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Cape Town Gears Up For 2010 FIFA World Cup Final Draw

Written by admin
Monday, 03 August 2009
Cape Town mayor Dan Plato and Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa, Dr Danny Jordaan, yesterday signed the service level agreement for Cape Town to host the tournament's Final Draw at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 4 December this year. The Draw, which is expected to be broadcast in almost 200 countries and attended by about 2 000 guests and around 800 media representatives, will determine the match order for the world's top 32 teams who will contest Africa's first FIFA World Cup from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The agreement sets out the roles and responsibilities for the two parties in staging the event and to provide all the necessary support services. It was signed in typically Cape Town entertainment fashion, with minstrels from the world-famous Cape Town Minstrel Carnival providing the musical accompaniment and performing the popular tune ‘Welcome to Cape Town'. Executive Mayor Dan Plato said excitement and anticipation amongst the residents of Cape Town was starting to mount as the Final Draw and the 2010 FIFA World Cup approaches. "We can't wait for the fourth of December and we can't wait for 2010 to welcome all the visitors and spectators to our city. Cape Town is ready and prepared to deliver a memorable Final Draw and to provide unique visitor experiences for visitors and the soccer fraternity alike. The timing coincides with Cape Town's festive season and all stakeholders are working together on integrated planning and preparations for the event," the mayor told reporters. Jordaan said the Final Draw in South Africa's scenic ‘Mother City' would capture the imagination of the football world and would be a week-long event featuring a number of activities staged by FIFA, the Organising Committee, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Provincial Government and all South Africa's Host Cities. "There are two projects left in the delivery of the 2010 FIFA World, the Final Draw this December and then the tournament itself starting next June. The FIFA Confederations Cup has really shifted the mood world-wide. Where people once questioned and doubted, we've now reached a position where people are looking forward in anticipation and excitement to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa," said Jordaan. "The Final Draw in Cape Town is a critical date and an important milestone for us. And we could not find a better city in which to host it. Cape Town's a wonderful location and its Greenpoint Stadium is a landmark, one of the best in the world," heNO SOURCE added. The Executive Mayor said the 2010 FIFA World Cup came at an opportune time for the city and had already created a number of job opportunities in especially the infrastructure sector. "The impetus of expenditure and investment in infrastructure for 2010 could not have come at a better time to counteract the effects of the economic slump. While not every individual or suburb of Cape Town will benefit directly from the World Cup, improved facilities, services and infrastructure will benefit all indirectly," said Plato, according to an Organising Committee press release.

Zuma: We are ready for 2010

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Sunday, 26 July 2009
World heads of states including US President Barack Obama were impressed with South Africa’s preparations for the soccer world cup, President Jacob Zuma said on Saturday. "I am impressed with what South Africa has achieved since it was awarded the right to host the world cup. Heads of states including President Barack Obama are talking about it," said Zuma addressing workers at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium. Zuma visited the stadium to see the work that has been done at the stadium and to thank workers for the contribution they have made. The president was accompanied by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize, eThekwini Municipality Mayor Obed Mlaba and all provincial MECs. Zuma said in all international summits he had attended, heads of states were praising South Africa for being well on track with world cup preparations. "One of the heads of states called me aside during one of the summits and asked me to visit his country soon so that he will also return the visit next year during the world cup. He is the president of the country that is likely to win the cup and we nearly beat it during the Confederation Cup. I am not going to mention his name. You can guess which country I am talking about," he said. He said sceptics who thought that South Africa would not organise the world cup had been proven wrong. "Even FIFA president Sepp Blatter has made it clear that he is impressed with the manner we are preparing for the tournament." He said criticism had also helped South Africa to work even harder. "We are ready. There is no doubt about that. I would like to thank all people who are involved in building stadiums. We are ready because of your contribution. I would also like to thank political leaders for their dedication." Zuma called on Mlaba to slaughter a cow for the workers when they finish building the Moses Mabhida stadium.

World Cup could lead to migrant influx

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Thursday, 23 July 2009

South Africa is taking steps to make sure soccer fans go home when the 2010 Fifa World Cup is over.

South Africa has an estimated 3 million to 5 million undocumented African immigrants, according to the SA Institute of Race Relations. Now some are predicting that eased entry procedures for the tournament will make things worse.

Darshan Vigneswaran, a migration expert at Wits University, said migrants would keep coming because entry was easy enough by paying a bribe at the border.

