From the press: The Sphinx may yet have the last laugh

The foreign media have been nit-picking reasons why Egypt is not capable of hosting 2010 -- like no beer-drinking in the streets. After a three-day tour of the country hosted by the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports, British journalist Andrew Warshaw offered his own humorous account in the Sunday Telegraph

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photo: Khaled El-Fiqi

28 March 2004

When FIFA's top brass visited Egypt earlier this year to gauge its credentials for staging the 2010 World Cup, they were told jokingly that the country deserved football's showpiece event because the Sphinx had waited almost 5,000 years. Cynics reacted by suggesting the ancient monument outside Cairo might have to wait another 5,000

The response is not lost on those bidding to upset the odds and clinch victory when the all-important vote on who gets the first World Cup ever to be staged in Africa is taken in mid-May. Egypt may be trailing rivals South Africa and Morocco going into the last six weeks of lobbying but there is growing optimism, unlike last time when government pressure forced the country to withdraw its bid, that the Sphinx may ultimately have the last laugh.

At the headquarters of the Egyptian campaign in downtown Cairo, a noticeboard counts down the days to the crucial vote in Zurich on May 15. While South Africa retains considerable sympathy after missing out so controversially for 2006 and Morocco, backed by its wealthy royal family, is bidding for a record fourth time, neither of these considerations, insist Egyptian officials, is strong enough to clinch victory.

Certainly, Egypt has a number of factors in its favour. In terms of stadiums, arguably the prime requirement for staging the World Cup, the country is arguably in pole position. Because Egypt is hosting the African Cup of Nations in two years time, stadium development is already at an advanced stage.

The country also scores points over its rivals in terms of telecommunications, safety and security and, significantly, is the only African nation to have already staged an official FIFA tournament -- the Under-17 World Cup.

Such is its passion for football, Egypt argues, that every game in 2010 would be keenly supported regardless of which teams are involved, preventing half-empty stadiums.

"We speak the language of football, not the language of politics or the language of money," said bid campaign chief, Hisham Azmy, who is criss-crossing the globe in a tireless final effort to woo FIFA's 24 voting members. "You can have a very successful World Cup by having good transportation and infrastructure but what you need most, above all else, are fans."

However, there are a number of major concerns about their bid, not least of which concerns the question of alcohol. Being a predominantly Muslim nation, many restaurants are "dry", hardly the ideal scenario for European fans who enjoy a very different culture and lifestyle.

Egyptian officials are playing down such concerns but the reaction of England supporters discovering they can only quench their thirst with non-alcoholic beer or a fruit juice cocktail is a somewhat scary prospect.