Former Holland skipper and Orlando Pirates coach Rudolf 'Ruud' Krol believes the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa will be a wonderful spectacle.
According to FIFA.com, Krol, one of the Dutch 'total football' maestros of 1974, has a special place in his heart for the FIFA World Cup, and has revealed what South Africans can look forward to.
"A World Cup is unique," said Krol, who gained 83 caps for the Netherlands and captained the side 45 times.
"So imagine participating at a World Cup in your own country," he added. "That's the opportunity South African players will get in 2010. It should be every player's ambition to be there. To represent your country at a World Cup at home; that's the dream of every player!"
The well-travelled coach has been impressed with the football culture in South Africa.
"I love the atmosphere the South African supporters create in the stadium," he said.
"The music, the singing and especially the long horn, the vuvuzela, create a very unique sound. And some good performances by the South African national team in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup could help the atmosphere to become truly electric."
Krol is convinced that the tournament in 2010 will be a success from a fan point of view.
"South Africa offers football fans the possibility of watching a World Cup and enjoying a holiday at the same time. A soccer fan can bring his whole family to this country — what more do you want? It's like catching two flies at once! I am 100 per cent convinced that it will be an enormous success."
The Pirates coach's first contact with South Africa came when he led Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations 1996, where host nation South Africa were crowned champions.
Krol said he clearly remembers players like Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, Phil Masinga, Doctor Khumalo and Mark Williams, all of whom were instrumental in the SA triumph.
2010 is an opportunity to showcase SA's culture
Written by admin
Monday, 01 September 2008
Ekurhuleni - The 2010 FIFA World Cup is an opportunity for South Africa to showcase its culture, tourism and what defines Africans, says Ekurhuleni Mayor Ntombi Mekgwe.
"The 2010 milestone will be the biggest event hosted by our country, and therefore calls upon all of us to work together to make this event a memorable one," said Mayor Merge.
Speaking at the Ekurhuleni 2010 Opportunities Workshop in Kempton Park on Friday, Ms Mekgwe said she was confident that the world cup will act as a catalyst in reducing poverty, creating jobs and fighting underdevelopment.
"The world cup will bring a number of opportunities that are not linked to football and will create a lasting legacy in infrastructure investment, Integrated Public Transport, Tourism and Arts and Culture.
"We believe the world cup will broaden local participation in the economy and put the country firmly on track with our objective of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014," she said.
The workshop was aimed at ensuring Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) are abreast with developments regarding the country's preparations towards the world cup and the vast opportunities that exist in Ekurhuleni.
She said the municipality would provide support to these businesses.
"For tourism to be sustainable, we in local government need to ensure that our by-laws are friendly to small businesses, we need to have heritage projects and tourism routes that are appealing to visitors."
She said the world cup offered an opportunity for residents to showcase the country to the world.
"We can make Africa an experience that all would want to come back to not only for soccer, but to build lasting ties with us.
Ekurhuleni has identified three stadiums as legacy projects which will be upgraded to acceptable norms of all sporting codes and ensure sustainability beyond 2010. - BuaNews
Regional security plan for 2010
Written by admin
Saturday, 09 August 2008
SOUTH Africa’s security forces and government agencies are ready to address cross-border crime during the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.
“We are very mindful of cross-border crime. We are looking at it in a multi-integrated way strategically,” said the Free State’s police head, Commissioner Amon Mashigo, yesterday.
He was speaking during a simulation exercise by South African special security forces – forcing down a possible terrorist plane – at the Tempe Airport outside Bloemfontein. Mashigo said the country was ready and had a strategy in place to address any illegal influx into South Africa. He said the problem would not be addressed by only one government department but by various departments.
Mashigo said local police were already working with Lesotho police and those in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape on cross-border crime strategies under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The deputy-national commissioner of police in Lesotho, Kizito Mhlakaza, confirmed steps were in place to address the problem. “The 2010 Fifa World Cup was declared a regional event. We are already working on aspects of security which are imminent in the region,” he said.
Mhlakaza said the two countries were sharing information and knowledge.
Police, the SA National Defence Force and various other security and disaster management agencies had been conducting 2010 training exercise around Bloemfontein in the past week.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Vishnu Naidoo said the exercises were aimed at securing the national airspace above 2010 host cities and other strategic key points. — Sapa
Security concern for 2010 fans
Written by admin
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
South Africa's 2010 chief security officer has warned of the possible security nightmare that local officials will face and has urged them to restrict the number of fan festivals.
With Durban enjoys a warm winter compared with other host cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town, soccer fans are expected to flock to Durban, making organising security extremely difficult.
Speaking during the 2010 security summit in Durban at the weekend, Linda Mti warned the city and the KwaZulu-Natal government to prepare for an influx of people.
"With the city enjoying a relatively warm winter, we believe many people will choose Durban or KwaZulu-Natal (to attend matches). That will pose a serious challenge as it means there will be many more people at fan parks," he said.
Mti said it was envisaged that more than 20 million people would watch World Cup games at fan parks throughout the country.
"We ask Durban to consider having fewer fan parks so that it will be easier for us to organise security. Please do not stretch our security by having too many fan parks," he said.
He said they hoped to present an incident-free World Cup that would leave a lasting legacy for South Africa.
Head of Durban's strategic projects unit Julie-May Ellingson last week confirmed the fan parks would be hosted on the city's Golden Mile. The city expects the fan parks to expand northward toward the Blue Lagoon as numbers swell.
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Cele, concurred with Mti, saying that the expected influx of people posed a security challenge.
"We agree with Mti. The planning of fan parks is crucial," he said.
Cele said Manchester United had recently praised Durban's weather. "They were surprised when I told them we were in the middle of winter and they said it would be great when the World Cup is played in KwaZulu-Natal," Cele said.
The fan parks organised during the rugby World Cup showed there needed to do a lot of planning, Cele said.
"I was at the fan park at Botanic Gardens and it took me three hours to drive to Florida Road because there was a lot of chaos. People were drinking on the road and blocking the traffic flow," he said.
Cele said there was a need to start security arrangements in the four KwaZulu-Natal district municipalities that have been chosen as potential base camps for the teams.
These are Umhlathuzi, which incorporates Richards Bay and Empangeni, Amajuba, Ugu and Umgungundlovu.
2010 FIFA World Cup
Written by admin
Monday, 21 July 2008
The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa, kicking off on 11 June and concluding with the final at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on 11 July 2010.
Ten venues A total of 32 teams will compete at the finals over ten venues: Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, the Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein, the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, the Durban Stadium in Durban, the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, the Port Elizabeth Stadium in Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth and the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane/Pretoria.
International breakdown Of the teams competing in the final tournament, 13 will be from Europe – the nine winners of the qualifying groups and the winners of the four play-offs between the eight best runners-up from the nine groups. They will be joined by six teams from Africa – including the hosts – eight from North, South and Central America and a further five from Asia and Oceania.
Former Holland skipper and Orlando Pirates coach Rudolf 'Ruud' Krol believes the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa will be a wonderful spectacle. According to FIFA.com, Krol, one of t...
Ekurhuleni - The 2010 FIFA World Cup is an opportunity for South Africa to showcase its culture, tourism and what defines Africans, says Ekurhuleni Mayor Ntombi Mekgwe. "The 2010 milestone wil...
SOUTH Africa’s security forces and government agencies are ready to address cross-border crime during the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. “We are very mindful of cross-border...
Verse of The Day
“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” (1 Peter 1:13) (Read by Max McLean. Provided by The Listener's Audio Bible.)
(Read by Max McLean. Provided by The Listener's Audio Bible.)
