Work on the stadiums earmarked for the Confederations Cup in 2009 is progressing on schedule, according to the Local Organising Committee.

Work to upgrade the Ellis Park Stadium should be complete by the end of July

WITH just over a year left before kick-off of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup™, the refurbishment of Ellis Park Stadium, one of the venues that will host the football tournament, is well on schedule.

The projected completion date of the stadium is July 2008 and the mostly cosmetic upgrades are going on in earnest.

Construction of the 1 100-bay parkade behind the east grandstand is progressing well, while work is forging ahead on the new entrance at the west/main grandstand. The major part of the upgrade is in the north stand, where hoarding has been installed behind the stand to allow for a new lift shaft, concourse detail, façade and seating on the sixth level to be constructed.

The estimated capacity of the stadium, once completed, is 61 000. It is also expected to host some of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ matches.

On Tuesday, 6 May, the board of directors of the Local Organising Committee South Africa (SALOC) confirmed that Ellis Park Stadium would be one of the five venues at which the 2009 competition, also known as the Festival of Champions, would be played.

The decision comes after an intensive board inspection of all five venues over the weekend.

"At this stage, all five stadiums are still in. We are placing tight monitoring on all of them and if by any chance any of them fails to comply with the agreed deadlines, they will be removed [from the Confederations Cup schedule]," said Irvin Khoza, the SALOC chairman.

The other four stadiums earmarked for the Confederations Cup are Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg, Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane, Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein and Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Timelines
The board stressed that it was imperative that all five stadiums be delivered according to the FIFA technical requirements and timelines which had already been provided. Khoza said that the end of March 2009 was the final deadline for the Port Elizabeth to be fully operational. It is the only newly built Confederations Cup stadium.

"We submitted a letter on 24 January 2008 to the Local Organising Committee outlining the critical deadlines for completion of the stadium. The answers received over the last few days as well as a site visit made us believe that Port Elizabeth will be ready by 30 March 2009," said Jerome Valke, FIFA's secretary-general.

The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup™, to take place from 14 to 28 June 2009, will be the first major test on the way to 2010. Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of the SALOC, said the event should be truly an African celebration. It was important that South Africans filled the stadiums.

"The pricing strategy of the tournament will focus mainly on the domestic market, with the objective to ensure that South African football supporters will be able to experience great football."

For the first time in the history of the tournament, Africa will have two representatives among the eight participants, with hosts Bafana Bafana and the African champions, Egypt.

"South Africa will see some of the best teams in the world, namely 2006 world champions Italy and 2002 world champions and current defending Confederations Cup champion, Brazil," Jordaan said.

The draw for the event would take place on 22 and 23 November 2008; various bids had been received from South African cities to host the draw, he added.

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