News
Soccerex to put SA on world map
06 October - The imminent hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ in South Africa has opened many doors for South Africa, one of them being Soccerex, the biggest football-focused exhibition in the world.
Referees set sights on 2010 World Cup
02 October - Qualifying is already well underway for teams looking to book their place at the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™, but it is not just players and coaches of the various countries who are looking ahead to 2010. The world's top referees also have their sights set on South Africa.
2010 plans to be piloted during PSL match
01 October - Saturday’s Premier Soccer League clash between Orlando Pirates and Santos at Ellis Park Stadium will be used to pilot Park and Ride facilities in preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, the department of transport said on Tuesday.
Transport Month highlights 2010 progress
30 September - Preparations to welcome thousands of fans to South Africa for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ spectacular are at an advanced stage at OR Tambo International Airport.
Government: Politics won’t affect World Cup
29 September - The unfolding changes in the Executive of the Republic of South Africa will not have any negative impact on preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™.
‘Adopt a Nation’ campaign to galvanise kids
29 September - The Local Organising Committee South Africa has invited millions of school children to be part of 2010 Fifa World Cup™. The “Adopt a Nation” school programme was launched at the Nasrec Sports Precinct in Johannesburg on Saturday.
New SA president pledges best World Cup
26 September - President-elect of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe, says the government remains committed to all the promises it made to Fifa and the international football community to deliver the best 2010 Fifa World Cup™.
Klerksdorp city banks on 2010 spinoffs
25 September - The City of Matlosana is ready to benefit from South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ with sponsorships and football development programmes already in place.
Zakumi: 2010 Fifa World Cup Official Mascot launched
22 September - Zakumi, the Official 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa™ Mascot, has made his first ever public appearance at a media launch at SABC’s Auckland Park studios in Johannesburg.
2010 World Cup Mascot launch on Monday
19 September - The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) – official broadcast partner of the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ – will on Monday unveil the long awaited Official Mascot of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The launch will be broadcast live on SABC1.
10 June 2008
Acsa flies above rest in 2010 preparations
Simangaliso Zwane
Johannesburg - Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) Chief Executive Officer Nomhla Hlahla has shed light on why Acsa is ahead in its preparations to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors and tourists during the 2010 Fifa World Cup™.
She was speaking at the Johannesburg Press Club in Emmarentia. Hlahla says all the required infrastructure will be ready by December 2009.
“When the announcement for 2010 [World Cup] was made Acsa was already in the middle of preparations, which meant that our plans going forward were already set, we had to go back to the regulator to request [because we plan for many years in advance] that we could accelerate some of the key infrastructure forward in order to accommodate the peak of the few weeks of the World Cup,” she said.
She says this why the company seems better prepared when compared to other areas of 2010 development.
“Maybe that is why sometimes we may look like we were ahead of many people who were developing for the World Cup; the reality is that for us we were already building to accommodate our cycle of five years that we are good at planning for,” said Hlahla.
Hlahla says the World Cup to be hosted in South Africa provided Acsa with an opportunity to re-evaluate its capacity and infrastructure in respect to the prospective number of 2010 visitors projected by Fifa.
“The World Cup became for us an exercise of taking the projected numbers for the Soccer World Cup that we were given by Fifa to look at to whether for the few weeks of peak time there will be any new requirements on our infrastructure to accommodate that,” she said.
She moved on to laud the South African construction industry’s commitment to many 2010-related projects it has been inundated with since South Africa won the rights to host the World Cup in 2004.
“The construction industry itself, the people that we depend on to deliver the infrastructure they’ve got six seven eight contracts to do, all of them highly remunerative and are competing with the other infrastructure providers.
“So to some extent, I would say that we were at an advantage, it didn’t take us long to decide on which capital infrastructure programmes will assist us to deal with the peak of the World Cup.
“I am proud to say that because the South African construction industry is not only responsible but they are good at what they do we believe that we are on track to deliver on time the infrastructure that is required for the World Cup and hopefully we have learnt from Terminal 5 in Heathrow [Airport] that even three months of the window to test the infrastructure may never be enough because airport are by definition a highly technology based entity,” she said.
Hlahla assured visitors to all South African airports that adequate security – including luggage handling sections – are secure and audited on an ongoing basis to ensure that the highest security standards are adhered to.