South Africa's president Mbeki has met the Fifa inspection team

"If the World Cup came here, then the whole of Africa would feel a sense of the cup," Mbeki said.

Mbeki and some of his Cabinet ministers have met a five-member team from Fifa, who are in South Africa to assess the country's bid.

South Africa are considered favourites to become the first African country to host the World Cup after narrowly losing out to Germany for the 2006 event.

Mbeki went on to say that the whole of South Africa is enthusiastically behind the bid.

"We assured the delegation of the full support of the government and of our commitment to put in place all the necessary resources and whatever else is required," he said.

Belgian federation chief Jan Peeters, who is heading the FIFA delegation, thanked the government and the public for their warm welcome.

"We are very happy for the way we have been received," he said.

The Fifa team is looking at the eight cities that South Africa is putting forward to stage potential World Cup matches, and the trip also includes visiting stadiums, airports and hospitals.

Fifa has promised that an African country will host the 2010 World Cup - and Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya are also bidding to host the event.