South Africa’s plans stretch ahead

Key players including Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 local organising committee and FIFA President Sepp Blatter tell Host City why the first World Cup on African soil will be an extraordinary success

Danny Jordaan, the man who spearheaded South Africa’s drive to host the 2010 World Cup is currently steering the country’s local organising committee (LOC) through some rough seas. A number of concerns have been raised about South Africa’s ability to host the quadrennial showpiece of international football successfully. But if he is worried about the state of preparations for the World Cup, he’s doing a good job of hiding it.

Jordaan, a former anti-apartheid activist, has come through tough times. Flash back to Zurich in July, 2000, when South Africa lost the rights to host the 2006 World Cup by the narrowest of margins. Many believed the gruelling campaign was over but, for Jordaan, it was just beginning. For the next four years, he fought for the World Cup as if his life depended on it. The campaign took him around the world many times and it finally paid off in 2004, when South Africa was awarded the rights to host the event for 2010.

Trouble on the way
Just as the grinding machinery tasked with putting together the biggest party on the planet was beginning to show signs that it had finally been oiled, a number of setbacks impacted on the World Cup preparations. Infrastructure problems and political turbulence loomed large over the operation.

In the latter half of 2007, a series of power blackouts had a major impact on the economy and triggered a USD 7.5bn (GBP 3.7bn) five-year rescue plan. The LOC has regular meetings with Eskom, the national electricity provider. “We've indicated to them that they must factor in the requirements of the host cities from now to 2010,” Jordaan says. The director of Eskom, Johnny Dladla, who recently briefed FIFA’s general secretary Jerome Valcke on the situation, said resources would be allocated to ensure there were no power cuts during the tournament.

Power of a different kind is also placing strain on the event. In December 2007, Jacob Zuma replaced Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, as head of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and potential future president of South Africa. Zuma's election victory created two centres of power and heightened tension between the government and the ANC.

The ANC also elected to disband the Scorpions, an elite crime fighting unit that has had considerable success tackling corrupt politicians. Meanwhile, Jacob Zuma faces trial in August 2008 on money-laundering and racketeering charges.

These factors have impacted on the national psyche and, once again, raised concerns about the country’s ability to host a tournament of this magnitude. Reports of in-fighting within the LOC haven’t helped matters either. Several high profile members – including communications manager Tumi Makgabo – have thrown in the towel.

Jordaan says the problems and issues facing South Africa relating to 2010 need to be placed in perspective. “We always knew that there would be considerable challenges and we have been working closely with FIFA to overcome them.” He says both organisations have every eventuality “mapped out”.

Horst Schmidt, the general secretary of the German football association who works as a FIFA consultant, says that although it is quite clear that plans for the event are facing some setbacks, they are not serious. "There is always room for improvement in areas like security, ticketing or stadiums, but generally we are on the right track," he says.

Security solutions
Although South Africa’s problems with crime are a source of worry, with many sceptical about South Africa’s ability to protect more than 200,000 visitors when it is having difficulty defending its own citizens, a number of security initiatives are being introduced to ensure that crime and violence do not mar the tournament. Measures include deploying more than 30,000 extra policemen ahead of the tournament, many of whom will be volunteers.

South Africa is also drawing on the experience of security experts from previous World Cups who will assist with issues like border security, terrorism, narcotics, crowd control and identifying hooligans. In addition, special courts will be operational day and night to deal with 2010-related offences.

In March 2008, hundreds of security personnel took part in “Operation Green Point”: a three-day rehearsal for security challenges that might arise during the World Cup. The police, army, navy and air force joined forces with border personnel to tackle a variety of simulated threats in a 50-mile radius of the Cape Town International Airport. A plane was flown into restricted air space over Green Point stadium to be intercepted by two fighter planes that forced it to land at a nearby air force base.

Interest in access control at the event is also growing, notably since Match Hospitality – the company FIFA has awarded hospitality rights to for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup events – announced that ticket packages for the World Cup will go on sale in South Africa in June 2008 and overseas in September 2008. In particular, the decision of which technologies to use to control the flow of spectators into the 10 World Cup stadiums is the subject of a major debate that extends beyond 2010.

Jordaan says: “There is a question of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, but what we want to do is discuss the tickets and access technology together with other codes like rugby because it's about the legacy. If we have to put in infrastructure that cannot be sustained by the post-event users of the stadium, then it may be a waste. However, if the additional investment brings about a higher level and more sophisticated organisation around major events, then of course we are prepared to do that.”

