Argentina coach Diego Maradona dismissed security concerns at this
year's World Cup on Monday as he toured the elite South African
sports campus where his team will live and train during the
tournament.
South Africa's high crime rate has sparked worries about
security for players and fans since it won the right to become the
first African nation to host football's premier event. With the
tournament just months away, new questions were raised about South
Africa's ability to cope with a terrorist attack after Angolan
separatists ambushed the Togo team bus as it traveled to the
African Cup of Nations tournament in Angola earlier this month.
Maradona had not been expected to address reporters during
his visit after coming off a two-month suspension by FIFA for a
profanity-laden rant, but he relented with a few words about
security and his hope that Argentina could win its first World Cup
since 1986.
"We want to break the curse after 24 years," Maradona said.
"The desire never goes away. The hope never goes."
Relaxed and friendly, Maradona also signed autographs for
students and others at the sports campus, and kicked a ball around.
Asked about security as he toured the campus, Maradona told
reporters: "We don't have anything to complain about."
Tournament organizers and South African government officials
are taking extraordinary measures to fight crime during the World
Cup, including recruiting more than 140,000 new police.
South Africans have bristled at comparisons to Angola - South
Africa has no separatists and its peaceful transition from
apartheid to democracy contrasts with decades of civil war in
Angola. South Africans security officials nonetheless say they have
trained and prepared for the possibility of an attack during the
World Cup by international terrorists.
Toby Sutcliffe, chief executive officer of the University of
Pretoria's High Performance Center, said the center was spending
about $270,000 to upgrade fencing, hire more guards and take other
steps to improve security for the Argentina team.
The facility, which includes a four-star hotel, was also
installing plasma TVs and whirlpool baths at the request of the
team, Sutcliffe said. He did not say how much Argentina was paying
to take over the facility during the June-July tournament.
Argentina will face South Korea, Nigeria and Greece in Group
B.
