| Jozi 'will be ready' come 2009 |
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| Written by Ndaba Dlamini | |
| Friday, 22 August 2008 | |
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The city is "on track to host a successful World Cup. Everything is being done within schedule without any compromise on quality."  Executive Mayor Amos Masondo with Ruby Mathang, MMC for development planning and urban management in the City and Mavela Dlamini, City Manager (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg) AROUND 450 excited fans, officials and other stakeholders attending a 2010 report-back imbizo at Nasrec cheered when the City's Executive Mayor Amos Masondo confirmed that Joburg's two 2010 FIFA World CupTM host stadiums will be complete well before the football tournament begins in June 2010. The imbizo was held at Nasrec, in the shadow of the showpiece Soccer City stadium, by the City's 2010 Office and the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) on Thursday, 21 August 2008). The imbizo, attended by the OC's head of security, Linda Mti; the Confederations Cup director, Steve Watson; and FIFA's head of social programmes, Federico Addiechi, was held to assess the city's state of readiness to host the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa? and the World Cup the following year. It was also a way to strengthen partnerships between the OC and the City, according to the member of the mayoral committee for community development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza. With just under two years to go before kick off, Soccer City Stadium was 55 percent complete and Ellis Park Stadium was 35 percent complete, said Masondo. Soccer City will host the opening ceremony and the opening and final matches of the World Cup; Ellis Park will host some of the preliminary round matches and one of the quarter-finals. "Soccer City Stadium is undergoing close to R2-billion major upgrades and R1,5-billion has been spent so far. Replacement of lights, building of extra parking bays and erection of the roof at Ellis Park Stadium is about to be competed. Expenditure on the stadium is currently at R131-million from a budget of R230-million." Practice venues  MMC for Community Development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, was the programme director for the eveninig (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg) "Orlando Stadium meets FIFA requirements and will be a practice venue for the 2010 World Cup. The City spent R284-million to build the stadium from scratch after the old one was demolished." Masondo added that the two other practice venues, Dobsonville Stadium and Rand Stadium, were 98 percent and 99 percent complete, respectively. "We are confident that in terms of stadia construction, we are on track to host a successful World Cup. Everything is being done within schedule without any compromise on quality. We are confident that come 2010, the City will be more than ready." Masondo's words were echoed by the City's 2010 executive director, Sibongile Mazibuko, who said residents were standing firmly behind the City to ensure a successful World Cup. Joburg's success in maintaining its stadium construction schedule stemmed from support both from the City and the community at large. "Behind me there is a strong political leadership in the form of councillors. I have also a strong management team and more than 27 000 staff members from the City of Johannesburg's municipal-owned entities and departments who are spending sleepless nights preparing for the event." Mazibuko added that communities were standing behind the City by joining Joburg United, a campaign to get a million football fans on board to make sure the World Cup was a success. "We urge those who have not yet signed up to join us and help put our heads and shoulders on the wagon to show the world that we can do it. We must remember that South Africa is just a stage to showcase what Africa can achieve." Lasting legacy A number of legacy projects, including the greening of Soweto, greening of soccer fields, rehabilitation of the Klip River, upgrading of hostels, upgrading of the Nasrec and Ellis Park precincts, among many more had been identified by the City. Watson said preparations for hosting the tournament were at advanced stage. Johannesburg would host the opening and closing matches of the Festival of Champions, as the Confederations Cup is affectionately known, "which means the City will also host the opening and closing ceremonies of the event". "The Confederations Cup is a major tournament that will give us the opportunity to test all operational phases of the World Cup. It a way to fine-tune the readiness and test the strength of South Africa with regard to organising the 2010 World Cup," Watson said. Confederations Cup  The City’s 2010 executive director, Sibongile Mazibuko, said residents are firmly behind the City to ensure a successful World Cup (Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg) "Preparations for this event should be as meticulous as preparations for the World Cup. I am pleased that we have been meeting with various stakeholders to come up with a consolidated approach to make this a successful event." Mti said that SA was working together with local government, specifically the host cities, to ensure the security and safety of fans during the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. "We are currently planning to recruit about 7 000 stewards to be deployed during the Confederations Cup. We are proud to say the City of Johannesburg is the City that we are working closely with in this regard." Addiechi said there had always been a tradition to link the World Cup to "a good social cause". The 2010 tournament would be linked to the Football for Hope Movement, a FIFA initiative to increase the impact of football as a tool for social development. "The momentum of the FIFA World Cup will be utilised to raise funds to build 20 centres for education, health and football in underprivileged communities throughout Africa. Five of these centres will be located in South Africa," he said. Related stories: |
