2008/09/18
FIFA boss Sepp Blatter left South Africa a happy man after expressing his confidence the country will host the greatest World Cup ever in 2010.
After reiterating he was visiting the country rather than on an inspection mission, Blatter said he was pleased with “the magnitude of the construction” at the Ellis Park, Soccer City and Greenpoint stadiums – all 2010 World Cup venues.
On evidence from what he had witnessed during his four-day visit, Blatter said: “I am once more convinced that the World Cup in South Africa will be a great World Cup.”
But he did express some concern, about what he perceived as people in South Africa not having caught World Cup fever as yet. He expected to see banners showing the world the World Cup belonged to South Africa and hinted the Local Organising Committee (LOC) would have to step up their advertising campaign.
“The Fifa World Cup is much bigger than any other sporting event, including the Olympics, the two are not comparable. It is kick-off time now because the Confederations Cup is tomorrow,” said Blatter.
While pleased with the organisation of the World Cup nationwide, Blatter felt cities should market themselves more, as they will play a major role come 2010, with visitors clamouring for souvenirs of the cities they were due to visit. He described the emotional meeting with Nelson Mandela, as the “highlight of my visit”.
He presented Mandela with a replica World Cup trophy for “winning Africa the right to host the 2010 World Cup as there would have been no World Cup without Madiba”.
Regarding the political uncertainty in the country, Blatter said Fifa would not interfere in this respect, but would ensure all guarantees made in 2003 were honoured, and “having listened to what was said today, I think we are on the right track”.
As far as Bafana Bafana was concerned, he said the Confederations Cup will be a case of “high noon” for the national team, adding they must “start now and prepare, because no one will do them any favours”.
He said it was imperative South Africa – as the host nation – performed well at the soccer showpiece.
Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke said although it was difficult to budget for a profit for the World Cup because the LOC was still working on confirming seating capacity, they were expecting to make a profit of about R815 million (100m), which is well short of the R1.7 billion profit 150m Germany made in 2004.
Blatter applauded the sterling efforts of the more than 20000 construction workers and announced they would receive two tickets each to watch a game in 2010. Blatter said all hosts faced similar problems that South Africa was facing in the build- up. But he was confident South Africans were strong enough to organise a successful World Cup.
Regarding security issues, he said it was a problem “not specific to South Africa” alone. “Our world is totally disturbed but we can touch the world with football,” said Blatter. Executive mayor of Johannesburg Amos Masondo, said he was confident the stadiums would be ready in time and finished within budget. “We are making real progress,” he said.
It was revealed the official 2010 mascot will be unveiled on Monday. - By DOMINIC PEEL
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