On the Scene -- South African Government Vows to Speed Up World Cup Preparations

(ATR) South Africa’s deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe has acknowledged the need for the 2010 World Cup hosts to increase their pace of preparations to ensure a flawless tournament.

“There is still a lot more work to do, with this countdown to the 11th of June,” Motlanthe told reporters at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban yesterday.

Motlanthe stood in for Jacob Zuma, currently on a three-day state visit to Britain. The 2010 venue road show, which has visited all nine World Cup cities, concludes on Wednesday.

“I feel like putting on my boots and playing football again, testing my skills on the [Durban] pitch,” he joked.

Motlanthe shared the stage with FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou, who is also the chairman of FIFA’s 2010 World Cup organising committee, at an event to formally mark the 100th day to the start of the World Cup finals.

“Now that we have finished with the [stadium] construction work, we need to tackle the softer issues,” the deputy president said.

“We have set aside billions [of South African Rand] for development and we need to ensure that the infrastructure supporting the smooth running of the World Cup is ready.”

Blatter, who described the staging of a World Cup in an African country “as the realisation of a love story,” admitted the world governing body has had to put “pressure” on South Africa to ensure that preparations for the tournament remained on track.

“Sometimes we had to apply some pressure [to increase the preparation work rate], I agree. But we have never had any doubt about the success of this tournament," he told the news conference.

“The FIFA World Cup being in Africa, and South Africa in particular, is a love story… It has been a long journey to the second of March, where we are 100 days away to thekick off.”

“It has been a long way paved with trust and confidence, and patience as well.”

“There was a lot to do to change the minds of people in football, to convince them that we have to give back something to Africa, which has given so much to the world of football. I am very proud that this love story will soon turn into a wedding party,” Blatter said.

Blatter, who has said the first ever World Cup in the African continent is a “defining moment in his presidency,” fired salvos at European critics that have described the staging of the tournament in South Africa as a mistake.

“Africa believes they can host this World Cup, but some people [in Europe] do not believe in this project. Why? We have to have trust and confidence in Africa,” he said.

Durban's imposing 70,000-seat Moses Mabhida Stadium, with its distinctive open-arched roof design, appears ready to stage the World Cup.

In contrast to the Nelspruit and Port Elizabeth grounds, which require major work, the pitch in Durban appeared to be in perfect condition.

But Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s general secretary, told World Football Insider that organisers should not be complacent in finetuning the stadium for this summer's tournament.

“The pitch appears fine but we have to keep on making sure that the pitch remains in good condition for the World Cup," he said.

"We also have a lot of work to do at the Nelspruit and Port Elizabeth grounds and even the Loftus stadium in Pretoria. But there is no reason for anyone to be alarmed. There is no doubt that we will be ready for the World Cup.”

With reporting from Osasu Obayiuwana in South Africa. Obayiuwana is the editor of the London-based African Football magazine.

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