Soccer: Fifa dribbles towards Cup change

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Charlie Dempsey's controversial non-vote in the World Cup lottery may have unwittingly spelt the end to the horse-trading which has long been an acrimonious part of the world's biggest sporting tournament.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter, taking time out from a personal attack on Dempsey, said: "We now have the evidence that it is time to rotate the World Cup."

He went on to propose that Fifa's constitution should be amended to allow soccer's six regional confederations to take turns in hosting football's greatest spectacle.

"There is a lot of work to be done in the four years before the nomination of the hosts of the 2010 World Cup," he said.

Nine of the 16 World Cup finals - since the first in Uruguay in 1930 - have been held in Europe, and the 2006 finals in Germany will stretch it to 10. Allowing this, it could be many years before the event returns to that confederation. If the 2002 Cup, to be jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea in a first for Asia, is to become the starting point in Blatter's rotation plans, the World Cup would not return to Europe until 2030.

Given the push for South Africa as the 2010 hosts - which would see Africa as the third confederation on the rotation - Oceania could then vie for the 2014 tournament with South America and the North/Central Americas.

European president Lennart Johansson, a long-time Blatter adversary, said he would favour an African host in 2010 if a rotation system was introduced.

The first shots on the future of the World Cup will be fired at the Fifa executive meeting in Zurich on August 3 in the form of an open discussion.

Blatter is determined that if a rotation format is introduced, the number of bidding countries in each confederation is limited. He is also suggesting that the hosts of successive World Cups be selected at the same time.

Despite the setback in seeing South Africa pushed aside by the Germans in the 2006 race, Blatter has no intention of giving away control of Fifa and will seek re-election in 2002.

"I have conceded a goal," he said. "Now it is up to me to equalise and score a winner."

On Dempsey, Blatter said: "He had the right to abstain, even though I regret the fact he did. Instead of shouting from the rooftops that he had abstained, he could at least have gone into the voting booth and spoiled his ballot paper."

In a dismissive postscript to Dempsey's subsequent decision to retire, Blatter said: "His future does not concern me."

The Oceania Football Confederation executive will continue the meeting they started in Auckland last Sunday in Sydney on July 22. It seems certain Blatter's rotation plans will be discussed and given at least tentative approval.