SOUTH AFRICA: FIFA and South Africa say country is ready for the World Cup

Record ID: 456048

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FIFA and South Africa say country is ready for the World Cup
  • Date: 2nd March 2010
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF THE PETER MOKABA STADIUM INTERIOR
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA632UKIAUV0I0U6EGYWMWR6QLP
  • Story Text: South Africa is this week marking 100 days to the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and to celebrate the occasion the Local Organising Committee is showcasing the various stadia around the country. It is taking regional, national and international journalists and officials on a tour of the nine host cities and the 10 stadia, all of which, it says are ready.
    The tour comes as FIFA has sought to deny media reports that the country would not be ready for the tournament as some facilities and infrasture are still under construction.
    In February, FIFA reported that South Africa's showpiece venue for the World Cup will be ready for its first test events in April or May. The 95,000-capacity Soccer City near Soweto, where both the opening match and the final of the World Cup will be played, will host one or two events before the tournament starts on June 11.
    FIFA will hold a media briefing at the Moses Mabidha stadium in the coastal city of Durban on Tuesday, (March 2) officially to mark the 100-day countdown. The stadium will also host a friendly match between South Africa and Namibia on Wednesday (March 3).
    In Cape Town on Monday, FIFA General-Secretary Jerome Valcke looked at the local stadium and afterwards told journalists:
    "...we are on track to make sure that in the next days all what we have seen which has still to be finalised -- precinct, road works, etc -- will be done so I will say that if I had to say where are we from one to 10 I would say that we are at eight and we have to be at 10 on the 11 June and we will be at 10 on the 11 June."
    Valcke said the country was ready.
    "We can be happy that in terms of readiness, South Africa is just ready to host the world cup in 2010."
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