Blatter Admits 'Plan B' For 2010 World Cup

• AFP, Monday, June 30, 2008 1:15 PM

FIFA President Sepp Blatter admitted Sunday that he has a "Plan B" should South Africa be unable to host the 2010 World Cup, "but it will only be used if a disaster makes holding the tournament impossible there."
 
Speaking in Vienna before the Euro 2008 final, Blatter said he would be "negligent as president if I did not have a Plan B tucked away at the back of a drawer." But pushing aside doubts about security in the country and possible delays over stadium construction, he said that only a natural disaster would cause it to be activated.
 
"If we had to activate the Plan B, we would do it after the Confederations Cup," said Blatter, although presumably he doesn't think that the Confederations Cup, a dry-run tournament in June 2009, could turn into a natural disaster. He also revealed that the Confederations Cup will experiment with six referees, including an official assigned to each penalty area.

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