2010 FIFA World Cup: Al-Qaeda a Threat To the World Cup

The World Cup has been specifically targeted by the terrorist group referred to by the Western world as Al-Qaeda, according to media sources around the world. 

"How amazing could the match between the United States and England be if, during a live broadcast with a stadium packed with spectators, the sound of an explosion rumbles through the stands, the whole stadium is turned upside down, and the number of dead bodies are in their dozens and hundreds, God willing," reads a statement the group published in a recent issue of the online magazine Mushtaqun Lel Jannah (Longing to Paradise) and reproduced by U.S. news source CBS .

The terrorist faction threatens to use explosives that would be undetectable for the security forces in South Africa. The list of national teams targeted include the United States, England, France, Germany and Italy, countries accused of being part of a "Zionist Crusade" against Islam.

Whilst some question the validity of a single organised Islamic terrorist cell that refers to itself as "Al-Qaeda", any and all threats to the safety and security of players and fans must be taken with all seriousness. 

South Africa announced last October that its security forces had foiled an Al-Qaeda plot to carry out a terrorist attack during the 2010 World Cup. According to reports published then, South Africa's National Intelligence Agency, senior police forces, and American agents jointly conducted the operation, leading to the arrest of a number of suspects linked to the group in Somalia and Mozambique working on a plot to carry out bomb attacks during the games.

This should come as a blow to FIFA, with questions already being raised about how to beef up security after Adebayor' Togo got shot while en route to the African Cup of Nations in Angola earlier this year. It's really going to be hard to combat something like this; let's hope for the best.