Only an Act of God can stop 2010 from taking place in South Africa

“There is no Plan B for hosting the 2010 Football World Cup. Fifa has no countries in reserve. The 2010 World Cup will be played in South Africa,” said Hans Klaus, Fifa’s public affairs director at the World Travel Market in London.

Klaus attempted to once and for all kill the rumour that football’s global governing body had any doubts about hosting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The press and public have in the past expressed concern over whether South Africa’s infrastructure could handle the influx of visitors and whether their safety could be guaranteed. But Derek Carstens, chief marketing officer of the Local Organising Committee, said these fears are diminishing. “People are begining to realise that if it is good enough for FIFA, it is good enough for the world – FIFA won’t take any risks.

He pointed out that the completion of the country’s 10 football stadiums are well ahead of  schedule; that R50bn (£3.5bn) is being pumped into developing transport; and that tickets for the event are already selling at a rate double to that of Germany.

“We are adding 30 000 members of police – which means there will be a total force of 200 000 on the street. And with an additional 60 000 CCTV cameras this will be the last place on God’s earth that any criminal will want to be,” said Carstens. “It is important to distinguish between a country’s general security and event security – on the latter South Africa’s track record is impeccable.”

Political wrangling in South Africa will also not influence the World Cup, said Klaus. Political factions may have their differences, but one thing everyone agrees on is the importance of the World Cup to Africa. “Any government that will be elected next year will support the World Cup,” he said.

And neither would the current economic climate adversely affect 2010 budgets. “South Africa already committed resources in 2004 and of that a significant amount has been spent,” said Moeketsi Mosola, CEO of South African Tourism.

He said that thanks to a solid banking system, South Africa has not been exposed to the volatility of the markets. And on the bright side, a few pounds will now buy you many more beers: “Because the foreign exchange  has not gone our way, a pound goes a long way in South Africa – we hope the world can take advantage of the lower exchange rate.”

So it seems, as Klaus said, that only an act of God will stop the 2010 World Cup from taking place in South Africa.

- by Elizma Nolte