Plenty of promises, with broken hearts to follow (Feature)

By Peter Auf der Heyde Dec 1, 2010, 18:21 GMT

Zurich - South Korea offered the prospect of peace, Australia had glamour, the US promised even more revenue, Qatar will control the weather in their stadiums and Japan had the star of the occasion.

For the five bidding countries for the 2022 World Cup, Wednesday was all-important as they made their final presentations to the FIFA executive ahead of Thursday's vote to decide the host for the 2018 and 2022 events.

Japan, who are considered rank outsiders and are given virtually no hope of hosting the finals for the second time since 2002, when they were joint-hosts with South Korea, managed to overcome some of the limitations in their bid with a surprisingly confident, sweet and energetic eight-year-old Rio Sasaki, who started off their bid.

She told the audience that her father was a football fan. 'I was born in 2000 and I have a dream that I want to see the World Cup in my country when I am 22.'

The youngster rounded off the presentations that had begun in the early afternoon with supermodel Elle Macpherson, who added some glamour to the Australian bid.

Their presentation also featured a somewhat humorous video showing a cartoon kangaroo stealing the actual World Cup from the FIFA offices.

Both Qatar and the US highlighted the possibility of making even more money for FIFA, which is probably the best selling-point that anybody can make to world football's controlling body.

The Qatar presentation also addressed the question of the heat in the Middle Eastern country, which reaches well over 30 degrees in June and July, when the World Cup is played.

Not to worry, said the Qatar delegation. The government of the oil rich country has promised to make four billion dollars available to build the necessary stadiums - which will be air-conditioned.

And, as a bonus on top, and realizing that a country like Qatar does not need nine World Cup-class stadiums, they promised FIFA that after the World Cup they will dismantle the stadiums and send them into the developing world, turning them into 22 new stadiums in developing countries.

South Korea, which has just recently been in the news after an attack from North Korea left four people dead, played their trump card when they suggested that holding the World Cup in their country would help bring about peace and unity.

Chung Mong Joon, a vice-president of the ruling body FIFA made a passionate plea to his fellow committee members. 'We need the help from the international football community to achieve peace. You have seen the power and might of football many times. Football is an ambassador of peace, and that is needed on the Korean peninsula.'

However, notwithstanding the glamour of Macpherson, the promise of money and air-conditioned stadiums, of prospect of peace and unity between the two Koreas and the pleadings of a sweet eight-year-old, it seems unlikely that any of the 22 executive members who are allowed to vote on Thursday will be swayed by the presentations.

Thus the only thing that the five bidding countries will have to show for their efforts is a certificate handed to them at the end of their presentations by FIFA president Joseph Blatter confirming their participation in the bid process.

On Thursday, one of the five will be chosen as the host for the 2022 World Cup. For the other four, all that will remain are the certificate, broken hearts and presumably some tears.

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