Blatter hails Confederations Cup a success

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has claimed that the Confederations Cup went according to plan. The 2006 World Cup is four times the size in terms of teams and matches, and will be staged at 12 venues, but organizers will be undaunted after a dry run that impressed FIFA president Sepp Blatter. "We are looking confidently ahead at the World Cup," Blatter said. "I have only positive things to report. The tournament has been a success in sporting and organizational terms. There has been an extraordinary atmosphere here in Germany."

The overwhelming positives for the organizers were the solid ticket sales for matches not involving Germany, the enthusiasm of the volunteers and the good condition of the five stadiums at Frankfurt, Leipzig, Hanover, Nuremberg and Cologne. Over 575,000 tickets were sold for the 16 matches, which was around 85% of the total on offer and well above the original target figure of 420,000.

German police were also highly satisfied with the competition as a trial run. "I'm very glad we had this dress rehearsal," said Heiko Loehr, head of the World Cup project team at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Germany's federal police agency. "The interplay with the other security agencies worked very well. That means that for the World Cup we can rely extensively on structures that have been tested." The BKA said a mere 35 crimes had been recorded during the Confederations Cup, all of them minor, although the police acknowledge the World Cup, which will bring an estimated three million visitors to Germany, presents a challenge on a totally different scale.