Johannesburg - World Cup organising committee boss Danny Jordaan on Saturday called on the South African Football Association (SAFA) to use the millions of rands generated by the tournament to develop grass roots soccer in South Africa.

He was speaking at a press conference ahead of the World Cup final between Spain and Netherlands on Sunday.

SAFA is set to receive a windfall of between 80 and 100 million US Dollars (about R700 million) from FIFA as its profits share of the World Cup.

"South African football now has a platform to really move to greater heights and I hope SAFA will invest that money towards the development of the game," Jordaan said.

"The past month has represented South Africa with a once in a lifetime opportunity to take its opportunity to take our football to where it belongs, on top. The opportunity is here and the South African football must take it...there are a lot of expectations now and we can only wish SAFA a success during this time," he said.

South Africa is among only 15 countries that have had an opportunity to host the FIFA World Cup since its inception decades ago. History has shown that nations that have hosted the tournament had good prospects of fast growth and the development of the game.

Jordaan said while Bafana Bafana did not do as well as Korea and Germany, SAFA had a chance to use the money and experience gained from South Africa's first World Cup to nurture a strong team ahead of 2014. "The past 30 days have been amazing for South Africa and the continent and as the post tournament hangover looms, people needed to think of the ways to keep the World Cup energy going," he said.

Jordaan, who will be among a panel that will evaluate bidders for the 2018 World Cup, described the experience created by the event as a "huge psychological boost" not only for South Africa and Africa but for the world in general. "It a boost for the world because they now a have a new picture of Africa and our country and all the negative perceptions are hopefully gone," he explained.

More than five million people watched World Cup matches at Fan Fest venues set up by FIFA across the world. More than two million of that figure came from the host nation. Record TV audiences were also reported in many countries across Europe while the vuvuzela has become popular in many countries.

Johannesburg - World Cup organisers in South Africa say they will not to get involved with the decision by the Nigerian government to suspend that country's football team from international football events for two years, following the team's poor showing at the tournament.

"The Nigerian government felt that they need to engage with the team on that matter, so did the French government, following the exit of their team. But, FIFA has made their position very clear on the matter and we will not interfere," said Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan.

Speaking at a media breakfast organised by Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane on Thursday, Jordaan said while the LOC regarded the decision and that of the French government to summon football authorities to be "harsh" FIFA was the only relevant body to deal with the cases.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday shocked the entire football fraternity when he announced the suspension of the national team from international competition for two years following their early departure from South Africa.

He said the suspension will give the team an opportunity to "reorganize". The decision may affect Nigeria's participation in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers ahead of the showpiece in 2012.

Meanwhile, Jordaan is confident that South Africans will carry on the spirit of patriotism and nation building shown during the World Cup long after the tournament has left the country's shores.

"South Africans have demonstrated the love they have for this country...they know what is important and I'm confident they will continue to focus on nation building. The country is already talking about hosting the Olympics, so South Africans put their country first," he said.

He said the World Cup could not have been a success without the flair and enthusiasm demonstrated by South Africans since the tournament started on 11 June. "It's the people of our country and of course the foreign fans that have injected energy to this tournament. Everyone has just been amazing".

After 20 days of World Cup action, payers have taken a two-day rest before the start of the highly anticipated quarter final matches from Friday.

Mokonyane said Gauteng had a series of entertainment events lined up to entertain the visitors in their remaining week in South Africa. "We have from the beginning made our mark to the world and what is key is that we made our mark to those who had an opportunity to visit Gauteng and South Africa and we will continue to make them feel at home.

"Everyone has just been glued to South Africa and yes we have made a few errors but we can safely say we have been great hosts so far," Mokonyane said.

More than 2.6 million fans attended matches at various stadiums throughout the country since the start of the World Cup and Jordaan said the organisers were targeting a three million attendance figure. If they achieve that, South Africa's World Cup could become the most attended in recent history, behind only the 1994 leg of the tournament held in the United States.

Source: BuaNews