World Cup Newsdesk - Khoza Hits Out at Critics; Jordaan Acknowledges Concerns

(ATR) World Cup organizing committee chairman Irvin Khoza says that South Africa has "proved wrong" those who "questioned the scale of its ambitions" and insists the country is fully prepared to host the finals.

Speaking after the committee’s final board meeting in Sandton, Johannesburg on Tuesday, Khoza said that South Africa stood on the precipice "of something truly unique and memorable".

"What we have promised, we have delivered," said Khoza.

"That we are on the verge of something truly unique and memorable is undoubted. And that this tournament has rallied and mobilised this country like never before is also without question.

"We achieved stadium completion in a time which surprised many who doubted our ability to do so. There were many who questioned the scale of our ambitions, but we have proved them wrong. We are waiting. We are ready. Ke Nako [It’s time]."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who was present at the start of yesterday’s meeting, paid tribute to a tournament "organized on the African continent in South Africa by South Africans".

"FIFA has the naming rights to this tournament, but all the work has been done here," Blatter said.

"Without the involvement of the whole country, not only sports people, but the South African Government, local, provincial and national, it would have been impossible to put together this event."

South Africa braces itself for the greatest show

With just nine days to go before the big kick-off, the sense of anticipation in South Africa is clearly palpable.

Almost by the day stadiums – whose readiness has previously been called into question – are handed over to FIFA ahead of the tournament.

Today it is the turn of Johannesburg's Soccer City and the International Broadcast Centre, which will be opened this morning by Blatter. A score of football and local dignitaries are attending.

But doubts still persist over ticketing and the amount that FIFAneeds to sell. For all the claims that virtually every game is sold out, Around the Rings has been presented with anecdotal evidence that not insignificant numbers of tickets still remain from official outlets, never mind the black market.

The expectation that FIFA should sell out every match is a relatively new thing – after all, prior to USA 1994, it was comparatively easy to get World Cup tickets and swathes of empty seats were not uncommon. But such is modern football that it will be regarded as a failure for the organizing committee if there are empty seats and, in particular, a surfeit of non-white faces.

The lateness of some stadium handovers and absence of test events has also begged questions over their readiness to host major events.

When Soccer City held its first large-scale match a fortnight ago, kick-off was delayed for 30 minutes after roads surrounding the stadium were gridlocked with congestion.

Yesterday World Cup organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan acknowledged these twin concerns in a wide-ranging interview with the UK's Guardian newspaper.

"There are two areas which need attention," he said. "We want to make sure all tickets are sold. And, clearly, transport is something we're looking at closely. There was pressure on transport that day but we've had a successful meeting with provincial and national government, and the police and traffic officers, to ensure this is resolved."

At the same time, throughout the 16-year journey he has made from taking a bold idea of hosting an African World Cup in the heady first post-apartheid days to the verge of realisation, Jordaan has always been explicitly clear that there are bigger things at stake for South Africa than simply putting on a great show.

"Reconciliation and nation building is also an important aim of this World Cup," Jordaan said after the organizing committee meeting in Sandton.

"We want to make this country better and more united and I think we will achieve that. As we stand just days away now from the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup we can confidently say everything we have promised is now a reality.

"The tournament’s kick-off will be a huge day for so many South Africans. It will be a moment to cherish but, also, a moment to remember our past."

Withreporting from WFI's European correspondent James Corbett

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