2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa to be granted host status, Nelson Mandela had previously spoken of the importance of football in his life, stating that while incarcerated in Robben Island prison playing football "made us feel alive and triumphant despite the situation we found ourselves in". With South Africa winning their bid, an emotional Mandela raised the FIFA World Cup Trophy. During 2006 and 2007, rumours circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country. Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt and, reportedly, some FIFA executives, expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa's
FIFA World Cup Organisers FIFA World Cup Organisers The following were the presidents of the organising committees of the FIFA World Cup, also the presidents of FIFA and the heads of state of the hosting nation included. Besides being the president of FIFA and the French Football Federation, Jules Rimet was also chairman of the organising committee of the 1938 FIFA World Cup. In addition to organising the World Cup that was played in the United States in 1994, Alan Rothenberg had been the organiser of the 1984 Summer Olympics. The 2002 World Cup, which was played in Korea and Japan, was organised for