INSIDER World Cup Diary - Beckham Takes Centre Stage at FIFA Bidding Expo

(ATR) David Beckham is set to provide a huge boost for the England 2018 World Cup bid when he appears at a bidding expo after today’s 60th FIFA Congress in Sandton.

The England star will be joined by bid CEO Andy Anson, international president David Dein and former South Africa captain Lucas Radebe who is serving as a bid ambassador.

At the previous bidders expo, held in Cape Town last December, Beckham stole the show, grabbing global headlines while other bid teams looked on bemused.

Unlike then, today’s event is closed to the media. Instead the 700 delegates at the FIFA Congress will get their chance to rub shoulders with the football icon. Beckham also has a role on Fabio Capello's England team coaching staff in South Africa.

Each of the nine bidders for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will have a stand at the exhibition where they can present their proposals to FIFA members.

The delegates from FIFA’s 208 member associations are likely to be in fine form after receiving an unprecedented dividend from football’s governing body when its congress convenes earlier in the day.

"Due to a strong financial result, FIFA will announce an extraordinary financial contribution to its members as well as to the confederations," FIFA president Sepp Blatter promises in his introduction to the congress agenda.

Earlier this week, Blatter seemed almost giddy with excitement when hinting at the expected windfall.

The funds are largely distributed via the FIFA Financial Assistance Programme, which is designed to assist associations and confederations to organize development initiatives which strengthen football and its administration.

The grants of several hundred thousand euros are small fry for rich associations, such as those in Europe. But in Asia and Africa they form a crucial part of their income.

Critics of the scheme say that there is a lack of accountability of how the funds are spent and that there is evidence they have been misappropriated by corrupt officials.

Gridlock a "worry" ahead of World Cup opener

One day from the big kick-off, transport uncertainty still abounds, with many football fans unsure of how to get to Johannesburg's Soccer City on match day.

At yesterday’s FIFA press conference, the LOC chief spokesman, Rich Mkhondo, acknowledged that it was a "worry" that the city may experience "gridlock or congestion from 9am until 8pm".

He urged fans to avoid driving and use Johannesburg’s public transport system, which he said was "very good" – not normally a description associated with the city’s trains and municipal buses.

But even so close to the tournament, many locals, visitors and even media are unsure how to get to the venue of the opening ceremony and final, which is around 30km drive from Sandton, Johannesburg’s main hub.

INSIDER quizzed Mkhondo about the transport situation and put forward local concerns at the press conference.

He said there had been a large scalepublicity campaign over the last week, including brochures handed out with newspapers and radio adverts advising on the whereabouts of park and ride schemes.

Asked if there was a website, he said that was the responsibility of the department of transport insisting they had published all the necessary information.

But a quick glance at 2010findyourway.co.za reveals a badly-designed website filled with platitudes about all the host cities ("Johannesburg is a melting pot laced with all the flavours of African cultures and beyond…" etc).

There are no timetables and the free bus service from specified hubs seems to have been reduced to a "metrobus and minibus taxi service".

While those journalists in official press hotels have a timetabled shuttle service, those driving to the stadium from outside Johannesburg are being told to go a day in advance to collect their parking permits – a big ask given the city’s traffic congestion. Nor does it take into account other events, such as the FIFA Congress today, or other matches reporters are likely to attend.

The reality is that no one knows quite what to expect, but chaos seems the most likely outcome for anyone who doesn’t arrive ridiculously early.

Give them their circus, but what about their bread?

The contradictions between South Africa’s horrendous poverty and the billions of rand being spent on the World Cup have been well-documented and widely discussed.

But no one has articulated the contradiction quite so well as the country’s Nobel literature laureate, Nadine Gordimer.

"While there is great excitement about the World Cup, at the same time we’ve got these tremendous difficulties," the 87-year-old said in a rare interview with New Statesman magazine.

"I’m certainly not a killjoy. People need bread and circuses, and this is a big circus. Let it be enjoyed. But what about the bread?"

World Cup in numbers

17 – Players present in South Africa who were at the 1998 World Cup in France, including World Cup winner Thierry Henry. Just two, however, remain from the 1994 finals – South Korea goalkeeper Lee Woon Jae and Cameroon defender Rigobert Song.

Blatter watch

Last night, the FIFA president officially opened the 60th FIFA Congress with a speech at the opening ceremony – incongruously held at the Gallagher Convention Centre, rather than that in Sandton where the convention is being held today.

Blatter was among a number of speakers who included South African president Jacob Zuma, Mayor of Johannesburg Amos Masondo South African Football Association president Kirsten Nematandani,Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou and organising committee chairman Irvin Khoza. Former South African president Nelson Mandela sent a video message.

Zuma, in his address, summed up best what the World Cup symbolises to people on the continent. "FIFA decided that Africa’s time had come and that a nation which was only just emerging from centuries of pain and conflict needed the chance to prove its capabilities."

Weather in Johannesburg/Cape Town

Cloudy with sunny intervals and a maximum of 13°C in Jo'burg. Sunny day forecast with high of 16°C in Cape Town

Withreporting from WFI's European correspondent James Corbett inJohannesburg (james@worldfootballinsider.com)

Yourbest source of news about the global football business is WorldFootball Insider

Get Free WFI newsbulletins

ClickHere