South African Businesses Missing Out on Possibilities of World Cup Stadia

As venues sit empty and unused, South Africa's World Cup organizer is calling out the business community for missing out on opportunities to use the country's World Cup stadia.

He cited Soccer City's failure to capitalise on the Spanish tourists who flock to the site where Andres Iniesta's solitary strike secured Spain's maiden World Cup triumph.

"What do we offer the many tourists who come to the venue where Spanish soccer recorded its finest hour?" asked Jordaan.

"They come to see the stadium where their team conquered the globe and we offer them nothing. All they can do is just sit on the stands, pose for a picture and that's it.

World Cup stadiums are cash cows
Times
November 27, 2010

South Africa's World Cup Challenges As Lessons for Brazil 2014

This review of South Africa's World Cup looks at a few key operational challenges faced by the country and how those challenges can inform Brazil's preparations for the 2014 World Cup. Areas of review include FIFA, the Local Organizing Committee, the stadia, and transportation.

Given its geography and state of development, Brazil will face many of the same challenges as South Africa. One way of counteracting the huge distances involved would be to base group games in clusters of local cities; that way the ludicrous distances faced by some teams in South Africa would be shortened. FIFA's Jerome Valcke has already said the plan is to divide Brazil's 12 host cities into four regions to reduce travel times for fans. Closer scrutiny by FIFA of promised transport improvements would be beneficial for all. Earlier this month, LOC chairman Teixiera described Brazil’s problems as “airports, airports, airports". The $5.5billion President Lula this week promised to improve them will help, but FIFA needs to make sure the Brazilian government deliver.

Analysis - What Brazil 2014 World Cup Organizers can Learn From South Africa
World Football Insider
July 23, 2010

LOC Says South Africa Can Handle Olympics

South Africa's 2010 Local Organizing Committee head says that the country's hosting of the World Cup proves that it is capable of hosting other major events, including the Olympics.

"This World Cup has helped change the image of South Africa, achieved an image makeover of the country, almost a rebranding of the country. And also a demonstration of the capacity of the country," said [Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the 2010 organising committee].

The infrastructure investment required to deliver Africa's first World Cup was the subject of intense argument, but organisers consistently claimed that changing perceptions of potential investors and tourists would be a key benefit.

Now for the Olympics, says man who brought World Cup to South Africa
Guardian
July 11, 2010

Delays Threaten Sao Paulo's Hosting Duties for 2014

Sao Paulo's hosting of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil are still up in the air, as progress on the city's stadium have been mired in delays. FIFA officials and Local Organizing Committee head Ricardo Texeira are warning that the city needs to speed up its preparations.

Sao Paulo's plans were thrown into confusion last month when the committee and world governing body FIFA dropped the proposed venue, the Morumbi stadium, because the city had failed to provide financial guarantees for the renovation of the arena.

"If Sao Paulo wants to host the opening game or the competition as a whole, the deadline is getting close," Teixeira told reporters.

Time running out for Sao Paulo 2014 hopes
Reuters
July 8, 2010

Mistakes to Avoid for Brazil's 2014 World Cup

Despite claims that the 2010 FIFA World Cup went off "nearly perfectly", mistakes were made, and there is room for improvement over the next four years as the tournament prepares to head to Brazil, according to this article.

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.

Lessons to learn before Brazil 2014
ESPN
July 10, 2010

Striking Security Guards Canned

The contract of a private security company whose employees had staged a wage protest at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium has been terminated.

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

Striking World Cup guards regret losing jobs
The Sowetan
June 18, 2010

LOC Says FIFA Cash 'Not a Bailout'

Local organizing committee chief Danny Jordaan is claiming that FIFA's recent injection of $100 million into the country's World Cup preparation fund was not a "bailout".

Fifa signed off the 25 percent increase at an executive committee meeting held in March, its secretary general Jerome Valcke told BBC Sport.

Valcke said the extra money was needed to help South Africa ensure that team training camps would be ready on time.

Fifa's R750m 'no bailout'
Independent Online
May 11, 2010

Bringing World Cup in On Budget May Be Challenge for LOC

Pulling off the World Cup without overspending is going to be a challenge, according to officials in the Local Organizing Committee.

"We are under a lot of pressure right now in terms of budget," said Greg Fredericks, a top aide to committee chief executive Danny Jordaan. "We believe at this stage we are within budget. (But) I think it's tight."

