Contacted by insidethegames, Gideon Sam, President of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), South Africa’s Olympic governing body, said that consultations to assess whether there is an appetite to bid in the country could start in August or September, soon after the conclusion of the 2010 World Cup.

If that exercise produced a positive response, interested cities would be asked to bid.

"In all probability it would be next year," Sam said.

There seems a good chance that Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg - a trio of cities endowed with brand new stadia as a result of the World Cup - would all be interested in bidding.

Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, last week welcomed the possibility of a bid to host the 2020 Games from South Africa.

Jacob Zuma, the South African President, has also raised the possibility of a bid, saying: "I'm sure we could do it.

"We have got the facilities…

"Those who take decisions [about where to stage major sports events] have seen how South Africa is.

"I will put it on the agenda because it is important to bring people from all over the world here."

An African bid could expect to attract great sentimental support because the Olympics have never been held in Africa.

A 2020 bid would, however, be likely to face strong competition from the likes of Tokyo, Istanbul and other well-known European cities including Madrid and Rome.

Sam told insidethegames that the World Cup had "done wonders for the spirit of the country".

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