June 10, 2010
South Africa is preparing for the start of the biggest football tournament on earth, the World Cup, which gets under way on Friday in Johannesburg.
It is the 19th staging of the showpiece event and will be the first time it has taken place in the continent of Africa.
Johannesburg’s 94,000-capacity Soccer City hosts the opening ceremony, with the first game getting under way at 1500 BST when South Africa face Mexico.
Former president Nelson Mandela, 91, is set to attend part of the festivities.
He will be present on Friday, but will not attend the entire opening game as his family are worried about the state of his health.
BBC’s PAUL FLETCHER’S BLOG
There is a feeling that this World Cup can have a profound impact on how the continent of Africa is perceived by the millions watching from abroad
The World Cup kicks off with a 40-minute opening ceremony at Soccer City starting at 1300 BST.
American R’n'B star R Kelly is one of 1,581 performers ahead of the game between the hosts and Mexico at 1500 BST.
The global TV audience for the tournament will be made up of viewers in more than 215 countries and will run into hundreds of millions.
South Africa president Jacob Zuma and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are also expected to be at Soccer City, the newly refurbished stadium designed to look like a calabash, an African cooking pot.
“South Africa has come alive, and will never be the same after this World Cup,” said Zuma, who hailed Mandela’s role in securing the right to host the finals back in May 2004.
“Nelson Mandela worked hard so that we could win the right to host this tournament. We dedicate the World Cup to him.
“There are a few moments that define a nation’s history. We stand on the threshold of one as we draw closer and closer to Friday, 11 June, when the World Cup officially begins.”
The festivities begin in earnest on Thursday, with Shakira among the artists at a pre-tournament concert in Soweto from 1900 BST that is expected to draw 30,000 fans.
Mandela’s World Cup message
The Colombian pop star will perform the official World Cup song Waka Waka and will be joined by a cast of international stars, including the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys, alongside African stars Amadou & Mariam and Hugh Masekela.
Since it was chosen as the first African host of the World Cup in 2004, South Africa has spent about 40bn rand (£3.55bn) on stadiums, transport infrastructure and upgrading airports.
The tournament, which is made up of 32 nations, could add as much as 0.5% to the country’s GDP in 2010 and will bring in an estimated 370,000 foreign visitors.
Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the local organising committee, said: “For me it will be a dream come true. It’s a great moment in the World Cup’s 80-year history.
“People said no African country could ever deliver this event. But we are showing that we can’t just match what others have done but that we can do even better. Now the doubters are the believers.”
As well as the iconic Soccer City – the biggest stadium in Africa – nine other venues will stage World Cup matches across the country, including Ellis Park, which is also in Johannesburg.
Cape Town, Pretoria, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Nelspruit will host matches, too.
BBC’s SIMON AUSTIN’S BLOG
The level of excitement in the country already seems to have reached bursting point
There are 64 games in total, with the final taking place at Soccer City on Sunday, 11 July.
There have been concerns about ticketing policy and security in the run-up to the tournament.
Fifa has come under fire for the way tickets have been distributed, with critics claiming its preferred method of making tickets available online excluded many locals who did not have an internet connection.
However, football’s world governing body has made a number of tickets exclusively available to South Africans and announced on Wednesday that 97% of the 3.1m tickets had been sold, allaying fears of empty stadiums.
As for security, there have been concerns about the safety of fans, media and players travelling to South Africa.
Sixteen people – including two police officers – were injured at a stampede ahead of a World Cup warm-up match on Sunday between Nigeria and North Korea outside Makhulong Stadium in the township of Tembisa near Johannesburg.
And journalists from China, Spain and Portugal were targeted in two separate armed robberies in and around Johannesburg on Monday and Wednesday.
This competition will prove that South Africa, and the African continent in general, is capable of organising an event of this magnitude
Fifa president Sepp Blatter
However, Fifa president Sepp Blatter insists the World Cup will be a success.
“Everywhere, one can feel, I hope, that this World Cup is very special, the first on African soil,” he said. “We find ourselves in a position of indescribable anticipation.
“More importantly, this competition will prove that South Africa, and the African continent in general, is capable of organising an event of this magnitude.”
England are among the favourites in South Africa and Fabio Capello’s men get their Group C campaign under way against the United States in Rustenburg on Saturday.
Defending champions Italy start on Monday with a match against Paraguay, Brazil face North Korea in their first game on Tuesday and Euro 2008 winners Spain start their bid for a first World Cup win by taking on Switzerland on Wednesday.
South Africa have never progressed beyond the group stage at the World Cup, though they have only taken part in two previous tournaments, in 1998 and 2002.
They are managed by Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led his home nation to victory at the 1994 World Cup in the United States and will be coaching at a record sixth tournament.
Some of the world’s best players will be on display in South Africa, among them Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
But some big names will be missing because of injury, such as England duo Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham, Germany skipper Michael Ballack and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien.
Didier Drogba – an icon in African sport – fractured his elbow in a recent friendly against Japan, but is hopeful of playing a part in the Ivory Coast’s campaign.
[BBC]
4 Comments on "Blog: South Africa ready for World Cup"
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Seasoned Soccer Fan-USA on Thu, 10th Jun 2010 11:53 PM
I this will be great opportunity for AFRICA hope and pray it will be a huge success. God Bless Africa.
Brave Rangers for Life on Fri, 11th Jun 2010 8:23 AM
Big five to Zamfoot for the changes made on the site it realy looks good. This is innovation at its best and this site makes you to have a sense of belonging and to be associated with Zambian brand of intellegence and wisdom. Thank you Ba Zamfoot for even quoting my comments as one of the quotes of the week some three weeks ago though a belated thank you but i owe you one. Coming to the world cup opening today i feel South Africa will spring up some surprises though i doubt their frontline which i feel is not all that sharp, but Spain is a big threat. Brazil is up there but Argentina, Italy and Germany cannot be written off, its going to be an exciting month of quality football. Just to reflect on Justice Kafusha’s views on players allowance of 300 pin i think FAZ should come out straight to the players on what they will get after a win, draw or a loss. Though small advance promises can bring discontent as output wil not be at its best. These days its not about patrotism as it was in the time of Kalus or the Ucars times have realy changed where a player is costing 80 million pin is a sign that the world is evolving and Zed football should also move with time. Brazil went to Tanzania and the FA there is reeling in a huge debts becoz of that game why its due to paying of player appearance fees to those world class players. Tanzania would still have paid those appearnce fees even if Brazil lost that game. People should accept the reality that football has been highly commersialized and we must move with those times. Kalus wife went to Malawi as a FIFA rep. and was telling the FA there that they should commercialise the game but FAZ is doing exatly the opposite, they do not even have a business development manager in their structure. Players should be paid handsomely win loose or draw so that their lives are uplifted however they use that money for is an individuals decision but a wise one will make good investments with the money. Just think about it Etoo buying expensive watches for his friends worth 10 million dollars is not a joke that shows a player has worked hard and gotten something from his sweat. Thats what should happen to Zed players, not playing for patriorism that was in KK time and we should move on with time.
Big Steve from SA on Fri, 11th Jun 2010 8:39 AM
The concert yesterday was amazing, if the opening today will be in the same spirit then the tournament will be a major success. I think after 12 games consecutive no loss and beating teams like Denmark and Columbia, Bafana bafana may just spring some surprises at this world cup. They will have 90,000 vuvuzelas to distract the mexicans and home ground advantage.
How I wish this was Zambia I was talking about.
tm jics on Fri, 11th Jun 2010 10:49 AM
any predition page for the worldcup zamfoot.