News
2010 more than just a game – Govt
21 August - The 2010 Fifa World Cup to be hosted in South Africa should be used as a vehicle to send new images to the world about the people of South Africa and the African continent alike, media delegates in Beijing have heard.
World Cup to boost SA tourism
21 August - South African tourism and leisure sectors are set to benefit from the country’s hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, Deputy Minister of Finance Jabulani Moleketi said on Thursday.
SA police promise safe World Cup
19 August - South African National Deputy Police Commissioner Andre Pruis says the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ and the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ to be held in South Africa will be safe.
Media to scrutinise 2010 preparations
15 August - A contingent of international and local media representatives has been invited to put preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ under the microscope in Beijing, the Department of Sport and Recreation said in a statement on Friday.
2010 lessons from Olympic volunteers
15 August - Potential volunteers for the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ and 2010 Fifa World Cup™ to be hosted in South Africa will have to be on top of their game to ensure that crucial areas of operations are well-manned during the events.
SA must unite to make 2010 a success - govt
13 August - With less than 666 days left before the biggest soccer event on the African continent kicks off, government has called on South Africans to come together and share the vision of making it a memorable success.
Fifa: Nothing can go wrong in 2010
12 August - Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has once again reiterated his confidence in South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ saying the event will change the face of the tournament.
Beijing comes alive with Olympic spirit
12 August - Giant outdoor screens brandishing the Olympic circles, sports memorabilia, Chinese flags, strict traffic flow protocol, heavy police presence, branded commodities, scores of tourists, giant official mascots, late night food markets, and game.
LOC gets ball rolling at Host Cities
06 August - The 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™ Organizing Committee has announced the appointment of eight Organising Committee Venue Managers in a move aimed at dispersing its operations to host city level.
2010 boss for Soccerex
05 August - Soccerex have announced that Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™ Organizing Committee will be participating at the 2008 Soccerex Conference programme.
Volunteer applications hit 20 000
04 August - More than 20 000 South Africans have applied to volunteer during the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup™ tournament, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) Volunteer Programme said on Friday.
2010 security exercises in Bloemfontein
04 August - South African law enforcement agencies will hold joint security exercises in Bloemfontein in preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement on Sunday.
2 April 2008
800 days before 2010 kickoff
Pretoria - In exactly 800 days from today the world will converge in South Africa to witness the most prestigious sporting tournament in the world with the hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™.
Since the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) awarded the hosting of the tournament to South Africa in May 2004, a lot of work has gone into the preparations and, with only 800 days to go – we look at the progress made so far and assess if the country will indeed be ready to host the World Cup in 2010.
Stadiums
Arguably the most important ingredient of a successful Word Cup. All the stadiums that have been earmarked for hosting games in 2010 have received the most attention from the government, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Fifa, media and the public.
As many of us may have observed during the initial stages of the building and development of the stadiums that there were some intricate teething problems, most prominently, strikes by construction workers over wages disputes. In instances where work had been halted as a result of mass actions, Trade Unions, workers and employers worked very well to broker deals and made way for work to continue.
In total, nine stadiums were identified as World Cup venues and are currently being constructed and developed for the tournament.
A recent Fifa inspection team indicated that it was satisfied with the progress towards stadium construction.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is currently touring 2010 stadiums around the country.
Guarantees
Any country wishing to host any Fifa World Cup is required to enter into a number of guarantees before Fifa grants it the right to host the tournament – South Africa was not exception.
The South African government submitted a declaration to Fifa to issue some 17 guarantees required in accordance with the list of requirements to ensure the success of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The guarantees include:
- Entry and exit permits
- Work permits
- Safety and security
- Telecommunications and information technology
- Medical care
- Fifa’s ownership of media and marketing rights
- Hotel agreements
- Stadium contracts
- Media centres
- International Broadcast Centre etc.
