a veteran of 10 World Cups, notes that a winning presentation not only evinces the zeal of a nation and a readiness to fulfil any requirements, but manages to touch on all the things that people at FIFA "want to hear"; from addressing popular support and highlighting Egypt's unique merits to getting into details of the country's "technical response".

Andreas Herron, spokesman for FIFA at the body's headquarters in Zurich, says that the examination team visits each country to "verify the quality of the bid". Verification means matching the country's facilities to the list of criteria demanded by FIFA: the quality of Egypt's infrastructure -- its stadiums and hotels, its hospitals and transportation, its telecommunications infrastructure and the governmental guarantees being offered. Herron says that the inspection team will then draft a comprehensive report and that this will be the basis on which FIFA's Executive Committee -- the pantheon of the World Cup universe -- will consider each country's bid at a meeting from 14 to 15 May this year.

Foremost among the concerns of FIFA are obviously stadiums -- what already exists and what is being proposed. Almost equally important is ensuring that the country can provide a safe and secure environment. This doesn't just mean policing. It means that the country is adequately healthy -- that there are no health risks, no epidemics and sufficient medical facilities. Also crucial is the country's media readiness; inspectors will investigate media facilities and IT systems. Even if everything is moving smoothly on the ground, Azmy notes, "you have to be able to broadcast it to the world". Egypt, Azmy notes with a hint of satisfaction, is the only African country with two satellites.

Inspectors will have a week -- "150 working hours" underlines Azmy -- to gather as much information as they can. The team will tour the country extensively -- Suez, Port Said, Sharm El-Sheikh, Luxor, to name a few stops. One of Egypt's greatest assets is its position as a huge tourist draw. Sport enthusiasts can visit with their families and witness Egypt's historical sites and seaside resorts. "We are looking at this as a 'cultural event' as well as a 'sporting event'," Azmy says. Temperate weather will also work in Egypt's favour.

While politics cannot be prised from the awarding of the bid, Azmy stresses that at the end of the day, "money talks". FIFA lives off the proceeds of the World Cup in the four years between each event, so staging the event has to bring in enough money to lubricate the extensive activities of the organisation throughout the world. Ultimately, FIFA is looking for a place that will be safe, smoothly run -- and make money. The Executive Committee, says Azmi, is painfully aware of this fact, and will think "10 times" before they make their vote.

On the flip side, the monetary benefits for the host country are without question. Local companies, from Egyptian television, to local newspapers, to the likes of Mercedes Benz and Vodafone, are sponsoring Egypt's bid. Azmy calls them "partners" not "sponsors", because there is a spirit of national pride that plays such a strong role in staging this kind of event. But there is no doubt that the lucrative returns of an Egypt World Cup would be most strongly felt among the country's commercial entities. The job opportunities -- like contracts to build stadiums, set up media facilities and improve transport systems -- are almost innumerable. The influx of tourists will be massive -- and those people, of course, will be eating and drinking and buying up merchandise.

Above this, insists Azmy, is the intangible euphoria that goes with nailing the World Cup bid. People would stand a little taller and start to look at their country with outside eyes. "Money is not everything in a World Cup," says Azmy, likening the project to major national efforts "like Toshka -- or even the Suez Canal".

"This bid is like a football match," concludes Azmi. "And we should play in the fair play spirit. It's possible you will win; it's possible you will lose. It's not always the best team that wins. We know that we've done all that could be done."