PROJECT 2010 - Preparing South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

Last week’s FIFA inspection tour of South Africa’s 2010 stadiums laid to rest any lingering doubts about the country’s readiness for the tournament. Almost. While construction is complete at all the stadiums, concerns have been raised about the state of the pitch at one Cup venue – Nelspruit’s Mbombela stadium. Clay and poor drainage had resulted in the pitch being three times.

And the pitch at Port Elizabeth’s World Cup stadium is reportedly under threat because of the crippling drought in the region drought that has scorched the land outside. Stadium officials say they are watering the field at 2am because it is more economical.

The situation has not been lost on some foreign journalists who have gloated about these last minute hitches. And yet, across the ocean, some 9 000 kilometres away, the world’s most famous soccer stadium continues to undergo its own teething problems.

The pitch at Wembley stadium will this week be relaid for the tenth time in less than three years (at a cost of Ł90,000). This after Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson blamed its condition for Michael Owen’s season-ending injury, which ended any chances of his playing at the World Cup. Other complaints were voiced after the England - Egypt friendly last week.

With all the dust and dramas which tend to cloud our appreciation of South Africa’s magnificent new stadiums, perhaps we should reflect on the 54-month campaign that saw the old Wembley stadium demolished and the new one built from scratch (much like the demolition – and construction – of Cape Town’s 2010 World Cup semi-final venue).

From the start, Wembley’s construction was wracked by in-fighting. The scheduled opening date was postponed several times, and much of the blame was apportioned to Australian construction firm Multiplex. The final price tag was about R11-billion (not far behind this country’s entire World Cup stadium budget allocation).

At the end of the day, South Africa’s 2010 World Cup stadiums are glittering monuments to the world’s favourite sport. Until a few months ago, there was a great deal of concern that these structures would not meet their deadlines. But the 2010 Local Organising Committee, project managers and tens of thousands of construction workers have produced the goods. As a result, the reality is that the 2010 challenges which still remain are relatively minor.