Developing Africa – Football’s Gift:

The recent murder of racist relic of apartheid Eugene Terreblanche by two black workers on his farm will not derail preparations for our World Cup. The leader of the AWB had long since been thought an irrelevance as he and his party failed to come to terms with the end of the crime against humanity that was apartheid. His followers threatened revenge, but South Africans are more concerned with the World Cup than Terreblanche. Will the infrastructures and stadiums be ready in time to welcome football’s elite?

I am certain that my country is not only ready, but that our World Cup – Africa’s will be special. It will be the first time that our continent hosts the biggest event in football. It must not be the last and there must be a lasting legacy for both African football and the oldest continent inhabited by humans. We must make significant progress to develop Africa as a whole. That will take many years to achieve.

Projects to develop Africa through football are needed now and they must plan for the future, incorporating the African Cup of Nations. That will be the true test for our World Cup. Africa must benefit, not just on the pitch but off it too. We have to show that our organising skills have come of age and that we are ready to take our place among the best. I am convinced that we will do that, but we need help to fulfil our potential and make sure that the World Cup is the start not end of football helping to develop both African football and Africa itself.

We need the World Cup to return to Africa soon and do well on the pitch. Egypt has the necessary infrastructures and stadiums to host a very successful World Cup. They bid this time, but failed to get a single vote. That needs to change, but before we can think of getting the World Cup again, we have to prove that we deserve it. It is a pity that the seven times African Champions and the continent’s best team won’t be there, but that is due in part to the unfair allocation of World Cup places. FIFA must change that for Brazil. Africa deserves fair treatment and must get it. Nevertheless, I am convinced that Africa will still host a memorable and successful World Cup.

South Africa – no Africa – is  ready for the World Cup:

Despite glitches – including a strike by construction workers – the stadiums were built on time as promised. This surprised many of the naysayers, some of whom were secretly, or even not too secretly hoping that we would fail, or that internal problems would cost us the World Cup. We have internal problems and violence in South Africa, but so does London.

A Grenadian man was stabbed dead in Walthamstow a month ago. His family had to launch a Facebook appeal to raise funds to meet the £2000 costs to bring his body back to the Caribbean for burial. His corpse has not been released. A 23-year-old man has been charged with his murder. There are many stories of knife and gun-related murders in England. Knife-crime is a serious problem there, especially in the last two years. Does anyone argue England shouldn't be considered to host a World Cup because of it?

We will provide the security necessary to make our World Cup safe, just as we made sure that the stadiums were built on time. The final stadium inspections tour by FIFA’s  World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) and scrutiny team took place recently. It began at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg on 16 March and ended in Green Point stadium in Cape Town on 25 March after a gruelling ten day inspection tour. “We have certainly traveled a long road since the first stadium inspection tour in 2005,” said the OC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Danny Jordaan. “In each inspection we saw the stadiums develop from an idea on a piece of paper in an architect’s office to the magnificent football arenas that we see before us today.”

All parties are confident that it is all systems go for the kick off on 11 June 2010, which justified Jordaan’s faith that we would be ready in time. “These inspection tours have played a vital role in ensuring that our stadiums are well prepared for the World Cup, Jordaan added. “The final tour is now complete and we can say with confidence that we have delivered on our promise of ten World class stadiums and we have delivered them months before the tournament even starts.”

Most of the work has been completed, but there is still work to do. “What we are looking at now is just the final detail,” said Jordaan. “No longer are we inspecting whether a specific wall will be built but where the team buses will park, ensuring that the security arrangements are nailed down and making sure that the fans will be provided with correct signage to take them to their seat.” So what about the other arrangements such as for the teams?

Arrangements:

The teams

The movement of the teams from when they arrive in the stadiums until they get on the pitch is an area that required the attention of many departments during the inspection. The security department needs to ensure that the teams’ entrance to the stadium is secured while the transport department, who are tasked with bringing the teams to the stadium and back, must finalise the routes the team buses will take before the match.

The team facilities, such as the change rooms, warm up areas, medical centres and pitch side facilities need to be top-class and meet the stringent standards set by FIFA and local OC. This area received a lot of attention during the inspection. The facilities will be checked and the routes from the change room to the pitch defined. Nothing will be left to chance.

Ensuring the safety and security of teams and fans

After the outrage against the Togo team and delegation in Angola last January, nothing will be left o chance over players and their delegation’s safety, even though the political climate in Angola was and is totally different from South Africa. The safety and security of the participating teams will be a major priority. Cabinda has a separatist movement that has waged an armed struggle against the Angolan government for many years. South Africa doesn’t have that problem.

With thousands of football fans expected at each match, it is essential that security is in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly. For the OC, fan safety falls within the stadium perimeter, while the country – through the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force – secures the area outside the stadium.

Opportunistic crime – robbery with violence – is an issue, but by July we will be ready to deal with it. Tourists and fans should seek advice on safety precautions as well. Plenty of South Africans will be willing to help them in this respect. Nevertheless, the police have to step up to the task. Recently, they were criticised for being too slow to react and the majority of them for being over-weight and unfit for duty. They have but a few days to get into shape. Members of the National Defence Force went on strike in 2009, but I hope that the football will keep them on duty.

Security teams reviewed security infrastructures, such as fencing during the inspection. Nevertheless, the health of the fans and teams is also a major focus for the organisers of the World Cup and the medical department was on hand to inspect the medical facilities of each stadium. That included the access routes for ambulances as well as ensuring that the numerous medical rooms had sufficient equipment to handle any eventuality.

Bringing the fans to their seats

No doubt one of the most important groups in any World Cup are the hundreds-and-thousands of fans who come to the stadiums to cheer on their teams. During the inspection tour great thought and time was spent on ensuring that the spectators will have easy access to their seats. Firstly, the drop-off points for the stadiums and rides must be established as well as the routes the fans will then take.

Once they have arrived at the stadium, it is important that they can find the way to their seat as easily as possible. This is where signs comes into play. They must be clear, visible and understandable to fans. Consideration of different languages will be required as some fans won’t speak or understand English. Throughout the inspection tour, the signage teams were hard at work making sure that they had mapped out the routes and developed a plan to direct the crowds.

Taking the message to the world

The OC realise that they must ensure that the 18,000 media workers from all over the world who will be covering the World Cup are provided with excellent services. Media operations is a vital consideration that will allow them to tell the World Cup story and was one of the areas under scrutiny over the last ten days. It is essential for African football and the continent that they are assisted to spread the the message efficiently and quickly.

Facilities required for the media include a stadium media centre with working areas and internet access with good and fast connections. They must also provide Press rooms, easy access to press conferences and mixed zone a contact person in every stadium, rooms for interviews with players and coaches and a mixed zone for short interviews with players after matches.

Broadcast operations were another important aspect of the inspection. Broadcast compounds as well as sufficient camera platforms have to be in place for the broadcasters from around the globe to take the tournament to billions of viewers. For the broadcast and media operations to work effectively an excellent IT infrastructure is required and this was another important element of the inspection tour.

Our country offers some of the best if not the best wild life resorts in the world. Fan and media alike should visit them while here. They should enjoy our country and diverse society. It will be a life time experience they will never forget and thewy will experience a World Cup with a uniquely African flavour. There were many who thought we couldn’t do it. They were wrong. Now we look forward to proving them wrong on the pitch as well.