All six national associations that had expressed their preliminary interest in hosting the 2010 World Cup - Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria,
South Africa and Tunisia - have formally confirmed their status as official bidders for FIFA's flagship event, which will be held for the first time in Africa.
The deadline for national associations to formally confirm their intention to stage the world's premier football competition was May 31.
Egypt was the first country to do so, submitting its documentation on May 21, with Morocco following suit on May 25, Nigeria on May 27, and with three nations - Libya, South Africa and Tunisia - all waiting until May 30 to officially
provide their confirmation.
Commented FIFA president Sepp Blatter: "I am thrilled that we have six candidates formally confirmed as official bidders for the 2010 World Cup. As it will be the first FIFA World Cup to be staged in Africa, it will no doubt be a momentous occasion and an exciting tournament."
The six associations now have until September 30 2003 to present their official bid files to the FIFA general secretariat. In the months that
follow, FIFA will inspect each prospective host country and draft a report to be presented to the Executive Committee in April 2004, one month prior to the final designation of the host national association for the 2010 World Cup.
Subscribers can access the results of a special sportbusinss.com poll into the 2010 World Cup and a special feature on South Africa's chances, in the features section.
Six African nations have officially confirmed their intentions to bid to host the soccer World Cup in 2010.
