News sources are reporting that a 50-person delegation from FIFA toured the various facilities under construction in South Africa late last month and found everything going very well and all major venue construction projects on schedule to be done by the end of 2009.

That’s five stadiums: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Port Elizabeth), Moses Mabhida Stadium (Durban), Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit), Peter Mokaba Stadium (Polokwane), and Soccer City Stadium (Johannesburg).

In addition, the FIFA team inspected team hotels and training sites and, as Ron DelMont, head of FIFA’s South Africa Office, said: “overall, we are very impressed with the achievements made. In addition to the stadiums coming together, we were equally pleased that the teams of the organizing committee, host cities and FIFA are working on a common vision.”

Wondering if the tour was just about buildings, gates and seats?  The team included experts on broadcasting, media operations, logistics, safety, security, medical and hospitality.

All we can say is Go, South Africa, Go!

Posted under 2010 World Cup

If you’ve watched the terrific Confederations Cup — and especially its thrilling USA:Brazil ending! — then you can’t have helped hearing the South African fans making noise with their traditional instruments of football mayhem, the vuvuzela.

They look like this:

The Vuvuzela is a noise maker found at South African soccer matches

A half-dozen fans having one of these, or even a lot of fans who blow on them to celebrate a goal or terrific defensively play is one thing, but as those of us that watched the FIFA Confederations Cup learned, the practice in South Africa seems to be to keep a continuous drone of vuvuzela going throughout the match.

And we’re not talking about twenty or thirty people in the stadium, we’re talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of locals keeping a deafening racket during the entire match.

Players have complained, coaches have complained, broadcast personnel have complained, but FIFA, so far, has said that it would allow vuvuzela’s in the World Cup 2010 stadiums and would allow South Africans to use them to mark their enjoyment and appreciation of the game.

I wish they wouldn’t. I found the constant clamor to be most distracting and annoying, and it even got in the way of being able to hear the crowd reaction to terrific plays or bad calls by referees both.

Maybe it’s time for the South African fans to learn some chants?

Posted under 2010 World Cup

To host or not to host – that is not the question any longer. It is less than 500 days until the 2010 World Cup starts.

There were many reasons for and against the World Cup in South Africa.

• The FIFA acknowledged the huge soccer enthusiasm in Africa.
• Many of the great players in the top leagues in Europe are from Africa.
• The World Cup was traditionally hosted in Europe and South America. Now North America and Asia have hosted the event as well. Quite simply: It is Africa’s turn.
• South Africa seemed to be best able to organize the event and build the necessary infrastructure.

Read More…

Posted under 2010 World Cup