2010 Soccer World Cup – update from Johannesburg
A well attended breakfast seminar hosted by the City of Johannesburg was given a loud and strong message “South Africa will be ready to host the World Cup in 2010”.
Johannesburg will be the nerve centre in the run-up and during the games. The Executive Director of the 2010 Project Office, Sibongile Mazibuko spoke plainly and openly about all the activities currently taking place and explained to the audience that everything was “on track, with the city of Johannesburg ready for kick-off.”
All projects underway are linked to both meeting FIFA requirements and to ensuring that there will be a legacy for 10-20 years after the world cup. Johannesburg will also have the benefit of hosting the Federation Cup prior to the World Cup to help them ensure that they will be more than competitive with Germany’s preparations for the previous world cup.
The private sector is also making significant contributions to help re-vamp the inner city, and may be asked for funding towards the end – should any of the major projects require it, which at this stage is ‘not a requirement’. There will be a ‘greening’ of a number of soccer fields which will also leave a sporting legacy. Security and Safety were addressed in detail, with the local media asking some penetrating questions that were all answered.
It was pointed out that in previous world cups (cricket & rugby) there had been no major incidents and crime had actually gone down during those events. There will be 4,000 extra police and transport security will be a priority.
New infrastructure projects are “all on schedule”. The Mole wished at this moment that someone from The Chasers could have been there to say “Sooo, its not true that the World Cup is moving to Australia…..!!” It could have really turned ugly!
Stats and figures were quoted in every manner to underline the case that everything is fine and on track, though there was some discussion concerning accommodation availability and the rail projects in the city.
Speaking with Sibongile after her presentation, she detected an Aussie accent and said “Australia! You tell Australia that the World Cup is in South Africa! We are ready!!” This was the second time she made the Mole laugh – the first time was at the beginning of her presentation when there was a brief technical hitch with the microphone and she made everybody laugh.
Sibongile looked at the audience and enquired “Am I too hot?!”
So the city of Johannesburg is oozing confidence and can’t wait to reach the opening ceremony in 2010.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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