Mninawa Ntloko
29 June 2009
Johannesburg — A GLITZY display of sound and light at Ellis Park last night brought down the curtain on what is being hailed as one of the most successful Confederations Cup tournaments since the event's humble beginnings in Saudi Arabia in 1992.
Many of the doubters who questioned football governing body Fifa's decision to award the 2010 Soccer World Cup to SA arrived in Johannesburg hoping to be present when the country made a mess of the global showpiece dress rehearsal.
But even the most cynical among the foreign visitors have slowly come to accept that SA will host a world-class Soccer World Cup next year after successfully staging the Confederations Cup.
SA's hosting capability is no longer in doubt and preparations for the World Cup can begin in earnest today after the experience gained from accommodating, transporting and providing security to the seven countries that took part in the eight-nation event.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter - SA's biggest supporter - said last week that, on a scale of one to 10, he gave SA eight. Blatter argued that it was illogical for even the most cynical of visitors to have expected the tournament to be smooth sailing as "perfection does not exist anywhere in the world".
Danny Jordaan - CEO of the 2010 organising committee - said the Bafana Bafana vs New Zealand encounter during the group stages had 6-million viewers, more than the 5,2-million that watched the Springboks win the Rugby World Cup in Paris in 2007.
But despite the vote of confidence, there were challenges, and the government, the local organising committee and Fifa will be well aware that the next 12 months will have to be spent getting the country ready for a far bigger assignment - the World Cup.
The foreign media continued to raise questions about security and asked if the 500000 visitors who are expected next year will be safe.
Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke also conceded that there were question marks about whether Bloemfontein would be able to accommodate the thousands of fans who are expected to descend on the Free State city next year.
Bloemfontein could barely accommodate the few thousand who came to watch the group match between Bafana and Spain last week.
The much-criticised park and ride system will need closer inspection in the coming months as it was blamed for the late arrivals at all the venues -- Ellis Park, Loftus, Free State and Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace -- of the tournament.
Thousands of supporters regularly missed the first halves of matches, while some even gave up and went home after waiting for bus es that either went to the wrong pick-up points or took their time arriving at their designated stations.
At least the suites at Ellis Park were all occupied last night after the boxes remained empty for most of the matches. Corporate SA apparently balked at the 800 asking price per box after the corporates were kicked out by Fifa and told to buy them.
Fifa will have no such problems next year as the suites are expected to have many desperate buyers at an even higher price.
Meanwhile, Germany coach Joachim Loew has expressed his concern about training facilities in SA ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
Loew, who is in SA for the Confederations Cup, was also surprised by the cold temperatures his team can expect during a World Cup to be played in the middle of winter.
"The stadiums are good, the hotels are good, and we will simply have to get used to the weather conditions," said Loew on a three-day trip to the country to scout out Germany's potential arrangements.
With Sapa
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