"We are expecting the influx of supporters for these teams will translate into high rand figures. The World Cup has been very good for us," Chuene said.
Port Elizabeth's Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Percci) said many of its retail and tourism sector members had reported an increase in turnover.
FIFA awarded the 2014 World Cup hosting rights six years ago, but Brazil has barely begun building and renovating the 12 stadiums it needs. [Brazil football federation president Ricardo] Teixeira said that "the situation is completely different" to when [FIFA secretary general Jerome] Valcke spoke.
"Some of the stadia have commenced building. We have already defined exactly what's going to be happening in terms of budgets for the construction up to December," he said, although he failed to highlight any specific details.
The tournament may have at times been a playground for the world's rich and famous, with celebrities flocking to South Africa's biggest cities to soak up some of the action, but on the ground there was still considerable ground for improvement.
At the top of this list was the issue of tickets and making sure there is no repeat in Brazil of the vast empty spaces we saw, especially in the group phase. FIFA's insistence before the tournament that 97% of tickets had been sold hardly seemed credible. If that was indeed the case, then huge amounts of seats earmarked for the so-called "football family" - mainly sponsors and VIP bigwigs - were not taken up and needs to be thoroughly re-examined as a principle.
Cape Town is different. Police and security guards line pedestrian corridors and populate street corners, so that it's possible for people of all races to stroll from pub to club to restaurant after midnight without ever dealing with an automobile.
In the grand scheme of things, that's a recipe for safety. The security of car travel is an illusion here; highway wrecks were a common sight. I counted six in one day early in the tournament, and the tournament opened with a tragedy when Nelson Mandela's 13-year-old great-granddaughter died after the opening concert, the victim of a drunk driver.
You can’t ask for a more entertaining walk, or rather, experience. What’s more, it’ll be a cultural showcase of the best Cape Town and South Africa have to offer in terms of local food (braai, potije, boerewors, gourjons…) to local entertainment (from live bands to drum circles).
Now, in the spirit of crowdsourcing, with the tremendous success of the Fan Walk demonstrated by the enthusiastic crowds, should there by any surprise that the local government is now looking at making it more of a permanent feature?
But the social impact had been even greater, he said, as black and white fans packed into stadiums and fan parks together, 16 years after the first all-race elections ended white-minority rule.
"The social benefits are priceless. We have seen remarkable unity, patriotism and solidarity being displayed by South Africans, which has never been witnessed before," Zuma told an investment meeting.
The Movement Control System (MCS), which was launched by Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and linked to Sars and law enforcement agencies, had enabled the country to monitor movements of persons entering the country, particularly during the period leading up to and during the various phases of the World Cup.
In that regard, the MCS recorded a total number of foreigners visiting the country from June 1 to July 1 as 1 020 321 compared to 819 495 for the same period in 2009. This represented an increase of 200 826 or 25%.
[W]hile the world champion Springboks are set to play their archrivals, the New Zealand All Blacks, at Soccer City next month, other rugby sides are reluctant to move from their homes to the new stadiums, indicating tough prospects ahead for the future upkeep of the new venues.
"I think that clearly there will have to be good balance of both football and rugby together to ensure proper use of the stadiums," said Danny Jordaan, the chief organiser of South Africa's hosting of the World Cup.
Gillian Saunders, the principal of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, said on Friday that between 20 000 and 50 000 sustainable jobs could be created in South Africa as result of the World Cup.
This is in line with the 50 000 jobs created during the 2006 event in Germany.
International communities were not only watching their countries fight for the cup, but were witnessing a South Africa that continued to emerge as a competitive 21st-century economy, the consultancy said in a paper entitled "2010 Fifa World Cup, a turning point for South Africa".
"South Africa is reaping the rewards of hosting the cup - namely infrastructure improvements, an economic boost, and increased national self-esteem," it said.
South Africa had been described as a mix of the developed and developing world, said Deloitte Southern Africa public sector industry leader Lwazi Bam.
Engineering and special equipment material for the stadiums was sourced to a large extent form Germany. The total investment in the 2010 FIFA World Cup infrastructure projects amounted to about R35-billion, he adds.
The infrastructure pro- jects that German companies were involved in included roads, the bus rapid transit system and the Gautrain. The total infrastructure project, valued at R450-billion, is ongoing beyond the FIFA World Cup as it is an infrastructure legacy project, explains Boddenberg.
"These [latest] figures make a mockery of economic growth. It is clear to Uasa that employers exploited the recession by drastically reducing employment numbers."
Stats SA revealed on Tuesday that employment numbers were down by 242 000 between end March 2009 to March 2010.
Venter said job losses had become synonymous with the world wide experience after the recent recession.
"We have got the facilities. Those who take decisions (about the hosting of major sports event) have seen how South Africa is. I'm sure we could do it," Zuma said.
The Rea Vaya transports fans to Soccer City in around 10 minutes from the Westgate station in the Johannesburg CBD, and under 15 minutes from the Thokoza Park station in Soweto. “The BRT saves people time, they can beat traffic as the system reliable and quick,” said Khumalo.
[O]ne week into the tournament, a cold spell of weather added to a disappointing defeat by South Africa to Uruguay on Wednesday have left only a few dozen die-hard believers, wrapped up warm and huddled together braving the outdoor parks where temperatures have hovered around zero degrees.
Spokesperson Nicolas Maingot said the World Cup was the main source of income for FIFA and its revenue from this one would tide it over for the next four years.
He added that 75% of its revenue would be invested into football development.
Following an emergency meeting between police and Fifa on Wednesday, it was decided that police officers would take over security duties at Soccer City, Moses Mabhida, Green Point and Ellis Park stadiums for the rest of the World Cup.
The meeting came after security guards embarked on a strike over salaries. They claimed they had been promised R1500 a day, but were getting only R190.
On Sunday, security guards at the Moses Mabhida Stadium walked off their post just before the Australia- Germany match. Police replaced them immediately to provide security.
Yesterday, some of the sacked guards said they were shocked by the decision to fire them
Metrorail trains were forced to switch from electric to steam locomotives because of the power cut, delaying the last two trains by between two and three hours with the last fans only arriving at 03:30, said Tumisang Kgaboesele, head of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.
“We are known as the ‘corner boys’, but we have formed a committee to formulate what we are doing,” Buckley says. “Everyone is so excited about the spectacle coming to our country – it’s a once-in-a-life-time opportunity.”
Buckley said the plan was to convert the local park into their own fan park in time for the kickoff on June 11.
“We plan on setting up a big screen in the park to show the games.”
GCRO [Gauteng City Region Observatory] senior researcher Annsilla Nyar told Sapa she believed the end of the World Cup would leave many people, who had high expectations of material benefits, disappointed.
"Life will pretty much return to normal... The World Cup will end and then we will have local government elections in a few months' time.
"It creates a heightening of tensions... and these kind of tensions can degenerate into xenophobia. It's a real recipe for disaster."