FIFA Report -- South Africa Quietly Marks 500-day Countdown

South Africa Quietly Marks 500-Days Countdown

The countdown to the first World Cup finals tournament in Africa hits the 500-day-to-go mark next week, but according to reports, apart from construction projects in the host cities, there is not much to indicate the most popular single sporting event in the world is soon to take place.

Construction of new stadiums and upgrades of existing ones are in full swing, along with a massive overhaul of the transport system.

The build up to the Confederations Cup, seen as a dress rehearsal that opens here in less than six months, has also been low key.

Local organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo says that is about to change with the 500-day mark also kicking off a promotional campaign for the Confederations Cup.

“We would begin earnestly to actually promote the World Cup when the Confederations Cup is finished,” he says.

Mayors of the four Confederations Cup host cities will gather in Bloemfontein next week to unveil a campaign for the tournament that starts in June, he said.

Up until now, organizers have been reassuring those who doubt the ability of South Africa to host the tournament that FIFA will not switch to a ‘Plan B’ and relocate the massively popular sporting event.

Organizers say stadiums are largely on schedule, with new venues in Nelson Mandela Bay, Durban, Polokwane, Nelspruit and Soccer City in Johannesburg about two-thirds complete and set to meet an October deadline.

They also say Green Point Stadium in Cape Town is also about halfway finished, while upgrades at other venues will be ready for the Confederations Cup.

Another positive indicator is the strong public interest in the event, with nearly 40,000 people applying to become volunteers for the tournament - 10 times the number required.

Those chosen as volunteers begin training next month, when tickets are also set to go on sale.

Some tickets have already been sold through tour packages, which FIFA says have exceeded targets, with $115 million in sales receipts.

“The most challenging key areas are transportation, accommodation and security, but the plans and efforts made in those crucial areas by the responsible authorities are reassuring," FIFA says.

Recruitment of 55,000 new police officers will bring the total number in the force to 190,000 in 2009.

Improvements are being made to public transport, including the Gautrain, along with the addition special bus lanes and new vehicles for the nine host cities.

FIFA says it is also working closely with tourism officials in South Africa to achieve the goal of 55,000 hotel, guest house and time share rooms being available each night for the duration of the World Cup.

Japan World Cup Hopes Linked To Olympic Bid Fate

Japan says it will proceed with its bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if it gets the green light to host the 2016 Olympics.

Japan has indicated it will use the proposed 100,000-capacity Olympic stadium in Tokyo plus venues from the World Cup, which it co-hosted with South Korea in 2002.

Japan Football Association Vice President Junji Ogura says his country probably will not be able to bid for 2018 and 2022 if Tokyo does not get the 2016 Olympics. Japan Football Association Vice President Junji Ogura says his country's World Cup bid will depend on the success of Tokyo's bid for 2016. (Getty Images)

He says Japan has to be realistic.

“The 2002 World Cup was a massive boost for Japanese football but it would be very difficult to bid for it again if the Olympic bid fails,” he told Reuters in an interview.

In a recent circular to its 200-plus member nations, FIFA has outlined new requirements for host nations of the World Cup, including a stadium with a minimum capacity of 80,000 for the opening game and final.

The largest stadium in Japan is the 70,000-seat Yokohama Stadium used for the 2002 World Cup final, but Ogura says the extra seating could be added where the athletics track is, to bring it up to the required capacity.

“But an Olympic stadium would have more appeal for a Japanese bid and it would keep costs low, which is important,” he says.

The JFA will formally declare their interest in hosting the World Cup to FIFA by the Feb. 2 deadline. The hosts for both 2018 and 2022 will be decided by the FIFA executive committee and announced in December 2010.

Ogura says three members of the Asian Football Confederation are showing an interest in hosting the World Cup and the region needs to formulate a clear strategy for future bids.

He says if Asian nations are fighting amongst themselves “Asia won't stand a chance."

“Maybe England are favorites. They have not hosted the World Cup since 1966 and many people around the world would like to see the final played at Wembley,” Ogura says.

“Their bid will be very strong. A European country will probably be favorite in 2018. Many of the major sponsors want the World Cup in Europe.”

Spain and Portugal Announce Joint Bid

England faces further competition from mainland Europe after the football associations of Spain and Portugal announced a joint bid to stage the tournament.

President of the Spanish federation Angel Maria Villar and his Portuguese counterpart, Gilberto Madail, signed the agreement after a meeting in Lisbon.

“This is an important day, the day we decide to go ahead and present a bid to FIFA,” Madail said.

Details of the bid have not yet been announced, but the Iberian neighbors are forming a joint committee to coordinate the bid and plan to register their interest in bidding by the Feb. 2 deadline.

Spain hosted the World Cup in 1982 and the European Championship in 1964. Portugal hosted the 2004 European Championship.

Russia to Enter Race

Russia says it will register its interest in bidding for the 2018 World Cup despite still having to work out details to fund its campaign. Russian FA President Vitaly Mutko confirms that Russia would like to host the 2018 World Cup. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images)

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has made recent comments that he expected Russia to make a World Cup bid.

“In the near future we are planning to take the first step and provide FIFA with all documents necessary for the formal proposal to host World Cup 2018,” Russian FA President Vitaly Mutko told RIA Novosti about his country's desire to bid to host host the tournament.

“For the moment I will not comment in any more detail, because the issue is very complex and requires much investment.

“But we will absolutely be making the first step of submitting (interest in) a bid to host the 2018 World Cup.”

Australia Upbeat on Cup Bid

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley says he is confident about the chances of Australia hosting the 2018 World Cup, despite a member of the FIFA executive committee all but discounting the tournament going to Asia.

FIFA Vice President Jack Warner had said in a weekend newspaper report that with Japan and Korea having staged the tournament in 2002, it was unlikely to return to the Asian confederation so soon.

Warner also claimed that Australia's chances might have been helped if it had stayed in the Oceania confederation instead of making its recent move to the Asian Football Confederation.

But Buckley says the comments made in the story will not affect the bid, which has received government funding of about $30 million.

“He actually made some positive comments about Australia and our abilities to host major events and our position within world football,” Buckley says.

Written by Anthony Stavrinos

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