A senior German football official is to act as an adviser to South African organisers of the 2010 World Cup amid growing concerns about the state of preparations.
Football's world governing body Fifa yesterday confirmed a German report that Horst R Schmidt, general secretary of the German Football Federation, would help the 2010 organisers with preparations.
Fifa media director Markus Siegler said negotiations were under way to hire Schmidt, who played a key role in the 2006 World Cup planning as senior vice-president of the German organising committee. However, Siegler denied media reports that the first World Cup to be held in Africa could be in danger.
According to yesterday's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 64-year-old Schmidt will lead a "Fifa crisis team to help save the World Cup" in SA. Schmidt told the newspaper he was in talks with Fifa and SA's organising committee, but the exact job description still had to be formalised.
Fifa is concerned about delays in preparations for the event. Fifa president Sepp Blatter said he intended to visit SA soon to urge authorities to speed up building.
Blatter said he wanted to meet President Thabo Mbeki and make an appeal to Parliament "to explain the value of the World Cup and to fire up the organising committee because it's the last moment to start building five stadiums."
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