South Africa, Ready, Steady Go for 2010 FIFA World Cup
South Africa is now ready to host the greatest football show on the planet, the FIFA 2010 World Cup.
The country’s preparation was given a clean bill of health by a joint 50-man inspection team comprising members of both the 2010 Organising Committee South Africa (OC) and FIFA which recently concluded successful inspection tour of the five newly-built stadiums, including the newly upgraded Soccer City Stadium (FNB Stadium) in Johannesburg, the main arena for the global event.
The tour team comprised operational experts in the following areas: competitions, broadcasting, media operations, medical, volunteers, transport, logistics, safety and security, protocol, marketing, information technology, hospitality, ticketing and risk management.
After travelling 4,000 kilometers to six cities in six days to savour the new stadia the team, concluded that preparations are on track for all the football play grounds to be completed by the end of the year, well on time for the mundial.
An elated OC’s head of delegation, Chief Competitions Officer Derek Blanckensee, who led the delegation with FIFA’s head of its South African office Ron DelMont attested that; “this has been a very fruitful inspection tour for us. Where before we had to visualise walls and seats, we now have been able to walk around freely in the stadium as it will be during the tournament”.
In most instances the physical construction of the stadiums is virtually complete, with almost all seats installed and newly-laid pitches a welcome sight at Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, Nelspruit’s Mbombela Stadium, Polokwane’s Peter Mokaba Stadium and Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium, the inspection team noted.
“Overall we are very impressed with the achievements made. In addition to the stadiums coming together we were equally pleased that the teams of the OC, Host Cities and FIFA are working on a common vision on the delivery of the event”, said Ron DelMont, who also stressed the importance of next year’s test events to be able to fine-tune operational plans.
For the first time the tour also included a consultant from the South African Disabled Alliance to oversee the provisions that have been made for access for all spectators with disabilities. Of the 650,527 tickets sold to date for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 7,863 wheelchair tickets have been purchased.
OC Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Danny Jordaan, paid tribute to Host Cities. “They have all done us proud. They have turned concepts into reality and ensured that their wonderful new stadiums are built to the highest standards and are ready in time.
“The question has always been raised as to whether we will be ready. This tour has provided ample evidence that indeed we will be. Now the work of the Organising Committee and FIFA begins in earnest as we take these stadiums and get them ready to host World Cup matches,” said Jordaan.
In similar vein, the world football governing body has announced accreditation process for media representatives who intend to cover the Final Draw for the competition in Cape Town. Accreditation has since started on 1 October 2009 via the FIFA Media Channel (http://media.fifa.com and the deadline for receiving accreditation applications is 30 October 2009.
The draw event will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in Cape Town, on 4 December 2009. Media-related information such for media accommodation, media facilities and activities throughout the draw week will be published on 5 December 2009.

Within the context of the Final Draw, FIFA has organised a media event in which the 11 bidders for the 2018 and/or 2022 FIFA World Cup (Australia, Belgium-Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Mexico, Qatar, Spain-Portugal, Russia and the USA) will be able to present their bids to the international media.
This event will take place at Workshop 17 (Waterfront V&A) from 9.00-12.00 on 4 December 2009 and will include interview opportunities with representatives of the bidders. Media transport will be arranged from the media hotels and the CTICC to Workshop 17.
A crucial FIFA Executive Committee meeting is scheduled to take place on Robben Island, where, for many years, political prisoners had to fight for the right to play football, with men secretly playing the game in their cells with balls made of pieces of paper, cardboard and rags tied together with string.
The island's authorities finally gave in, granting inmates the right to play football in 1965. The prisoners then built their own goals and would swap their drab prison garb and play in the colours of their teams on Saturdays.


Stated below are highlights of the various levels of development in completion of works at the various stadia after the FIFA delegation visit:
• Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth)
The stadium infrastructure is complete and the stadium became the first newly-built 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium to open its doors in June.
The 45,931-seater stadium has already hosted a rugby international tour match featuring the British and Irish Lions, as well as a derby between local sides Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, which both attracted large crowds.
Work has now begun on the stadium precinct which includes upgrading the access roads into the stadium.
• Green Point Stadium (Cape Town)
Progress on site is good and the speed of construction is impressive, with the project set for completion on December 14.
The roof structure of the stadium is now complete and work has commenced on the stadium precinct. About 50% of the 55,000 permanent seats have been installed. An additional 13,000 temporary seats will be installed for the tournament.
The pitch is being grown off-site in Stellenbosch and once major construction has been completed and the site has been cleared, it will be planted at the stadium in October.
• Durban Stadium (Durban)
The construction of the stadium is now approximately 95% complete and precinct projects, which include a R250 million upgrade of the beach promenade and a new train station adjacent to the stadium, are progressing well.
The pitch has been laid and the 56,000 permanent seats are in place. The 13,000 modular seats will be installed by the beginning of next year taking the stadium capacity to 70,000 during the tournament.
The city plans to open the stadium and its cable car and walkway to the top of the arch to the public on 28 November 2009. A number of football matches and concerts are planned at the stadium in the coming months.

• Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit)
This stadium is now approximately 94% complete.The 46,000 seats have been installed and the pitch is currently being laid. Precinct works are also progressing well. Infrastructure projects beyond the stadium precinct will be completed in the first quarter of 2010.
A number of test events are planned, including a tournament featuring teams from neighbouring countries Mozambique and Swaziland.
• Polokwane Stadium (Polokwane)
The stadium is approximately 95% complete. The pitch was laid in August and the last of the 45,000 seats are being put in place.Precinct and infrastructure projects are progressing very well. Test events are being planned, with the first due to take place at the beginning of 2010.
• Soccer City Stadium (Johannesburg)
The stadium, which will host the opening match and the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, has now laid its pitch and the current seating capacity of 87,792 is in place.
Progress is approximately 90% complete and the stadium bowl is expected to be complete by the end of November.