According to the government’s mid-term report, considerable headway has been made towards fulfilling the guarantees and the government reported that programmes for the World Cup have been centred on three core element, compliance with Fifa requirements, leveraging the event for the benefit of the country, and a lasting legacy for South Africa and the African continent.
You can download the full Government Mid-Term Report here. The report contains invaluable information regarding government’s progress since the awarding of the hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup in 2004.
Optimism
An annual survey released by the Human Science Research Council in March this year revealed that South Africans are optimistic about the country's capacity to host a successful and rewarding 2010 Fifa World Cup.
According to the survey, for the third consecutive year, South Africans' attitudes are positive towards the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The survey revealed that almost three-quarters of South Africans (74%) perceive the top three benefits to emerge from hosting the World Cup to be economic growth, job creation and putting South Africa on the international map.
Seventy-nine percent believe that 2010 will make South African cities more competitive internationally.
Eighty percent of respondents indicated that South Africa would be ready to host the event, though faith in local authorities being able to meet the needs of 2010 was at 56%.
Eighty percent believe that small businesses will benefit from the World Cup while 76% believe that the tournament will contribute towards black economic empowerment.
Tourism
South African tourism figures are expected to grow in the lead-up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
An estimated 6-7 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals to South Africa in 2007 were made up of business tourists, translating to about 550 000 business tourists compared to 470 000 in 2006.
Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told a conference in Johannesburg this figure was sure to grow even more in the lead-up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, and that the industry's vision of doubling this figure in the next three years was "not overly ambitious".
A skills audit by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism last year indicated that the prospect of the country’s hosting of the World Cup had opened up about 80 000 job opportunities in the local tourism and hospitality sector.
Safety and Security
The Ministry of Safety and Security provided a guarantee to undertake all security measures necessary to ensure general safety and personal protection of the visitors and the South African public during the events around the World Cup in 2010.
Recruitment and training of additional police are underway in the form of functional training, event-specific training and matches 2008 training.
South Africa recently conducted a successful aviation security exercises at the Green Point stadium precinct in the Western Cape.
A contingent of South African security personnel used an assortment of combat equipment to stage make-believe training exercises aimed at preparing the country’s defence workforce for any security threats in 2010.
South African Police, Defence Force and Air Force as well as border and ports entry personnel all took part in the joint operational exercise.
In August 2007, members of the world renowned Federal Bureau of Investigation held a week-long training course for Johannesburg Metro Police and members of the South African Police Service. The training courses were based on tackling terrorism financing and money laundering ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Football
After all said and done, the event in 2010 is primarily about football – the beautiful game.
Football is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world and this is certainly so in South Africa. Football is often seen as a unifying sport even though teams often play against each other to win.
The ‘rivalry’ that exists inside the stadiums often inspires supporters of different teams to brag and talk about their teams in a more civil and socially interactive manner.
Historical reasons have placed football in every South African’s heart, soon after the South African Football Association was re-admitted into Fifa folds, South African national team Bafana Bafana won the African Cup of Nations tournament hosted in South African in 1996.
Ready
Government has assured the local and international community that South Africa will be ready in time to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“We are ready and on track,” said Minister of Sport and Recreation, Makhenkesi Stofile on Tuesday, adding that Fifa and the 2010 Soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) had indicated the same following a five-day inspection tour.
He said the tour to the world cup stadiums and host cities in February had provided evidence that preparations for the Fifa Confederations Cup 2009 and world cup were going full steam ahead.
Minister Stofile was speaking during the handing over ceremony of the 2010 Mid-Term Government Report compiled by the 2010 Fifa World Cup Government Unit.
The state of readiness report provides feedback from various government departments as part of implementing 2010 Fifa World Cup government guarantees and obligations.
Among some of the major milestones included in the report, is the programme proceeding to meet the October 2009 deadline of stadia construction.
World soccer's governing body Fifa earlier this year said it had full confidence in South Africa's preparations for hosting the 2010 World Cup finals.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter said the organisation had no doubts as to South Africa's readiness to stage the 2010 tournament.