Workers at Soccer City are proud to be building the stadium, as are the visiting FIFA secretary-general and the head of the Local Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan.

PROGRESS at Soccer City has impressed the visiting FIFA secretary-general, Jerome Valcke.

During a tour of the giant stadium in the south of Johannesburg on Wednesday, 9 July, Valcke said he was particularly heartened by the commitment of the 2 400 construction workers on site. The stadium is the venue for the opening ceremony and opening match and finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

"On the shirts of the workers here in the stadium it said, ‘I am proud to be building Soccer City Stadium'. And when you are here you share the same feeling the workers have and the same thing they have written on their shirts. You just want to see the first game being played at the stadium."

Valcke said each time he visited the stadium this week, he was amazed at how fast work was progressing.

"Yesterday I saw the first part of the roof going up; and today the second part of the roof was already going up as well. Hosting the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010 will be a unique moment and that is why we must make it happen."

The first of the 12 A-frame steel structures that will support the stadium's roof was raised last week by a 2 800 tonne crane. The A-frames form part of the 7 000 tonnes of structural steel being manufactured by a French company for the stadium.

Danny Jordaan, the 2010 Local Organising Committee (OC) chief executive, who accompanied Valcke on the tour of Soccer City, said construction had managed to remain on track despite the tight schedules.

"Seats are being installed, which is a bit of a comfort. We are hopeful that by October next year the stadium will be complete. From what we have seen today the stadium will be delivered on time for the World Cup."

The largest of the country's stadiums - once the upgrade is complete it will seat 94 700 - Soccer City was built in 1987. The renovations to get it ready for the football World Cup are pegged at R1,2-billion.

Once completed, the stadium will have three tiers of seating, private boxes, VIP suites and eight television presentation studios. A soccer museum and a 300-seater restaurant will also be added.

"Soccer City will be the heart of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. This is the cathedral of South African football. It's South Africa's Wembley; our Maracana," Jordaan said.