2010 football world cup preparations gather momentum

(2005-10-17)

A high-powered FIFA delegation headed by general secretary Urs Linsi has arrived in South Africa to conduct a second inspection tour to several cities that are hoping to host World Cup football matches in 2010. After attending a Local Organising Committee (LOC) board meeting and hearing evidence of preparations, Mr Linsi told the media that South Africa’s preparations are ahead of schedule and well on track.

Over the next five days legal contracts and budget agreements will be finalised between FIFA and the LOC, and the FIFA delegation will advise on which 3 of 13 potential host cities should be removed from the list. South Africa’s bid book presented 13 cities, but after awarding the right to host the 2010 World Cup, FIFA recommended reducing this number to 8. A compromise of 10 was finally agreed upon. 3 new stadiums will be built and 7 will be given major upgrades.

Work is already being done on upgrading some stadiums, despite the final decision on which stadiums will be used not having been made. For example, Athlone stadium in Cape Town is experiencing an upgrade that will increase the venue’s capacity to 20,000. This is due to be completed by June next year, with ongoing work transforming it into a 40,000-seater by 2008. The city and the provincial government is committing R200 million to the renovations. The South African Football Association (SAFA) in the Western Cape, meanwhile, is proposing a R450 million project to upgrade the Blue Downs Sports Stadium to a 60,000-seater, along with a new railway line and hotel.

In 2008 FIFA will start inspecting venues and evaluating South Africa’s progress to ensure that the deadline will be met. The current visit, and a previous inspection visit in July, are aimed at ensuring that South Africa avoids the type of rush to finish stadiums experienced in Athens before the 2004 Olympics.

The FIFA delegation in July visited 8 South African cities, and this time will visit Kimberley, Orkney, Polokwane and Nelspruit to complete their investigations. They are also due to visit Maputo in Mozambique and Mbabane in Swaziland to inspect facilities and infrastructure there for fans that may opt to stay in those cities over the period of the World Cup.

The Organising Committee anticipates that the World Cup will create 123,000 new jobs, R17 billion in new investment and R5,6 billion in tax revenue. It is estimated that 350,000 tourists will arrive and spend nearly R10 billion. This number eclipses the 25,000 that arrived to watch the Rugby World Cup in 1995.

Danny Jordaan explained to Independent Newspapers that the reason that preparations for the World Cup are kept quiet at this stage is not to take the limelight away from Germany, who will be holding next year’s tournament. Once that is over, South Africa will dominate World Cup media space.