Government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on the 2010 FIFA World Cup held a meeting today 10 June 2009 to asses the country’s readiness to host the Confederations Cup.
We are confident that all is in order to ensure that the Confederations Cup becomes a resounding success.
The meeting received reports from various departments responsible for implementing the commitments we made to FIFA.
It gives us comfort to report that all the four venues chosen to host the Confederations Cup tournament are ready, namely: Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane, Free State stadium in Mangaung and Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg.
Construction work in the rest of the stadia earmarked for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is progressing well within the FIFA set target dates.
South Africa is well-ahead in its preparations to ensuring a safe and secure 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The government is responsible for general security while venue security is the responsibility of the Organising Committee (OC).
In June 2008 we submitted to FIFA a comprehensive security plan which FIFA has since reviewed and endorsed, concluding that it lays a reassuring basis for the event’s security.
The SAPS is set to deploy 41 000 officers specifically for the event, made up of 31 000 permanent members and 10 000 police reservists. A total of 8 000 officers will be deployed for the FIFA Confederations Cup.
All transport operational plans are ready for all the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup matches. Technical teams are deployed in municipalities to assist in the implementation of the transport projects to ease the movement of the football fans and tourists during the tournament.
The Department of Communications has registered good progress with the installation of the Information and Telecommunication networks, including the setting up of the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at NASREC.
There will be a fully functional International Broadcast Co-ordination Centre at the Ellis Park stadium during the 2009 FCC.
With South Africa having 207 330 graded venues, accommodation arrangements are receiving high priority attention. A total of 34 910 rooms have been secured for the tournament, more than 5284 of which are from small operators.
There is a communication and marketing campaign currently ran by the South African government and the organising committee. The campaign is steadily galvanising communities to support the hosting of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup
We have been informed by the organising committee that tickets to the opening match between South Africa and Iraq are almost sold out. All signs are there that we are heading for a fully packed 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, as will the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
President Jacob Zuma said yesterday in Parliament that “the growing confidence within the national football team, Bafana Bafana and the arrival of participating teams has added to the football fever engulfing the nation”.
We are pleased with the levels of enthusiasm shown by ordinary South Africans in welcoming Italy and Iraq national teams on arrival to our country, and hope that the same passion will be shown to all other nations who are still coming.
Every South African has a responsibility to go out and show their support for our national team.
For more information contact:
Tiyani Rikhotso
Cell: 083 800 9936
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
10 June 2009
