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.
11 July 2008
World Cup readiness test for Mpumalanga
Gcina Ntsalubae
Nelspruit – The Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup, which will see countries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) battling it out, will also be a test for Mpumalanga’s preparations towards hosting the 2010 Fifa World™ Cup matches.
The first group stage fixtures of the 12th Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Senior Challenge Cup were drawn up in Nelspruit on Thursday.
The tournament, which features 14 teams from SADC will be played in a new two-stage format from 19 July to 3 August.
The first two matches of the tournament will feature Madagascar against Swaziland and Mauritius against Seychelles at the Atlantic Stadium in Emalahleni (formerly Witbank) on 19 July.
Premier of Mpumalanga Thabang Makwetla said Cosafa had shown confidence in the province by allowing them to host another tournament of such magnitude, following last year's Cosafa Under 20 championships.
He said hosting the matches will test whether the province is ready to host the world cup in terms of providing security and accommodation.
"Our exposure to hosting international games of this magnitude will, no doubt, put us in good stead in our preparations for the world cup tournament.”
Cosafa General-Secretary Ashford Mamelodi said the tournament would also serve as a test case for the players ahead of the world cup and the African Cup of Nations to be held next year.
The Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup will feature 20 matches between Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland and new-comers, the Comoros Islands.
The top six teams based on the latest Fifa rankings (Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe) will be go directly to the quarter-finals, leaving the bottom eight countries to battle it out for the remaining two places in the quarter-finals.
Group A teams are Swaziland, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles, while Group B teams include the Comoros Islands, Malawi, Namibia and Lesotho.
Bafana Bafana will play their first match at the Atlantic stadium in Emalahleni on 26 July against the winners in Group B.
Other matches will be played at the Lillian Ngoyi Stadium in Secunda. The final and third place play-off match will be played at Thulamahashe stadium in Bushbuckridge.
South Africa is the defending champion after beating Zambia 4-3 on penalties in last year's final.
Source: BuaNews