20th January 2006 • The Wizarding World's Beguiling Broadsheet of Choice • 5 κ
World Cup Heads to Britain
By Susan Weatherall, Quidditch Correspondent
After over a week of negotiations, the Department of Magical Games and Sports has announced that the 2006 World Cup will be hosted in the UK.
The tournament was originally due to be held in Kenya. However, following a devastating Nundu attack in the country earlier this month, Kenyan Quidditch authorities withdrew from their hosting duties.
The final death toll has not been released, but is believed to be over 200. This includes volunteers who attempted to execute the creature.
The Kenyan Quidditch team and many of the support staff were among the victims.
Since then, the International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee have been in almost constant talks in an effort to avoid cancelling the tournament.
Representatives from countries including the UK, Germany and New Zealand put in last-minute bids for the Committee to vote on this Friday morning.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Committee said that Britain was chosen as it has the resources and infrastructure to host the tournament at such short notice.
"We're delighted to have been afforded this opportunity," said an exhausted Ministry rep. "We hope to dedicate this tournament those who lost their lives in Kenya."