LOC: SWC budget is tight
News 24
May 5, 2010

Soccer and Government Officials Implicated in Million-Dollar Graft Case

A new investigation by the Sowetan newspaper alleges that a committe had voted to give members of the Local Organizing Committee and the South African Football Association a deep cut of the proceeds from the 2010 World Cup. Many high ranking government officials have been implicated in the investigation. Roughly 50 million Rand (~$6.7 million USD) would have been split by the officials. The payoffs have been referred to by some officials as "bonuses".

The committee, led by Oliphant as president and Khoza as his deputy, voted at a meeting to reward members of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) board 10percent while Safa executives stood to pocket 5percent of the spoils, estimated at between R500million and R1billion – a windfall from the June 11 to July 11 soccer showpiece.

Shockingly, associations of Safa were to be given a paltry 5 percent.

This was uncovered by Sowetan after a lengthy investigation and eventually confirmed by a number of highly-placed sources in the soccer fraternity.

Ousted Safa bosses’ plan to loot R500m
Sowetan
April 29, 2010

LOC Accuses Tourism Competitors of Souring SA's Image

Local Organizing Committee Chairman Irvin Khoza is accusing tourism competitors of spreading harsh rumors about safety concerns in South Africa.

"South Africans must consistently and insistently communicate the message with confidence, because we are sure about what we are doing."

He claimed the debate was being fuelled by countries who had a large share of the tourism market.

'Competitor's' questioning SA's 2010 safety
Independent Online
January 19, 2010

First World Cup, Then Olympics?

South Africa's World Cup Local Organizing Committee CEO Danny Jordaan is hoping the successful hosting of the 2010 World Cup will set the country up for a possible Olympic hosting gig in the near future.

"The one event Africa has not hosted is the Olympics," Jordaan told the portfolio committee on tourism.

"A successful World Cup will put pressure on the IOC to award for the first time since 1896 the Olympics to Africa."

The first modern-day Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece.

"Africa has waited 100 years for the Fifa World Cup to be awarded. It has now waited more than 100 years for the Olympics to be awarded to Africa."

Jordaan hints at Olympic bid
Independent Online
November 3, 2009

LOC Vows to Market 2010 World Cup Heavily

Amid criticism that the group had not been doing enough to market the 2010 World CUp, the Local Organizing Committee has pledged to expand marketing activities.

The local organising committee (LOC) has come under fire for not marketing next year’s event as much as it could, compared with the glitzy marketing of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket event taking place in SA at the moment.

But the marketing committee of the LOC board, which is representative of the stakeholders, will meet on May 4 to finalise the brand alignment of the various campaigns.

The South African Tourism 2010 marketing campaign, which is part of a broader R300m campaign launched by the agency in 2007, will go live on May 9 on international platforms such as the British Broadcasting Corporation and Eurosport.

Source:
Marketing of World Cup to hit high gear
Business Day
April 24, 2009

No Fan Parks for Confederations Cup

The Local Organizing Committee has announced that no fan parks will be set up during June's Confederations Cup.

The LOC is optimistic that the local hospitality industry will be the biggest winner from the absence of fan parks for the tournament.

“Although there will be no official fan parks for the Confederations Cup, the atmosphere around the host cities, and also the rest of the country, will be electric as the top teams in the world battle it out on our own soil,” says an optimistic LOC spokesperson Rich Mkhondo.

The LOC says those in the hospitality industry can do good business during the tournament in June.

Source:
Fans Don’t despair - More public viewing areas planned
Sunday World
April 18, 2009

CCTV Cameras Lauded as Security Solution

This column from Business Day welcomes the Local Organizing Committees plans to install more than 60,000 closed circuit television cameras in host cities. The point is to reduce crime, and this columnist thinks the cameras will play a major role along those lines.

A promise that is of great concern to me is the LOC’s commitment to install 60000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at host cities and stadiums countrywide. We are way off that target, which means safety and security authorities and metropolitan councils need to rapidly pick up the pace of their roll-out of CCTV infrastructure.

It is a fait accompli that a foreign visitor will become a victim of crime during the World Cup. Just one appalling act of cruelty by a criminal against a foreigner has the potential to utterly negate any positive spin-offs from the World Cup.

Only a few thousand additional police officers will be hired prior to the event, making SA largely reliant on electronic eyes and ears to secure the safety of our visitors next year. CCTV cameras are known to prevent all categories of crime, from petty pickpocketing to murder.

