Taking World Cup to Africa was moral obligation, say FIFA

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Taking the World Cup to Africa was a moral obligation, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Monday looking ahead to the 2010 finals in South Africa.

''...for FIFA and the whole world, taking the World Cup to Africa is practically a moral obligation to African football and to the African people,'' he told the African Union Summit according to a statement issued by FIFA.

Blatter, who heads world soccer's governing body, and his Confederation of African Football (CAF) counterpart, FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou, addressed African heads of state and government at the eighth Summit in the Ethiopian capital.

Blatter's speech focused on the 2010 World Cup, which will be the first to be held on the African continent, and the ''Win in Africa with Africa'' initiative.

He appealed to African governments and the international community to get behind the development of Africa.

Blatter proposed football as the vehicle for educational, social and health initiatives and as a tool in the fight against discrimination so as to reinforce national unity.

Hayatou paid homage to all those who have fought for African football in the past 50 years to secure it a place it deserves.

The African Union also confirmed the launch of the International Year of African Football to coincide with this year's 50th anniversary of CAF's foundation in 1957.

REUTERS SAM ND1259