Ghana pins 2006 World Cup hopes on co-hosting

By Maurice Quansah

ACCRA, March 25 (Reuters) - Ghana's bid to host the 2006 World Cup finals has raised a smile both at home and abroad and although everyone knows it's a non-starter, soccer officials say a tournament run jointly by several African states might be in with a chance of succeeding.

Alhaji Jawula, the chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), accepts that Ghana does not have the capacity to host the World Cup alone, and is lobbying FIFA to back the ``Project Africa 2006'' co-hosting plan.

``Our economy is not sophisticated enough to provide the millions of dollars needed to host such a big event. That is why we came up with the idea of co-hosting,'' Jawula told Reuters.

If other African nations reject the idea, Ghana plans to withdraw its bid and support the nation backed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Officials of CAF helped draw up the co-hosting plan, which would unite South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Tunisia in a bid to bring the World Cup to Africa for the first time. But the rank-and-file membership may have other ideas.

The first five nations listed above have all put in separate bids to host the competition.

CAF also gave something of a helping hand to both Nigeria and Ghana earlier this month when it decided they should co-host the 2000 African Nations Cup in place of Zimbabwe, which failed to meet agreed conditions.

Ghana, traditionally one of Africa's more skilled and colourful sides, have never reached the World Cup finals.

This year the country hosted a successful African Under-20 championship but it lacks a world-class stadium, even though a 100,000-capacity ground is being built in the capital Accra.

Its two existing main stadiums in Accra and the more northerly city of Kumasi were built in the 1950s, although they were renovated and expanded for the youth championship -- but the lack of match venues are just one of the headaches for the World Cup bid.

Privatisation has led to an improvement in the country's telecommunications system, but phoning someone in Ghana even from neighbouring countries can be a nightmare.

The whole country presently boasts just three four-star hotels with capacities ranging from 150 to 220 rooms each.

On the transport front, things have started to look up. With a number of private airlines now complementing the national carrier, Ghana Airways, air transport within Ghana and with the outside world has greatly improved in recent years.

African officials maintain that it is no further to fly to Ghana from Morocco, or from Cameroon to South Africa, than between some United States venues used in the 1994 World Cup.

But the chaos routinely encountered when travelling between African countries makes any pan-African World Cup bid, especially one involving eight states, a virtual non-starter.

Magnus Rex Danquah, the project director for Ghana's bid, argues that, given the huge economic advantage Africa would gain from hosting the World Cup, African governments will cut down on red tape and other irritations.

``We are in constant touch with most African governments and the local and multinational business community who have given us their support, so we have all the goodwill needed,'' he says.

Danquah argues that eight African states lobbying together might have the necessary clout to sway soccer's top officials.

``If we politicise it by going in with a united bid, then it will be impossible for FIFA to overlook Africa this time, especially with FIFA President Sepp Blatter himself insisting that Africa is the logical place for the 2006 edition,'' he adds.

Realistically, of course, the architects of the scheme know they have an impossible task to convince FIFA of the viability of their plan.

But, in the short-term at least, that won't stop them trying.