SA Hospitals Ill-Equipped to Handle Major Disaster

A FIFA medical adviser has warned that South Africa's public hospitals are "completely unprepared" to handle a major World Cup-related disaster such as a crowd stampede or riot.

"Hospital disaster plans are actually a disaster," said Professor Efraim Kramer, a Fifa medical officer and adviser to the local organising committee.

Kramer, head of emergency medicine at Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University, told a doctors conference on Wednesday that public hospitals had "absolutely no idea" how to implement disaster management plans because they had not been tested.

In contrast, Kramer said private hospitals, some of the best in the world, were better prepared and had good disaster plans. The South African government says public hospitals would handle at least 70 percent of the World Cup workload.

'Hospitals not ready for WC disaster'
Reuters
April 15, 2010

Durban Hospitals OK'd to Handle World Cup Crowds

Hospitals and health care facilities in Durban have been given the seal of approval from parliamentary committees for their readiness ahead of the World Cup.

"From the presentations we heard, the level of integration and co-operation within the government levels and the advancement of the preparations, we are sincerely satisfied," health portfolio committee chairman Dr Bevani Goqwana said in a statement.

Durban hospital ready for World Cup visitors
Independent Online
April 12, 2010

New Stadia Need Huge Crowds to Sustain Over Long-Term

The long-term viability of South Africa's new football stadia is being questioned by many in the country. One critic says each of the new stadia will need to attract 30,000 spectators every week for nine months of the year to pay off the large investment cities have made in the five new World Cup venues.

[Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive Albert] Schuitmaker says it is unlikely that the vast investment in World Cup stadiums will ever produce acceptable returns.

"It has not done so in many countries which have hosted World Cups and Olympic Games. Indeed some stadiums have been demolished soon after the event."

Will 2010 stadiums survive?
Independent Online
November 5, 2009

Testing Cape Town's New Stadium

A soccer match, a rugby match and a mass prayer will serve as test events for Cape Town's new Green Point soccer stadium. The events will gradually build up the amount of attendees to see how well the stadium handles the crowds, and how its operators will react to game-day audiences.

The city and the Sail Group, part of the consortium which is to manage the stadium, are trying to hold a mass event which will fill the stadium but be gentle on the turf - so are considering a cultural or religious event.

It is hoped that the final full dress rehearsal will be a mass prayer gathering. It will aim to fill the stadium to capacity.

This will be the final chance to test access and egress routes for the 68 000-strong crowd - as well as everything else from the public address system and lights to turn-styles and barcode scanners.

World Cup: Stadium put to the test
Cape Argus
October 6, 2009

40,000 Stadium Stewards Planned for World Cup

More than 40,000 people will be trained to serve as stadium stewards during the World Cup. They will be charged with controlling crowds and ensuring safety in the stands, which has been an issue at many stadia over the years.

The new stewards are not security officials, but marshalls deployed to assist with the management of crowds. They do not fall under the provisions of the Private Security Regulatory Act, so do not have to be registered with a security service provider.

40 000 stewards training for 2010
Cape Argus
October 2, 2009

Poor Attendance Highlights Confederations Cup Ticket Pricing Concerns

World Cup organizers are voicing concerns about poor attendance numbers so far at the first games of the Confederations Cup, running June 14-28. One game saw its stadium only half full. Some argue the ticket prices are too expensive for most working class South Africans.

The cheapest ticket for a group match in the Cup is R70 (~$9) - more than half a labourer's average daily earnings. After that, the prices climb threefold to a minimum R210 (~$26).

Asked whether Fifa would consider lowering prices for upcoming games, Mkondo said: "It was mentioned in some quarters. It is an issue that the organising committee and Fifa will look at."

Organisers mull how to fill Cup stadiums
Mail & Guardian
June 15, 2009

SA Police Receive Riot Control Training From French

In order for local police forces to prepare for the 2010 World Cup, French police have come to Nelson Mandela Bay to train officers on crowd and riot control.

NELSON Mandela Bay police officers are being trained by French officers on crowd management and control in preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Police spokesman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said yesterday that the training was being conducted by French police officers, who had come to South Africa to provide skills to local personnel.

Source:
French officers train local police on crowd control
The Herald
June 1, 2009

Stadium Disaster Leaves 22 Dead in Ivory Coast; SA Officials Deflect Concerns

A crush of people inside an Ivory Coast stadium for a World Cup qualifying match caused a wall to collapse, injuring more than 130 attendees and leaving at least 22 dead.

At least 22 football supporters have died at a World Cup qualifying match in the Ivory Coast, according to state officials. Reports suggest that a wall collapsed as a number of fans, possibly without tickets, crushed into the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan shortly before Ivory Coast were due to play Malawi. Desire Tagro, Ivory Coast's minister of the interior, said that 22 people were killed and more than 130 were injured.

...

Reports conflict over the number of fans in attendance, with estimates ranging from 36,000 to more than 60,000. Some news sources reported that the game was sold out and the stadium overcrowded after cut-price tickets were put on sale.

"Spectators who did not buy tickets were jostling before the match," the Ivory Coast's sports minister, Dagobert Banzio, told state television. "They smashed one of the main gates of the stadium. They were trampled." Banzio estimated the number of injured at 132.

South African World Cup organizer Danny Jordaan says stampedes like those seen during many African matches will not be a problem during the 2010 tournament, mainly due to the way tickets will be sold.

Jordaan says many African fans buy their tickets only when they reach the stadium, and often arrive late to do that, creating an impatient crowd outside that can spark an incident.

When the World Cup comes to South Africa in 2010, match tickets will have to be purchased well in advance. Jordaan says those without tickets will be "stopped kilometers away," and fans will be urged to arrive early.

Sources:
Supporters die at Ivory Coast World Cup qualifier after crush
The Guardian
March 30, 2009

World Cup organizer: Stampedes won't be an issue
Associated Press
March 30, 2009