SWC 2010 audit of cities

2004-09-16 17:13

Cape Town - South Africa''s soccer World Cup Committee is about to start an audit of the capabilities of the cities anxious to host matches during the course of the championship in 2010, said World Cup Bid CEO Danny Jordaan on Thursday.

Where and how many matches would take place would depend on the outcome of this audit, he added.

Questions which would be answered by the audit was whether the city - including Cape Town - would be capable of handling air traffic and crowds and whether there was sufficient accommodation.

Another key question which needed to be answered was whether the stadiums in the cities were able to cope with the demand on their telecommunications infrastructure.

Addressing the Cape Town Press Club in Cape Town, Jordaan said Fifa was looking at raising "between three billion and 3.2 billion US dollars" from the holding of the Cup in South Africa. Much of this money had to banked in Switzerland by 2007, he noted.

He said Fifa had looked closely at broadcast industry capabilities and believed that this major source of revenue was secure.

South Africa had to be sure that the host cities could serve the "tens of thousands of spectators" who will arrive for the games which will run in June and July of 2010.

More than 300 000 visitors

This included coping with a demand of between 10 000 and 20 000 hired cars, accommodation in hotels and appropriate transport infrastructure.

He said he expected "conservatively" at least 300 000 visitors to the country, including 50 000 journalists. Each of the 32 teams would bring about 10 000 to 15 000 supporters to South Africa.

Asked about potential hooliganism, he noted that Bafana Bafana had played England at Kings Park in Durban.

"You know what happened to the English football fans. The officials said it was the first time that the fans did not boo the national anthem of the opposition team. Normally they would. Secondly they remained in the stadium after the match and were dancing and toyi-toying."

It was impossible to fight with people who wanted to sing, he argued. "The football arena is about song and dance. This (South Africa) is the wrong place to fight.

"Perhaps in the streets we may have problems as had been found in Marseilles in France in 1998. These are questions of entry. These (potential hooligans) need to be checked before they leave the countries of origin."

Asked about the bonus promised by Safa (South African Football Association) to him of R7m, Jordaan said: "It is difficult for me to speak on a decision by the Safa executive. I have my own views on the matter. In normal business practice you declare a profit and a bonus. That is normal.

"Beyond that I would not like to comment further. I will tell you privately what I earn. It was not about money. That bonus has not been paid and will not be paid for some time. That is an issue which Safa must deal with."

- I-Net Bridge (News24)