FIFA Dole Out Emergency Cash to World Cup 2010 Organizers

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has admitted that FIFA’s Executive Committee signed off on an addition $100 million in March in order to bring South Africa’s World Cup training camps up to scratch.

Several countries, including England, expressed concerns about the state of their training facilities following inspection visits at the end of February.

"We know we had to add some money for the team base camps where some teams were unhappy about the level of the services or the level of the pitches," Valcke told the BBC.

"That's a cost Fifa took over to ensure that things were delivered on time."

The extra money means that South Africa’s organizational budget has increased to $523 million.

But Valcke insisted that there were strict conditions for the way that the money was spent and that he didn’t think FIFA would need to issue any further bail outs.

“It’s not just we give you [the local organizing committee] the money and you can do whatever you want,” he said.

“We put in place a so-called financial platform since day one. It means nothing can be paid without our approval. Nothing can be paid without us being sure it’s paid against an invoice.”

He added that the tournament is still set to make a vast profit, with funds distributed to FIFA’s member associations worldwide.

But the revelation that FIFA has had to bail out the local organizing committee is yet another embarrassment for the South Africans.

South Africa’s preparations to host the tournament have been dogged by delays over construction of key stadia and training camps.

Soccer City, the venue for the opening ceremony and final, has still to stage a significant test event even though the World Cup Opening Ceremony is just one month from today.

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