FIFA sets regulations to have stadiums, security levels, and general guidelines to be able to host a World Cup, Will South Africa meet the deadlines? or will FIFA have to reallocate the World Cup to another nation?
215360
Yes, they will do everything in theirpower to meet regulations and even if they come up a little shy, an exception will be made due to the fact that the World Cup has never been played there before
218893
The host counrty gets an automatic bid to compete in the World Cup. They do not have to compete in the qualifying rounds like all the rest of the world, however they still do compete to get more experience as a team to prepare themselves for the competition. Then once all the other countries in the world are done with the qualifying matches, FIFA then does a random drawing of all the qualified teams to determine which county plays who in the group stages of the World Cup.\n\nSome fun facts: Australia has just qualified for the World Cup for the first time in history. And Yes, the World Cup is being hosted in Germany this summer, and no they did not have to qualify, even they would have anyway, cause they are good.
559417
Any autonomous or semi-autonomous entity should be allowed to participate in the world cup as long as they have their own governing body of representation on some level and are registered with FIFA.  \n\nJust ask Puerto Rico (when they used to qualify instead of the USA, that is).
558914
it differs from cup to cup, as does the world's country count.  There is no set amount of slots to participate.  any country may participate and the elimination rounds just keep paring them down like any play-off series.
576157
Well Antartica but no one lives there, my next guess would be Oceania, because yes Australia did qualify but it is now considered to be part of Asia's Confederation (as of the beginning of 2006). It was to late to get another representitive country from Oceania. So for Oceania to really have a represtitive in the World Cup they must wait another 4 years.
411379
South Africa will will the world cup.  It it clear by the way they are beating India now.\n\nxxx
614447
There aren't countries running. South Africa has already been chosen to host the World Cup in 2010. In fact, South America has already been decided to host the 2014 World Cup with Brazil being the frontrunner.
252641
South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup.
628117
Nah. There always seems to be a surprise packet every World Cup. In 2002 it was South Korea, while 1998 had Croatia. Will there be one this time and who? We'll know by July.
137413
I think it's a great decision.  Since the world cup is every 4 years, just because a team was good enough to win the World Cup 4 years ago does not mean they are good enough to even make it past the qualifying round.  Just look at France in 1998 and then in 2002...two completely different teams.  I can see the host country because that's where a lot of your attendance is coming from and you don't want to alienate the citizens of that country.  Good job FIFA!!!
248811
Same place the others went. FIFA yucked it up big-time, and the Germans further complicated it with microchip cards, lotteries for ticket sales and more. Beware of buying from a scalper, you might not get it. There will be plenty of empty seats and lots of fights at the gates thanks to FIFA.
558016
32 nations qualify, with only the host guaranteed to qualify.  FIFA determines the number of qualifying spots for each confederation (for 2006, it was 14 [with the host] for Europe, 4 for South America, 3 for North America, 4 for Asia, and 5 for Africa, with 1 spot contested between the Oceania winner and the 5th South American team, and another contested between the 4th North American team and the fifth Asian team).\n\nEach confederation has a different procedure for qualifying, in terms of how many rounds are played, etc.  South America has one group where all 10 countries play each other twice.  Europe divides into eight groups, with each group winner and the top 2 second place teams qualified, while the other 6 second place teams paired off in home-and-home playoffs to determine the other 3 spots.  Africa had head-to-head playoffs to get down to 30, then had 5 groups of 6, with the winners qualifying.  Asia and North America had several stages of qualifying.
140207
World Cup 2006 starts June, 9th 2006 @ 6:00 p.m. local time in Munich ... can't wait! The opening match will feature hosts Germany v. Costa Rica. \n\nThere will be 32 teams for the 2006 World Cup.  There will be a total of 64 matches, with the champion being crowned at the conclusion of the final that takes place on July 9th @ 8:00 p.m. local time in Berlin.\n\nThere are 5 African nations in the 2006 World Cup.  They are:\nIvory Coast (Cote D'Ivore)\nGhana\nTunisia\nAngola\nTogo\n\nThere are 14 European nations in the 2006 World Cup.  They are:\nGermany (hosts)\nPoland\nEngland\nSweden\nSerbia & Montenegro\nNetherlands\nPortugal\nItaly\nCzech Republic\nCroatia\nFrance\nSwitzerland\nSpain\nUkraine
176048
Nope, and its never going to happen. Maybe if an african coach coaching an African team wins the world cup, it might happen but it is very unlikely.
295543
There are 53 countries in the african federation. 5 countries qualified, 9% of participation.\n\nThere are 10 countries in the south american confederation. 4 countries qualified, 40% of participation (Europe has 27%).\n\nFrom plain proportional representation, south america has the biggest representation, bigger than any other confederation in the world.\n\nI do agree that not a single african country has ever raised the trophy, but I'm sure the qualified teams from that confederation are competitive enough. Remember South America had the chance to send a 5th team to the world cup (Uruguay), they lost against Australia though. From that result, I don't think they deserved to take a 5th (half their confederation) to the World Cup.\n\n4 teams are just fine and they still have a big chance to take the cup, they don't need Chile, Uruguay or Colombia to have a bigger chance. Argentina and Brazil, the strongest in south america, are in.
637048
Already, there is a referee, 2 linesmen, fourth official and at this years world cup, a fifth official, should anything happen to the rest.\n\nUnlike NFL, football doesnt stop every minute or two, so video wouldnt work: wit would be yet another excuse for timewasting and cheating.  \n\nThe current system isnt, and never will be perfect, but i do think the other officials should have more of a say if they see an incident another doesnt.  At the world cup they have earpieces and mics and this should be the way forward.  Yes, video replays can help spot things the eye cant, but we dont want to lose the flow of the game. \n\nSo as far as im concerned, they have sufficient officials on the park at all times already.
577478
To be fair to our continent ~ justice have to be done. Before any African team can win the WC, it must first reach the semi-finals. No African team has never reached the semi-final stage of this tournament.\n\nSo, NO African team will win the WC in 2010  ~ not even the host nation!! They can break a record, by reaching the semis!!