The disappointment of African nations in the 2010 World Cup will have no effect on the number of teams qualifying for the 2014 finals, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke confirmed. In the first World Cup to be staged on African soil, only Ghana went through the group stage, which raised eyebrows over the Dark Continent's progress. However, the allegations were dismissed as Africa is expected to have five nations in Brazil 2014. "There is no discussion about slots for the future," FIFA official Valcke said. "We have 32 teams and will have a meeting of the organizing committee of the 2014 World Cup when we will discuss the rules and regulations, but there is no discussion at all about the number of slots per confederation. "Anyone who is saying that is wrong. We need to continue supporting African football. There isn't any discussion or reaction of that sort to say we won't have the same number of (African) teams next time around."
Jabulani problems Meanwhile, Valcke indicated that the world governing body will discuss complaints against the Adidas Jabulani ball in the near future. "Our relationship with Adidas is very constructive and there is nothing more important in a World Cup than the ball," said Valcke. "If there are problems with the ball we will discuss it with them." Several players and managers complained about the official matchball of the South Africa finals, which prompted Adidas to defend their product.
