Beijing: next stop South Africa
22 August 2008
Just as the 2008 Beijing Olympics has been China's "coming out" party to showcase its resurgence to the world, the 2010 Fifa World Cup will be Africa's chance to show off the continent's strengths.
This was the message from a team of representatives of the South African government, the 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Fifa as they addressed the world media in Beijing on Thursday.
As the Beijing Olympics draws to close this weekend, all eyes will shift to South Africa as the host of the world's next major sporting event.
'More than just football'
LOC chief executive Danny Jordaan told journalist at Thursday's media forum that South Africa's preparations for the 2009 Confederations Cup and 2010 Fifa World Cup were well advanced, with the stadiums for both events on track for completion with the deadlines set by Fifa.
Jordaan said that, for South Africa, hosting the World Cup was about more than just football.
"It is about nation-building, it's about infrastructure improvement, it's about country branding, it's about repositioning, it's about improving the image of our country, and it's about tourism promotion. It's also about return on investment, job creation and legacy. These are the things that drive not only our nation but the nations of the world."
Jordaan said a successful 2010 World Cup would open doors for other African countries to host more prestigious sporting events in the future. "It is important that we succeed in this World Cup, because nothing less is required than to open the door for the last major event on the continent - the Olympics."
Responding to media speculation about Fifa's contingency plans for 2010, Fifa Secretary General Jérôme Valcke said the event "will be hosted in South Africa, by South Africans, and nowhere else.
South Africa is it: Fifa
"We at Fifa are working very hard in South Africa with South Africa to ensure that the World Cup will happen in South Africa," Valcke said. "The World Cup is such an important event for us ... It pays for the rest of all our events, and we have to make sure that it is a success."
Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi, who chairs the 2010 government technical coordinating committee, said the physical and transport infrastructure being developed for the World Cup would serve South Africa far beyond 2010.
"The South African government is spending close to R33-billion, and that infrastructure will remain for South Africans to utilise beyond 2010," Moleketi said, adding that transport upgrades in particular were crucial for the country's long-term viability.
Deputy National Police Commissioner Andre Pruis said most of the safety and security infrastructure for 2010 was already in place, and that the South African police had been conducting a number of exercises "to assess our capability to deal with any form of crime, including anti-terrorism tests and public order policing.
"We are working closely with countries that have hosted other major events, such as Germany and Beijing, and we believe our strategy will be able to deal with any crime-related incident that may arise."
Accommodation: quality, diversity
Ray Whelan, chairman of Fifa-appointed accommodation provider MATCH, said accommodation would be "plentiful and of a high calibre" in all South African host cities in 2010.
"South Africa will offer five-star luxury, they will offer game parks, tours and what we call bed-and-breakfasts."
South Africans who own bed-and-breakfast establishments, guest houses and lodges have been registering as 2010 accommodation service providers with MATCH.
"The impression of a bed-and-breakfast in my youth wasn't always favourable, yet in South Africa it is a completely different option," Whelan said. "Those particular premises are often five-star and offer you every luxury."
Jordaan said Fifa and the LOC had already signed off on accommodation establishments in other countries in the southern African region, including hotel rooms in Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambique.
Whelan said it was the "diversity of the options which make South Africa a tremendously affordable and viable option to all the people around the world wishing to enjoy the World Cup in 2010."
SAinfo reporter and BuaNews
Would you like to use this article in your publication
or on your website?
See: Using SAinfo material
