POSTED: July 2nd 2010
NewsUpdate
South African President Zuma fans Olympic fever for 2020
LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications
TAMPA/PRETORIA, July 2: President Jacob Zuma sat down for an exclusive interview with FIFA to talk about the country’s successful hosting of the World Cup as the event starts to move towards the home stretch.
Zuma says that the successful hosting of the World Cup has opened the doors for other elite level international sporting events and namely fans the fire to the hopes for another African candidature to host the Olympic Games.
He said, “This has proved to the world that we are capable of hosting any international event, we have the resources and infrastructure. People are already talking about a possibility of bidding for major events and we are supporting this. The Olympics are an example, I don’t see why we can’t bid to host the Olympics in the future. It’s important for Africa.”
IOC chief Jacques Rogge will also be over for the final July 11 and even though he does not vote for Olympic bid cities in the capacity of president, he has encouraged an African contender to bid.
In a twist of fate Rome, Italy is the only other city that has shown its cards for a 2020 summer Games bid. Rome and Cape Town went up against each other for the 2004 Games but lost to Athens, Greece. It looks like the 2020 race will be ramping up for some tight competition between the Eternal City and the lure of the first African Games.
Zuma also commented on the legacy of hosting the World Cup, “Firstly, the world is aware that Africa has the capacity to host the World Cup. Everybody has seen that we are equal to the task. It has taken the economic development to a different level. One of the important things for Africa is education and programmes like 1Goal are playing a vital role – that is legacy. This tournament has inspired Africans.”
Durban is set to host the decisive IOC session next July where the 2018 winter Games city will be selected.
Keywords · Jacob Zuma · FIFA World Cup · South Africa · Rome 2020
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