Dubai: Ahead of the eagerly awaited 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, payment solutions provider Visa has revealed the findings of a survey conducted among UAE football fans. The survey elicited fans' opinions on which team they think will go on to win the World Cup and the potential for the Middle East to host the soccer showpiece in the future.
More than one-third of fans polled predicted that Brazil will be victorious at this year's soccer showpiece while 16 per cent tipped Argentina to take the top spot, with 11 per cent favouring Spain. Although no teams from the Middle East were tipped to take the top spot, 30 per cent of respondents said they thought this was likely at a future World Cup.
Football fans were confident that the World Cup will be hosted by a Middle Eastern country in the next 20 years with 40 per cent convinced about it, and 50 per cent viewing it as probable. Nearly 74 per cent of respondents tipped the UAE as the most likely Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup while 15 per cent thought Qatar would play host at some point in the future. Saudi Arabia's chances were put at 7 per cent.
