In a previous article (see Is South Africa Ready for the World Cup?) we talked about the ceremony at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium commemorating an important construction milestone. This might quite logically leave you wondering how many stadiums are actually going to be involved with the FIFA World Cup.

The answer? Ten, in nine different South African cities.

Specifically, five of South Africa’s football stadiums will undergo major renovations for the World Cup: Ellis Park and Soccer City in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Mafikeng in North West Province and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein in the Free State.

New stadiums are also being built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga and in the Nelson Mandela Metro (which encompasses Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape. Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo is being completely rebuilt, as is King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban and Cape Town’s Green Point stadium.

Kings Park and Green Point stadium are being redesigned as part of the project to become multi-sport facilities (cricket? , and Green Point will include a retractable dome to protect the field from the Cape’s unpredictable winter weather.

How much will all this construction cost?  You don’t want to know. You do?  The initial budget was set to 9.8 billion rand (1.28 billion dollars), but as with just about all construction projects, it’s already apparently over budget. So it’s a big, big job and we’re certainly hoping to see beautiful world-class sports facilities that include top-notch video equipment compatibility so that those of us that don’t travel to South Africa can enjoy the games at each of the ten new venues.

Posted under 2010 World Cup

Soccer fans world-round are already excited at the upcoming World Cup South Africa 2010. The qualifying games are already happening – to tremendous crowds – and we’re over a year away from the opening kick-off of the actual event. But when we’re talking about the single most popular sporting event in the world, you can bet that there are a lot of people paying attention.

And one of the things that we’re paying attention to this year is the host country, South Africa. A tumultuous country with a remarkable history, South Africa is just as much a beautiful paradise of rabid football fans as it is a troubled country on a continent that’s found the challenge of moving into the 21st century almost insurmountable.

Which leads to the quite reasonable question: is South Africa going to be ready for the World Cup when the first kick-off occurs?

A quick peek at a site like SouthAfrica.info and you’ll see they address it directly, saying “The Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup, World Cup of Motorsport, Women’s World Cup of Golf, African Nations Cup … If you think South Africa will have any trouble pulling off the 2010 Fifa World Cup, look at the country’s track record for hosting major sporting events – and think again.”

But are they really getting closer to being ready?

Well, it looks like they are. Earlier this month they had a grand lighting ceremony at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium to celebrate the completion of the 105-metre high arch that towers over the 2010 semi-final venue. The last few weeks also marked the beginning of ticket sales for the FIFA World Cup 2010, which is a definite sign of optimism, if nothing else.

We’ll keep a close eye on preparations, of course, but here’s hoping that June 11 will be the beginning of a wonderful series of matches and the simultaneous start of a new chapter for the South African nation and its peoples.

Posted under 2010 World Cup