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Setting Up Soccer's World Stage

May 8, 2006

Tackling Criticism DW-WORLD.DE looks at the issues that have kept World Cup organizing officials up at night.

https://p.dw.com/p/8N1D
Image: dpa - Bildfunk

From ticketing hiccups, to the threat of hooliganism, and marketing rights to stadium safety, world soccer's governing body, FIFA, and German World Cup Organizing Committee officials have faced criticism from a number of corners in the lead up the 2006 World Cup and always maintained that detractors would be proved wrong as soon as the tournament kicks off in Munich on June 9.

DW-WORLD.DE examines the World Cup organizers' search for balance when fans, sponsors, security officials, politicians and players all work to promote their own agendas.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

Germany: "We're Ready for the World Cup"

Nine days before the World Cup kicks off, the German government and members of the organizing committee presented their final security report, saying everything was in place for a successful, safe tournament.
May 31, 2006

Activists Urge FIFA to Bring Back Smoking Ban

As the world marks World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday, anti-smoking activists again criticized a decision to allow smoking during World Cup games in Germany and called for stricter controls.
May 31, 2006

US, Rights Groups Blast Germany Over "World Cup Brothels"

A US lawmaker and rights groups have accused Germany of doing little to prevent the exploitation of women during the World Cup, with one expert calling Berlin an official "pimp" for the event.
May 5, 2006

FIFA Boss Accused of U-Turn on World Cup Racism Measures

Only a month after he launched a set of anti-racism measures, FIFA president Sepp Blatter is under pressure from a EU lawmaker who accuses him of making a u-turn on his promises to kick racism out of the World Cup.
April 29, 2006

The Outsider's View of Germany's World Cup Soap Opera

For Germans, the reporting of the World Cup preparation process has become almost a daily soap opera but how do issues such as the struggles with hooliganism, security and stadium safety look to those outside Germany?
March 10, 2006

Germany to Reimpose Border Controls for World Cup

Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Germany will suspend the passport-free travel arrangements of the Schengen Treaty during the 2006 World Cup.
April 25, 2006

Giving Shelter to Soccer Fans

Instead of sending soccer fans to the family tree to look for long-lost German relatives with a free room, a number of Internet sites are connecting fans to thousands of empty guest beds and extra sofas in German homes.
May 8, 2006

World Cup Plays it Safe

As a two-day international security conference on World Cup security draws to a close in Berlin two months before the World Cup is launched, Germany is confident that security is water-tight.
April 1, 2006

German Watchdog Warns World Cup Stadiums Unsafe

A German consumer protection group has pinpointed "serious deficiencies" in safety at four of the 12 stadiums to be used during the soccer World Cup finals in June. German soccer officials have rejected the accusations.
January 10, 2006

World Cup Guide Highlights Germany's Racist Hotspots

A guide to potential racial hot spots in Germany will go live on the Internet and be published in brochure form in time to warn visitors to the World Cup of areas known for far-right extremism.
May 3, 2006