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The refurbishment of Ellis Park Stadium is on schedule, and the inspection team is confident it will be completed in time for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
FIFA Technical Inspection team takes a tour of Ellis Park
(Photo: Gavin Barker, Backpagepix)
A JOINT inspection of Ellis Park Stadium by a FIFA and 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) team has been described as "successful".
The tour of the Johannesburg stadium, one of the venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and Confederations Cup 2009 matches, took place on Monday, 18 February, amid controversy over alleged internal conflicts in the LOC.
LOC chairman, Irvin Khoza, and chief executive, Danny Jordaan, were on the tour, together with experts in competitions, marketing, information technology, media, stadium security and transportation.
Dennis Mumble, the head of the inspection team, said it was the sixth inspection conducted by FIFA and the LOC since construction and refurbishment of World Cup stadiums began.
"This is a regular scheduled inspection that mainly focused on the overall space planning; that is, when and how we are going to utilise any of the stadium's space during the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. The inspection tour, which all members of the team described as successful, also included discussions with stadium management."
July deadline
The R81-million upgrade of Ellis Park Stadium, earmarked as a semi-final venue for the World Cup, began in September 2007 and is expected to be finished in July this year.
FIFA Technical Inspection team takes a tour of Ellis Park
(Photo: Gavin Barker, Backpagepix)
Following Monday's visit, the team will tour five other 2009 Confederations Cup stadiums - Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg, Free State Stadium in Mangaung, Polokwane's Peter Mokaba Stadium and Nelspruit's Mbombela Stadium.
Sibongile Mazibuko, the City's executive director in charge of 2010, said Ellis Park was one of the complex stadiums in Johannesburg, but refurbishments and upgrades in and around the stadium were going well.
"The Ellis Park precinct will move to the usage stage very soon. Construction of transport infrastructure and upgrading of local neighbourhoods is taking shape and we are confident that come 2009, everything will be ready for the Confederations Cup."
A R2-billion upgrade of the greater Ellis Park precinct is under way, ahead of the World Cup. Regeneration is taking the form of a multi-developmental project, with plans focusing on education, sports and manufacturing across Ellis Park and its neighbouring suburbs of Doornfontein, Bertrams, Bezuidenhout Valley, Troyeville, Judith's Paarl and Lorentzville.
The greater Ellis Park precinct is home to three international sports complexes - Johannesburg Stadium, Ellis Park Stadium, and an Olympic-size swimming pool.
LOC tensions
Responding to media reports that there are tensions between himself and Jordaan, Khoza said the bids for the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup™ were not about the members of the LOC, but about the country and the continent.
LOC chief executive Danny Jordaan and chairman Irvin Khoza
"For us what's important is the project, it's not ourselves. There is a lot of despondency and hopelessness in our country. The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is one project which gives hope to all of us. Let us not destroy it."
He said everyone was convinced that the LOC was doing a good job. "We are only 18 months away now [from the Confederations Cup] and we are happy with what we have achieved, which is there for the whole country to see."
Khoza said the LOC's chief communications officer, Tim Modise, who had indicated that he was leaving the committee, would continue to be part of the team.
Jordaan said that a number of untruths had been said about Modise recently. "The truth is that Tim has my full support and in my view is one of the best and most respected individuals in the country to engage with the public and media on the 2010 project."
Khoza appealed to all South Africans and Africans to help ensure that the continent's first football World Cup was a success.
"This World Cup can never fail. We will make sure no-one makes it fail and de-motivate us, trying to make us fail. This project is all about the collective ... People have made so many sacrifices for this - people like Sepp Blatter, who put their names on the block and said it must be Africa's time; people like Nelson Mandela, who defied doctor's orders to travel to Zurich for our final 2010 bid presentation."
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