The government is working on ways to balance welcoming the fans and making this an event for the whole continent, without compromising borders.

South Africa is spending nearly R1.1 billion to streamline entry for the games. It is the first World Cup host to offer an "event visa" for visitors from countries lacking visa-free arrangements with the host government. They will have to show a match ticket, an address while in South Africa and a return ticket home.

Immigration officials will run spot checks on the addresses and deport overstayers. But finding them could be difficult - it should be easy for them to melt in among the illegal immigrants already here.

On the xenophobic violence of last year, Vigneswaran said: "That powder keg is still there. In a year of economic downturn, as very wealthy people celebrate (the World Cup), there will be people being killed in townships for being foreigners." - Sapa-AP

324 Days to Go

Written by admin
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 July 2009 )

Global call goes out for 2010 FIFA World Cup™ volunteers

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Monday, 20 July 2009

After a successful FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) today starts the drive to recruit 15 000 volunteers for next year's showpiece tournament.

With 32 teams participating, an expected influx of 450 000 visitors and 64 matches across nine host cities in ten stadiums, the volunteers will play a vital role in assisting the OC to deliver a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

For the FIFA Confederations Cup alone - which was open to only South African residents - nearly 40 000 people applied for the 4 000 available volunteer positions, making it one of the most sought-after opportunities in the country.

With applications now open to people from around the world and with the scale of the tournament increasing ten-fold, the OC Volunteer Programme has a big job at hand. The OC's Volunteer Programme Manager, Onke Mjo, however believes the organisation is up to the task.

FIFA.com spoke to Mjo to find out more about the volunteer programme and the job that awaits her team and the prospective volunteers.

FIFA.com: How successful was the FIFA Confederations Cup Volunteer Programme?

Onke Mjo: It was very important to have the FIFA Confederations Cup as it gave us the opportunity to test the systems and how things should work. We have learnt so much from the tournament and we can say without hesitation that the FIFA Confederations Cup was a success. It has shown us the way forward to 2010 and we are now very confident that the volunteers programme will be a great success next year. There has also been very positive feedback from the volunteers who obviously enjoyed themselves during the tournament and many of them have been asking when they can apply for the World Cup volunteer programme.

What were the major lessons learnt during the FIFA Confederations Cup volunteer programme?
Even though we view the FIFA Confederations Cup as a success, it lived up to its status as a great test event for the FIFA World Cup. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup Volunteer Programme, we now know we need to strengthen our job-specific training with the volunteer groups and need to make the volunteers more aware of what their job will entail. After running the successful FIFA Confederations Cup programme, it is tightening up the small things we now have to work on for the FIFA World Cup.

How important is the contribution of the volunteers to the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup?
The contribution of the volunteers to the tournament is enormous. Given the the scale of the FIFA World Cup, with ten stadiums, nine host cities and the volume of people and teams coming into the country, the support of the volunteers is invaluable to the success of the World Cup. They certainly will be the lifeblood of the tournament, as they proved during the FIFA Confederations Cup.

What kind of response do you expect from people around the world when applications open?
We can tell from the number of enquiries we have had so far that there is enormous interest in the World Cup volunteers programme. The enthusiasm from people around the world has been tremendous and there is sure to be a large scale interest when applications open today (Monday 20 July) as we have been getting a number of enquiries from around the world in the lead up to the launch. People are excited to have the chance to be part of something so important. With teams now starting to qualify for the World Cup - with the Netherlands, South Korea, North Korea and Australia to name just a few, already in - we are confident that the response from the international community will be strong as more teams begin to qualify.

What do you think is the most critical element to the success of the volunteers programme for 2010?
The character and personality of the volunteers is very important to the success of the tournament. They are the face of the tournament and will be the first people the teams and spectators see when they arrive in the country and the last people they see when they leave after the tournament is over. This, along with the careful planning and in-depth training of the volunteers from the Organising Committee, means we are confident that we will ensure a successful volunteers programme and tournament in general.

What would you say to someone who was thinking of applying to become a volunteer?
To be involved in an event like the World Cup is really an opportunity of a lifetime. To be part of the first World Cup on the African continent is something so special. I want the people interested in becoming a volunteer for 2010 to really think about it carefully though, they must read all the information we have provided on FIFA.com and be informed about what their job will be all about before they sign up. The World Cup is a big commitment as it runs for a full month so they need to be aware of the time they are giving to the tournament.

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