| South Africa bids to host 2006 World Cup | 
|
South Africa officially launched its bid for the 2006 World Cup finals Monday saying they hoped to benefit from the battle between Germany and England for the right to host the tournament.
South African Football Association president Molefi Oliphant, in the Burkina Faso capital for the AfricanNations Cup, said he was confident his country would be able to present a viable bid and become the first African country to stage the World Cp.
"We have noted the battle between England and Germany and we believe we are a strong third candidate. We are able to offer the same facilities in terms of infra-structure and the same passion for the game," he said.
Oliphant said the campaign would seek strong support from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), who have four members on the FIFA executive, to help them with the bid.
"We have had a chance to address the CAF congress here in Ouagadougou and we received very strong backing," he said.
His secretary-general, Danny Jordaan, said the campaign would be based around the fact that Africa had yet to host a World Cup finals.
"The World Cup belongs to the whole world and Africa also must be given a chance to host the tournament."
Officials said they would soon announce details of their bid organization and the candidate cities for the possible hosting of the competition.
"We stated our intention some time ago to bid for the competition but now we are serving notice that is a very serious bid," Jordaan said.
He admitted that they were still awaiting government support but added: "We don't expect that to be a problem."
South Africa have already received strong backing from outgoing FIFA president Joao Havelange, who has expressed his desire in several recent interviews to see the tournament hosted in Africa.
South Africa are the second African country to bid for the World Cup. Morocco lost out to the United States for the right to host the 1994 finals.
