The Road to the FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany

June 2001: FIFA confirms that Germany will host the 2006 World Cup

On June 10, 2001, in Hanover, Germany, FIFA confirmed that Germany would host the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The decision came after thorough inspections of all bidding countries, including England, Portugal, and South Africa. The hosts were chosen after three rounds of voting. In the first round, South Africa was the front-runner, but Portugal was eliminated after the first round of voting. After that, England and South Africa were in a joint lead but after the third round, Germany got the hosting rights by a two-thirds majority. During the bidding process, Germany’s footballing heritage, stadium infrastructure, and organizers’ ability to cope with large-scale sporting events were cited as strengths. FIFA President Sepp Blatter was unequivocal in his praise for the German bid, saying that "It is the best, by far. It has the best stadiums, the best infrastructure, the best economic situation, the best security, and the best commercial rights."

October 2003: Organising committee is formed

The first meeting of the FIFA World Cup Organising Committee was held on October 17, 2003, at the World Cup Stadium in Berlin. The chairman of the Organising Committee was Franz Beckenbauer, a famous German footballer and former coach of the German National Football Team. Three vice-presidents

– Michael Ganser, Theo Zwanziger, and Horst R. Schmidt, and three secretaries

- Helmut Sandrock, Georg Mecking, and Manfred Stekelenburg were appointed. The committee had a total of 22 members, including two members from the FIFA World, five members from the German Football Association, and the rest representing the public and business communities. FIFA monitored the progress of the preparations and financial management of the organizing committee and assisted the committee by hiring experts in fields where the committee did not have enough expertise.

May 2005: Bidding ends for the 2006 FIFA World Cup

The bidding for the rights to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup ends on May 11, 2005. Initially, the FIFA Organising Committee received 12 expressions of interest from nine countries. In December 2003, Brazil withdrew its bid to concentrate on hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In March 2004, Indonesia withdrew its bid due to widespread public opposition. Next, Russia withdrew its bid due to budget constraints and high financial expenditure. The other countries that withdrew their bids were Australia, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the United States. The countries that were in the race were Argentina, Belgium, England, India, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. On May 12, 2005, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced the host countries at a press conference in Baden-Baden, Germany. The chosen countries are Argentina, Belgium, and England. The voting was close but England secured just two more votes than Belgium. The Spanish Football Federation later complained that they had been mistaken in their vote, believing they had been voting on behalf of Morocco.

June 2005: Official Logo of FIFA Football World Cup 2006 unveiled

On June 9, 2005, the Official Logo of FIFA Football World Cup 2006 was unveiled at the 100th-anniversary celebrations of the German Football Association in Berlin. The logo featured a stylized image of a Football player with a globe in the background. The FIFA World Cup 2006 was the first FIFA tournament to feature the slogan "Feel the World Cup" as the official motto. The logo was designed by the Berlin-based sports branding company Markenarbeit Sportdesign (MAS). The creative director was Dr. Martin Vogel and the graphic designer was Oliver Meckbach. The FIFA World Cup 2006 logo design was inspired by the colors of the German flag and reflected the German way of life and culture.

Conclusion

The hosting of the World Cup in Germany was a watershed moment in the history of football as Germany went from being a non-entity in world football to becoming the center of the world’s most popular sport. It was also the first time that a non-South American country had hosted the tournament. The tournament was a huge success with the record number of yellow cards and the final that saw Brazil beat Germany 2-0. The success of the tournament meant that FIFA would have to look to the rest of the world when deciding where to host the next World Cup. It would be the first time that FIFA would look beyond South America as it searched for a host for the 2018 World Cup.