Barack Obama plays basketball and is a fan of the Chicago Bulls. More recently he has taken an interest in soccer. He’s a fan of his daughters’ soccer teams. (That’s him cheering them on at a field in Washington D.C.) Then there’s the story that Obama attended a West Ham game while visiting Britain six years ago. (Enough, by the way for Hammers fans to claim he is a loyal supporter.)
Obama also supports the US bid for the World Cup for 2018 or 2022.
Now it appears Obama will attend the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter who has always expressed frustration with why football has not caught on in the US (he partly blames US soccer administrators), announced yesterday that Obama will travel to South Africa. The shrewd Blatter may have spoken to soon, but he is also one up on most people: Blatter knows what associating Obama with football and the World Cup can do for the game’s fortunes in the US.
And some in the US agree.
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