FIFA President Sepp Blatter insisted up until last week that there was no alternative to staging the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Then he conceded that he would not be doing his job properly if he didn’t have a Plan B at the back of his drawer. Mark Zeigler has worked out that only two countries — Germany and the United States — would be realistically equipped to step in if next year’s World Cup dry run at the Confederations Cup proves that South Africa is unfit to host.
Germany could click “replay” from the 2006 finals. The U.S. would have 30 NFL stadiums sitting vacant in June, and has proven that it’s the “master of organizing big events, even on short notice.” U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati, however, said he has not been contacted by Blatter about a Plan B, and that he remains supportive of South Africa.
Despite what Zeigler calls “the obvious logistical nightmares” in organizing hotels, transportation and ticket distribution at such short notice, “if the FIFA president calls, you don’t say no. You might bargain for some future concessions — another World Cup, say, in 2022 or 2026 — but you don’t say no.” With ongoing doubts about timely stadium construction in South Africa, as well as anti-foreigner violence, high unemployment, erratic transportation and potential fuel shortages, that call may yet be placed.