Ten stadiums for 2010
Shaun Benton
18 August 2005Ten stadiums will be used for official competition in South Africa's 2010 Soccer World Cup, Sport and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile announced on Tuesday.
When the World Cup was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002 as many as 30 stadiums were built or prepared for the event, but only 20 were eventually used.
Stofile said an agreement had been reached with Fifa, the World Cup's governing body, that between eight and 15 fields would be made available for soccer's premier international event.
Ten of these will be used for competitions, while other stadiums will be used for practices and friendly games between international teams during the event.
The local organising committee led by Irvin Khoza will decide which stadiums these will be.
The minister said the technical committee tasked with preparations for the World Cup had finalised agreements on 75% of the various issues related to hosting the Cup, such as tax exemptions on goods entering the country during the event, the protection of officials, visas and entry permits.
Finalisation of the remaining issues would be completed by November, he said, adding that South Africa was "on track" with its preparations for one of the world's most important sporting events.
Some playing fields will have to be upgraded for the event, Stofile said. Under Fifa requirements there must be seating for at least 40 000 people for a World Cup match.
Costs involved in upgrading or building stadiums would be shared between national government, provincial governments and host cities, he said. Fifa will also make a contribution.
South African officials met representatives from the Southern Africa Development Community Council on Sport in Cape Town on Thursday to discuss the significance of the event for the region.
A later meeting in Livingstone, Zambia, will thrash out its significance for Africa as a whole.
The 2010 event will be the first time the World Cup, which started in 1930, is hosted by an Africa nation.
Source: BuaNews
