by OC 2006 FIFA World Cup</SPAN>
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</DIV>Speaking at the Zürich Trade Fair on 6 July 2000, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter made German hearts soar with the words: “The winner is Deutschland.” Six years on from that very day, and with just two matches remaining in the tournament, the play-off for third place in Stuttgart and the Final in Berlin, the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ chaired by Lennart Johansson gathered at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin to present an early set of conclusions from the 18th FIFA World Cup. “The German people have welcomed their guests from around the world with smiles on their faces. It will be difficult to do a better job than Germany has in staging a FIFA World Cup finals,” Johansson declared. FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi praised the “carnival atmosphere, which has emanated from Germany and spread around the world. The way the fans reacted to the defeat against Italy was outstanding.” The programme set in place by the Organising Committee headed by Franz Beckenbauer “was relaxed and friendly right from the very first day,” Linsi remarked. “This was maintained all the way through to the end.”
All 64 matches were sold out, and the projected average crowd of more than 52,000 will be the second-highest in the 76-year history of the FIFA World Cup, lagging behind only 1994’s event, when matches were played in significantly larger-capacity stadiums in the USA. Furthermore, ticket holders actually took up their seats - images of vast empty seating blocks, which provoked protests from ticketless fans at previous tournaments, were happily absent. The forecast of seven million visitors to the official Fan Fests in the twelve Host Cities was exceeded in spectacular fashion, as the Public Viewing programme appears to have attracted roughly double that number. “Fans are the winners at this FIFA World Cup,” Franz Beckenbauer observed. “The official Fan Fests and the myriad local and private events have exceeded all expectations.”
Despite the huge crowds, including some two million overseas visitors, clashes between rival groups of fans were mercifully rare, reported Cologne Chief of Police Steffenhagen: “We had fewer incidents than during Carnival time.” The mood was helped by host nation Germany progressing as far as the semi-final stage. The overall concept worked right down to the smallest details, Horst R. Schmidt reported. “Our target was for half of all match-goers to leave the car at home and use trains and buses. Currently, public transportation accounts for 60 per cent of the total.”
“Everything’s worked out,” Beckenbauer summarised. “The details are decisive at an event like this, they lay the foundations for the bigger picture to be successful. We had no major disruptions. The toughest period was the three-year bidding phase. Nine years’ work on the World Cup is now over for me personally.” The OC President said he had no regrets at moving on. “Everything in life comes to an end at some point. We’ve done our job, and we’re delighted it’s worked out so well.” <TABLE align=right><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>