News: Countdown for FIFA World Cup 2010,today reaches 1 year to go!

With one year to go to the 2010 World Cup, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) is confident everything in South Africa will be ready on time for the event.

On Wednesday, LOC chief executive Danny Jordaan promised that fans will be embraced and protected from crime. The committee will host the FIFA Confederations Cup, starting this weekend, and the event will act as a dress rehearsal for next year’s spectacle.

Jordaan promised next year’s world cup will be the best in history. “This is an African world cup but it is world class,” said Jordaan.

The LOC and FIFA are using four world cup stadiums for this month’s Confederations Cup to test the country’s readiness for next year’s event. As much as stadium preparedness has been the focus of much media attention, international concern has aslo centered on security.

There, too, Jordaan has allayed fears. “The reality in South Africa is that we have hosted 146 major events without a a single incident."

DURBAN GETS READY

Although there will not be any Confederation Cup matches held in KwaZulu-Natal arrangements have been made by the provincial government to ensure soccer fans can catch a piece of the action on big screens.

In a bid to reach the poorer communities in KZN authorities are currently putting the finishing touches on the public viewing areas, or fan parks as they are more commonly known.

There will be no cover charge to access these facilities.

The province’s Economic and Tourism Department says it wants everyone to experience the thrill of the Confed Cup.

Meanwhile, Durban’s Strategic Project Planning Head Julie-May Ellignson says preparations for 2010 are actually ahead of schedule.

CAPE TOWN

 President Jacob Zuma will get a first hand account on Thursday of how construction of the Green Point Stadium is progressing.

The day marks exactly one year to kick off of the FIFA Soccer World Cup.

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato and 2010 Local Organising Committee chief executive Danny Jordaan will join Zuma. The president is expected to once again put his soccer skills on display by participating in a symbolic kick-off at the arena.  Zuma showed his ball skills when he was presented with the Confederations Cup trophy in Parliament earlier this week.

At 4pm on Thursday, it will be exactly one year to kick-off of the first ever soccer world cup on African soil. Meanwhile, Cape Town authorities say construction at the new Green Point stadium is on track.

The 68 000 seat stadium will host eight matches during the football showpiece and is set to be completed in December. The City of Cape Town’s 2010 Communications Director Pieter Cronje says they are making real progress. “The stadium is really well on track. We’ve completed all the concrete construction work. We are now putting up the roof at quite a steady pace. All the roof trusses are in place, we are fitting glass panels," says Cronje. 




Courtesy: Eye Witness News 11June 2009

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