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Booth says that he has become cynical about the way in which football is run throughout the world and the recent FIFA corruption scandal has only confirmed his suspicions.
He insists that he never bought into the stories that the 2010 World Cup would transform the economy, however, he had hoped that it would contribute towards local football.
“I knew that the World Cup wouldn’t ever be a saving grace for the economy but certainly as a footballer I was hoping that it would benefit our game,” he told Sport24.
“But like I said, it does leave a bitter taste in the mouth when after five years we haven’t seen any grassroots development, at NFA (National Football Academies) level or at grassroots.”
Booth continued to call it as he sees it, insisting that only a select group of people truly benefitted from the hosting of the World Cup.
“You become very cynical you know. You realise that perhaps these politicians and administrators ultimately want these events to come to their countries because they see benefits for themselves.
“There is a lot of hype and pride building up to the event and during the event there is a sense of unification but afterwards you kind of realise that it costs the taxpayer a helluva lot and there are very few benefits in it for the average citizen.”
