Therein lies the problem for African countries. Preparation and organization has never been our strong point, though the talent continues to roll off the conveyor belt. If we can sort this out within the next few months, Brazil could be the one where we make an impact on the World stage with the proportions of 8 out of 10 on the Richter scale, which would make the world sit up. I just thought I should let everyone know that money should not be an issue here.
FIFA will make $1.5million available for preparation for every team. Teams knocked out in the first round of the tournament are guaranteed prize money of $8million. My only fear is that in a country like Nigeria, the greedy officials would somehow make the money disappear!
IS SEEDING REALLY FAIR?
I have always been of the opinion that seeding at a tournament such as the World Cup is an unfair system and a mechanism to make sure that only certain countries have a fair chance of winning the World Cup. The greatest cup competition at the club level – The English FA Cup appears to me to have the fairest ways of conducting draws. Teams are put into a pot and randomly drawn by individuals. That is what I call the luck of the draw. There is no such thing at the World Cup, with the likes of Germany, Spain, Argentina and Italy being continually seeded. African teams are never going to get a fair shake at the World Cup with this system in place. For me the last genuine and authentic World Cup was the one held in Spain in 1982. Italy won that World Cup by beating Argentina, Brazil, Poland and Germany, having already played Peru, Cameroon and Poland at the group stages. Compare that to the World Cup won by Brazil in 2002. They played Turkey, Costa Rica and China in the group stages before playing England in the Quarter Finals and then Turkey again in the Semi Final. They eventually ended up playing Germany in the finals.
I am sure you get my drift. If not then do you believe that that was the first and only time Brazil have ever played against Germany at a World Cup? FIFA has its hidden agenda. It is my opinion that it is not economically beneficial to them for an African or Asian country to win the World Cup. Lets hope they can be proved wrong one day!