Rude shock awaits Odegbami in Ghana

A rude shock may be in the offing for members of Nigeria 2010 World Cup bid committee when they arrive Ghana, today, to convince them on co-hosting the World Cup with Nigeria and four other countries. With criticisms mounting on the genuine bid for the World Cup which Nigeria is championing, some of the countries have expressed doubt over the success of the bid that includes Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cameroon.

In a phone-in radio programme on Ghana Radio monitored in Lagos, the Ghanaians were unanimous in their resentment of the idea of bidding for the 2010 World Cup but averred that if Nigeria could build stadiums for them, they may go along with them.

?We?re not ready to host a big event like the World Cup. We should not make mockery of ourselves?, one of the callers bluntly said. Another caller citing statements credited to their idol soccer ambassador, Abedi Ayew Pele, said that South Africa was in a better position to carry Africa?s cross in the bid and should be supported rather than been distracted by unserious bids by other sister African countries. One other interesting contribution from one of the callers was his opinion that Ghanaians should not condemn Nigeria for carrying Ghana along in the bid. He stated that the bid might turn out to be a good omen for them if the Nigerians decide to build stadiums for them to convince FIFA that they were serious with their bids.

?We?re not over ambitious because we know that we don?t have the wherewithal to host the World Cup. But who knows, Nigeria might decide to build new stadiums for the other countries to go along with them,? he emphasised. The Nigerian World Cup bid led by soccer ambassador, Segun Odegbami, are expected to meet with Ghana Football Association as well as their administrators today to garner support for the World Cup bid which is fast losing steam even among the co-bid countries.

Togo and Cameroon had first threw sour grapes on the bid which is anchored by Nigeria. South Africa came so close to grabbing the hosting of the 2006 World Cup but lost by one vote to Germany. The South Africans are favoured for the 2010 because of their facilities.