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Soccer is a great game, and the rich variety of styles and passions that come with being truly global makes the World Cup a nonpareil event in the universe of competitive sport.

FIFA's goal of making the world a better place through football cannot be achieved through our efforts alone - equally important is the power which every fan of the beautiful game has at their disposal.

If you want to win the World Cup, you need to play against the best national teams in the world.

We South Africans are also crazy about football, so the World Cup can be nothing but successful.

The World Cup is a very important way to measure the good players, and the great ones. It is a test of a great player.

The World Cup is a truly International event.

Qualifying for the second stage would be a successful World Cup for us. I think we can do it.

I feel that World Cup cricket should be played like football in which all the 160 countries take part. If only a handful of countries are going to keep on playing in the World Cup without making the game popular, I will be a sad man.

I've seen the growth of this game in this country, the stadiums that were built, the great European players that have come and the great American players who've been created. Americans want to be number one at everything. And they are at baseball, football, basketball. Soccer is growing fast, and I want to be a part of that.