Franz Beckenbauer, who chaired the organizing committee for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, said Tuesday that preparations for the 2010 tournament in South Africa are running into serious difficulties. He characterized the troubles as broadly African in nature, citing a lack of cooperation among those involved.
Beckenbauer dismissed the idea that Germany could step in as a replacement host, saying other contingency options exist. "These are not South African problems, these are African problems," he said.
The 61-year-old, a World Cup winner as both player and coach, also disclosed that he took a two-month break from football after the tournament ended on 9 July, partly because he had married during the competition. Last week he returned to watching the sport, attending the Hamburg versus Arsenal Champions League match.
He is expected back in his regular seat at Munich's Allianz-Arena on Saturday, where he serves as honorary president of Bayern Munich, for the club's league game against Alemannia Aachen. Beckenbauer also noted plans to seek a position on FIFA's executive committee the following year.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.