V&T Daily
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kick off in south africa
Published in the January-March 2010 issue.
South Africa will provide the biggest sports story of the coming year as soccer lives up to its reputation as the world game, says Rob Woodburn.
Many millions of eyes will focus on the southern tip of the African continent from 11 June to 11 July 2010 as the country proudly hosts the first FIFA World Cup to be staged in Africa. South African president Jacob Zuma has promised that his country will deliver an event to “forever change the perceptions of the international community” and provide “a lasting legacy for the people of Africa”.
The FIFA World Cup games will be played in 10 stadiums in nine cities. Five of these stadiums are new; the other five have been significantly upgraded. Industrial disputes and bad weather have caused substantial delays in construction at some stadiums, yet the organisers remain upbeat and assure everything will be ready in time.
The rush was on to finish Cape Town’s new Green Point Stadium in time for the draw on 4 December that determined the match-up of the 32 teams contesting the finals. The landmark stadium, arguably the world’s most spectacular setting for sport, has a retractable dome. It will host six group matches, a quarter-final and semi-final. The finals draw, to be watched by a massive global television audience, will be broadcast from Cape Town International Convention Centre.
One semi-final will be played in Cape Town and the other in Durban. The final game of the 2010 World Cup will take place at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.
The successful hosting of the FIFA Confederations Cup last June suggests that South Africa is well on track towards delivering the World Cup sporting sensation everyone hopes it will be. Nothing is being spared in the quest to make this happen, though the cost of staging the mammoth event has rocketed as the value of the South Africa rand has tumbled. The overall cost is now expected to be more than US$4 billion.
An estimated 450,000 foreign visitors are expected in South Africa during the event. Minister for Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk and the head of FIFA’s local organising committee, Danny Jordaan, have both predicted that football will push the country’s annual visitor total over the magic 10 million mark.
Their comments echoed thoughts expressed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter who, early in 2009, told South African trade unionists that the World Cup “is intended to have an enduring and positive effect on the economy and generate social change”.
Thousands of jobs have been created during preparations for the big event, with much of the work being done intended to benefit South Africa far beyond 2010. Billions of rand are being spent on major improvements to rail and road networks, airport upgrades and better bus and taxi services in all the major cities involved.
Cape Town is South Africa’s most popular holiday city and expects to attract four out of five foreign World Cup visitors. Several new hotels will open in time for the festivities. An added attraction is the close proximity of beautiful Cape wineries around the towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek.
Durban has sandy Indian Ocean beaches and also offers access to the fabulous KwaZulu-Natal coastline. It will be another tourist hotspot. Moses Mabhida Stadium is part of the revamped Kings Park sporting precinct. This new stadium will have a capacity of 70,000 for the World Cup and will host six group matches and a semi-final.
Many visiting fans will add an African safari onto their sporting itineraries, which means normally tranquil Nelspruit, home of the new Mbombela Stadium and jumping-off point for Kruger National Park and the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, could see a healthy boost in local tourism.
Alternative safari choices in malaria-free areas are available on the Eastern Cape near Port Elizabeth, home of the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The first newly built World Cup stadium to open and the city’s first football stadium, it will seat 46,500 for the World Cup and will host six group matches, a quarter-final and the play-off for third and fourth place.
The prospects for other South African cities hosting World Cup games are less evident. Mangaung-Bloemfontein, Tshwane (formerly Pretoria) and Polokwane, in the far northern Limpopo Province, hardly register on the international tourist map. Johannesburg and Soweto, the country’s most densely populated urban conglomerations, are low on holiday wish lists, though there’s increasing interest among young travellers in exploring Soweto, where Lebo Malepa runs a popular backpacker guesthouse and does cycle tours through the streets. Soccer City Stadium, built in 1987 near Soweto, is the flagship stadium of the World Cup and will host the opening ceremony and first game, five other group matches, a quarter-final and the final match.
And in Jo’burg, Coca-Cola Park (formerly Ellis Park Stadium) was the scene of the memorable 1995 Rugby World Cup final, a game that changed a nation. Capacity will be increased to 70,000 for the World Cup.
Two World Cup stadiums, Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg and Mbombela in Nelspruit, face the danger of becoming white elephants. They are far from urban areas, with no local soccer teams to fill seats once the Cup is over. Danny Jordaan has admitted that Nelspruit and Polokwane pose big problems in terms of accommodation and that World Cup fans will have to be transported in and out for matches. Rustenburg, however, is close to two big visitor attractions: gambling mecca Sun City and the Pilanesberg National Park Game Reserve, which provides fabulous wildlife viewing. Anyone going to South Africa is assured of a warm, spirited welcome. The locals certainly know how to dance, sing and party, as anyone who witnessed the triumphant celebrations at the 1995 Rugby World Cup can testify. A month of world soccer will be celebrated in vibrant, rhythmic African style.
Tickets sales are reportedly buoyant. But the reality is that far more spectators will watch World Cup matches screened live and free at open-air FIFA ‘fan parks’ to be set up in cities around the country. The cheapest ticket available to South Africans is 140 rand, a huge expense in a country where poverty is rife. Many locals will simply stay home and watch it all unfold on TV.
The national team, Bafana Bafana (The Boys) got a free pass to the finals but few seriously expect them to make the final stages of competition. Strange things occur regularly in Africa, however, and the country is sure to erupt in delirious delight each time their team manages to score. Should the impossible happen, such a momentous victory would be an emotional victory for the entire African continent. •
Photography courtesy South Africa Tourism.
TRAVEL FACTS
getting there
- South African Airlines flies direct to Johannesburg from Sydney and Perth, with onward connections to Cape Town. Phone 1300 435972 or visit ww3.flysaa.com
- Kenya Airways, with codeshare partners, has flights to Nairobi and on to South Africa via Bangkok and Hong Kong. Phone 1300 787 310 (Australia) or 0800 737 747 (NZ) or visit www.kenya-airways.com
getting around
world cup tickets
where to stay
further information
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