Ordinary citizens need to put pressure on the metropolitan councils , which promised to spend tens of millions of rands on CCTV infrastructure in preparation for the World Cup. The City of Cape Town, for example, said it would spend R10m on installing 24-hour CCTV cameras along the Grand Parade and the fan mile for the World Cup and R2m addressing gaps in CCTV coverage of the central business district. Do we know how far Cape Town has progressed with those plans?

Source:
CCTV vital to police 2010 crowds
Business Day
April 9, 2009

Link: "Artificial pitches to be built ahead of 2010"

Source:
Artificial pitches to be built ahead of 2010
Independent Online
April 7, 2009

Jordaan Reassures Taxi Drivers as Transit Systems Develop

Amid concerns that taxis will be rendered obsolete by new transit systems like Johannesburg's bus rapid transit system, Local Organizing Committee head Danny Jordaan made an effort to reassure taxi drivers. He called taxis the country's "main form of public transport".

LOC CEO Danny Jordaan said he would set up a meeting with the minister of transport Jeff Radebe this week before his meeting with taxi operators presumably before the end of this week.

...The Johannesburg city centre and surrounding parts ground to a halt as thousands of taxi drivers took to the streets earlier in the week, to protest against government�s new bus system. Some of the reports emanating from the strike were that drivers were prepared to disrupt two of the world�s major sporting events in the country.

Jordaan says taxis are at the heart of our public transport system and will continue to be so, assuring the taxi associations of their role next year.

Source:
Fear not - LOC's Jordaan moves to reassure taxi operators
Sunday World
March 28, 2009

Stadia On Track, Security Now the Concern

Confident that all 6 new stadia will be ready by the October deadline, Local Organizing Committee President Danny Jordaan is now shifting focus to security within the country.

About 450,000 supporters are expected to travel to South Africa for the World Cup - down from the two million that traveled to Germany in 2006.

Jordaan said security will be a high priority with questions raised over the country's crime record.

"We have committed 1.3bn South African Rand (US$138m) to increase the police force," Jordaan said.

Source:
SA 2010 venues 'ready by October'
BBC
March 26, 2009

2010 Ticket Requests Top 1 Million

Demand for the first batch of tickets for the 2010 World Cup has surpassed expectations, with more than a million online requests. This doesn't include South African applications presented at locations within the country, though local demand is expected to be relatively low.

By Thursday, online applications for more than one million tickets had been received from over 160 countries via Fifa.com for the 743 000 available tickets for sale at this stage.

This excludes any applications handed in by South African residents at FNB branches in the host country.

The number of applications has far exceeded Fifa and the Local Organising Committee’s expectations.

Source:
Million plus WC tickets wanted
Kick Off
March 28, 2009

Jordaan Assures UEFA That South Africa Will Be Ready

In a meeting with the Union of European Football Congress, 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee South Africa Dr Danny Jordaan assured officials that the country would be ready in time for the June 2010 tournament.

At the invitation of Uefa president Michel Platini, Jordaan assured Uefa member associations at the congress that South Africa's stadiums were on course to be completed by October this year, in line with its Fifa deadlines. He also updated them about the country's transport, safety and fan park plans for the first African World Cup, taking place in June next year.

A substantial number of the anticipated 450 000 international visitors who will travel to South Africa for the 2010 Fifa World Cup are expected to come from Europe, with the likes of England, the Netherlands and Germany traditionally having among the largest fan bases at tournaments.

"Already well over 800 000 applications have been received for the 743 000 tickets that have been made available in this first round of ticket sales, many of them coming from fans in Europe. This means that the tournament is already oversubscribed, but it is still of utmost importance that the associations know exactly what to expect in South Africa in 2010," said Jordaan.

Source:
Jordaan paints bright picture of 2010 plans
Independent Online
March 26, 2009

Confederations Cup Organizers Stressing Over Low Ticket Sales

Low ticket sales for the 2009 Confederations Cup have event organizers and World Cup boosters uneasy about the local response the the international tournaments.

Fifa and the Local Organising Committee have persuaded South African Rugby, Cricket South Africa, Cosatu and the ZCC to help promote the tournament.

In spite of the world’s leading teams coming to South Africa to take part, ticket sales have been disappointing.

The chief marketing officer of the LOC, Derek Carstens, said: “We want to encourage South Africans to take ownership of this tournament, to see themselves as hosts, and the best way is to go out and fill the stadiums and welcome the teams and visitors to our country."

Source:
Divine inspiration sought for Cup
The Times
March 19, 2009