To underline the seriousness of their intentions to host the world's biggest soccer showcase, Moroccan monarch King Mohammed VI has appointed his younger brother Prince Moulay Rachid as president of the bidding committee, with the 2006 committee boss Driss Benhima as vice-president. This brings to four the North African country's attempts to host the World Cup. It lost the 1994 bid to the United States, the 1998 one to France and only recently performed poorly in the 2006 bidding won by Germany last year. This is a serious national challenge. Morocco's launch came on the same day that the president of the African Confederation of Football, Issa Hayatou, rubbished reports that last week's stadium disaster in Ghana could seriously undermine Africa's chances of hosting the World Cup in 2010.
Disasters happen anywhere in the world and Africa is no exception.