Juliana Cézar Nunes
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Africans hope to count on Brazil's support for the 2010 World Soccer Cup, which will be held in South Africa. Various countries have already approached Brazil for this purpose.

The host country, South Africa, even mobilized its diplomatic corps to request Brazil's backing. In a joint communiqué issued on Friday (11), the Chancellors of Brazil and India - countries that, together with South Africa, form the G-3 - pledged to mobilize efforts on behalf of the event.

Africans' admiration for Brazilian soccer was evidenced once again in all the countries that Minister Celso Amorim visited last week (Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa, Gabon, and Tanzania). Even Kenya, a champion in long-distance marathons, wants to establish exchanges in the field of sports.

In light of the requests, Chancellor Amorim did not rule out the possibility of partnerships. According to him, there are various potential areas of cooperation.

"We can, for example, send [them] Brazilian coaches, maybe even some from the Armed Forces, and offer grants to receive African players here," Amorim said. "We can also try to organize an annual soccer match linked, for example, to campaigns against hunger or for peace," he added.

Translation: David Silberstein