Stadium successes
Amongst the formidable hurdles that have already been cleared, Jordaan points out the fact that most 2010 stadium construction projects are on target. The hard work is well under way and millions of South Africans, new to staging an event of this magnitude, have helped lay the foundations for 2010. The result is that the skylines of every host city are now dotted with cranes, towering over stadiums and other World Cup-related projects.

Another issue that is raised repeatedly is whether South Africa has the ability or the capacity to prepare for this enormous event on its own. Jordaan says the LOC has “embraced” outside help and will continue to do so. “In many areas, the World Cup gives the opportunity for joint ventures and partnerships between overseas companies and South African companies. And we see that in the construction industry; we see that in the stadiums. The roof of Green Point stadium in Cape Town has been designed by German architects working with South Africans. And that, of course, will give South African companies and architects huge experience and transfer of knowledge that will help them. This is not unique to South Africa – we saw that with the Sydney Olympics, where contracts outside Australia were awarded.” Von Gerkan, Marg and Partners, the influential German practice has designed three of the stadiums currently under construction. And the Green Point stadium which Jordaan refers to has presented an extraordinary challenge for their South African team. When finished, the natural curves of the structure will resemble the undulation of an ocean swell. The façade will be clad in a glass fibre open-mesh translucent fabric which will absorb and reflect daylight, resulting in the entire structure having a reddish glow at sunset, a blue tint on a sunny day and a grey shade during stormy weather.

Michael Palmer, the former head of FIFA's operations in South Africa, says one of the problems South Africa is facing is that many observers are comparing the current product with the finished product in Germany in 2006. “That is grossly unfair,” he says. Palmer's successor, Ron DelMont, who headed a high-level delegation on an inspection tour of stadium construction projects in February 2008, is adamant that the country is on target. "In terms of where we are now and where we are going, we are certainly on track and arguably ahead of previous hosts at this stage of the game,” he says.

On African turf
An entire subcontinent is preparing to play a role in the successful hosting of the event. It is no secret – or surprise – that every southern African country wants to be in on the action and most of South Africa's neighbours have formulated plans to ensure they will be part and parcel of the extravaganza. The spin-offs are enormous, particularly in the tourism sector, which is where most other countries stand to benefit. Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland are among the countries that have expressed a burning desire to accommodate some of the thousands of spectators who will visit the region.

As part of its “Win with Africa in Africa” initiative, FIFA has pledged to install artificial football fields throughout the continent. And FIFA president Sepp Blatter has revealed there is a very real possibility that some 2010 matches will be played on artificial pitches for the first time. Next year's Confederations Cup will largely be used to gauge the quality of the pitches around the country, and if they are judged to be below standard, then artificial turf will be installed.

Kjetil Siem, the newly appointed CEO of South Africa's Premier Soccer League acknowledges that surface quality is likely to be a problem, particularly since the tournament will be played in the middle of winter which is dry over the inland regions of the country. "The future is in artificial pitches, but not for 2010. We don't want to see the event as the World Cup that was played on artificial turf," he says.

More challenges ahead
In terms of the other challenges that lie ahead, Jordaan says there is an important need to focus on the broadcast IT infrastructure to ensure that the links between the 10 stadiums and the 2010 broadcasting centre are in place.

“You have a basic stadium with all the infrastructure which operates on a daily basis and when you have a major international event like the World Cup, you may find there may be additional requirements, so that gap between what you require for an event and what exists is called overlay. So that's what the focus is on at the moment,” he says.

It’s no secret that Blatter’s legacy as FIFA president will largely rest on what unfolds in South Africa in June and July 2010. For years, Blatter supported the call for the World Cup to be held in Africa for the first time. Most observers agree that it was a very calculated gamble, but Blatter has every confidence that this former pariah state has got what it takes to produce the goods. “We cannot compare South Africa to Germany, or South Korea and Japan or France. No, this World Cup will be a great World Cup in an African way,” he says.

Blatter dearly wishes to prove his detractors – the millions of Afro-pessimists around the world – wrong. “The greatest dream for me would be that the whole world would say it was wrong to doubt the organisational abilities of South Africa. They would say ‘now we have seen that we are wrong and we are happy that South Africa got it right and had a wonderful World Cup’.”