With less than 100 days to go before the World Cup, Bafana Bafana have no place to train in their own country. According to a report on the News24 site, this is after Sandown High School, which was chosen by Bafana as a training venue, received news that their facilities won’t be needed anymore. After negotiations last week concluding an agreement ’in principle’ that Sandown High School would be Bafana’s training ground, it was a shock for Oupa Keele to receive news saying otherwise.
The benefits of the 2010 World Cup have been over-estimated, warns a Durban researcher who has spent five years looking at the effects the event will have on South Africa. ’All of South Africa’s urban ills will not be solved by 2010,’ warns Dr Udesh Pillay, principal investigator and researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council who is leading their 2010 World Cup Research Project. The Daily News reports that his findings also indicate that poor local ticket sales means more foreigners will have to buy tickets for the event to be a success.
Many Bay residents will have fond memories of riding the Smartie Train, but after nearly 50 years this beloved Bay institution has finally chugged to a halt. The Herald reports that municipal spokesman Kupido Baron confirmed the municipality wanted to upgrade the area to make it more attractive to visitors before the 2010 World Cup. ’The upgrade entails the demolition of the old shelter and the development of the swimming pool to promote soccer,’ Baron said.
The SABC, official broadcaster of the 2010 World Cup, invites fellow South Africans to write a song in support of Bafana Bafana that will inspire the team to great heights and become the anthem of a nation on the brink of greatness. Bizcommunity.com reports that all SABC platforms, both radio and television have committed to supporting this initiative, which has opened for entries and closes at midnight on 2 April 2010. Entries may be in any official language and will be evaluated by a panel of music compilers and music managers from different SABC radio stations and TV channels, to narrow down the entries to five finalists.
Bafana Bafana and Adidas have unveiled the new away jersey for the national squad, which incorporates 11 threads that symbolise the diversity of South African languages. The Sowetan reports that the new jersey will be used during the highly anticipated 2010 World Cup. The team showed off the jersey in Durban when Bafana played against the Brave Warriors of Namibia at the new Moses Mabhida Stadium. ’The design of the change strip is consistent with the one seen on the home jerseys. Our team now has a complete set of home and away kit,’ said Adidas spokesperson Zobuse Ngobese.
South Africa pledges no power cuts for World Cup 04/03/2010
South Africa, bedevilled by electricity blackouts in recent years, has enough power capacity for the World Cup, the state utility company said on Thursday. South Africa suffered severe power outages in early 2008 that badly hit the mining industry, but the acting chairman and chief executive of power utility Eskom, Mpho Makwana, said the lights would stay on during Africa’s first World Cup in June.
Critics have expressed doubts that the country can cope with the nearly half a million fans expected for the World Cup, but South African leaders have insisted they will be ready.
The Western Cape has ’impressive’ health services that will certainly deliver excellent medical care to international visitors during the 2010 World Cup, says Deputy Minister of Health Molefe Sefularo. The Cape Argus reports that during his tour of several provincial hospitals, Sefularo said that apart from the ’disturbing’ substance and alcohol abuse that burdened health services here, he was generally happy with the level of public health care. Sefularo joined other senior health officials to inspect Groote Schuur Hospital, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) centre at Tygerberg and Somerset Hospital to check their state of readiness ahead of the soccer showpiece.
In times of crisis there is opportunity, its is often said and BP is already cashing in on Eskom’s power crisis. The Times reports that it has donated diesel to run generators in all official stadiums for the duration of the 2010 World Cup. According to a statement from the petroleum company, all power used by broadcasters during the month-long event will also come from these generators. ’In a move to safeguard stadiums from any unplanned outages during the 2010 World Cup matches, and to ensure that both those who have paid for tickets and those watching on TV don’t miss a minute of the action, all stadiums will run off BP Ultimate diesel-powered generators for the duration of each game.’
With less than four months to the kick-off of the 2010 World Cup, FIFA has been alerted to a growing number of e-mails and scams fraudulently claiming to be associated or linked with the 2010 World Cup South Africa and FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa. According to a Publicity Update report, these scams generally inform recipients that they have been selected as lottery prize winners and have won substantial sums of money or invite recipients to submit a tender.
The old South African flag has been banned from Cape Town’s 2010 soccer stadium, along with items such as tear gas and pointy umbrellas, notes a report on the IoL site. The flag is on a list of forbidden items displayed at entrances to the 68 000-seater showpiece, which recently hosted a whistlestop visit from a group of invited local and international media. It is listed just above ’banners or flags with content that can reasonably be considered to be sexist, racist, vulgar, discriminatory, inflammatory or offensive’. Also banned are fireams, ammunition, knives, and any sharp or pointed metal object which could be reasonably considered a dangerous weapon.
Bafana Bafana players will not be banned from having sex during the 2010 World Cup. But they will still have to follow camp rules regarding nookie or ’scoring off the field’. ’Obviously they cannot have sex a night or two before a match because they will be in camp,’ said coach Carlos Parreira. The Sunday Times reports that retired star Mark Fish, who played 62 times for Bafana, said that he put theory into practice when he was still playing for Arcadia Shepherds in Pretoria. ’I had sex before a match and I scored a hat-trick,’ he said. ’We did not have a sex ban during Bafana camps and we were always given time off - as long as we did not abuse it.’
Ahead of the massive celebrations in Durban to mark 100 days before the 2010 World Cup kickoff, Molefi Sefularo, the deputy minister of health, is to inspect critical health facilities in the city. Sunday World reports that the deputy minister’s tour will start at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. This will be followed by an inspection of the newly renovated, state-of- the-art emergency medical services control centre in Wentworth. His final stops will be Addington Hospital and the medical centre at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Even though most preparations are ahead of schedule for staging the 2010 World Cup’s, South Africa still struggles to silence its critics and detractors. This became apparent again during the past week when the British press slammed the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus outside Rustenburg, the England team’s base for the tournament, as a ’rubbish dump’. Sake24 reports that technically no one can point fingers at South Africa. The sceptics have been proved wrong, all stadiums have been completed ahead of schedule, said Investec Asset Management director Jeremy Gardiner.
Bomb scare photographer back in court - 26/02/2010
It was unclear if retired German photo-journalist Berndt Jurgen Fischer would be prosecuted for allegedly telling Cape Town police he had a bomb with him. Prosecutor Gail October told the city’s Magistrate’s Court that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) had still not made a decision on the matter. Fischer, 68, made his third appearance in court and at defence attorney Cornι Stander’s request, Magistrate Vusi Mhlanga postponed the case to March 18. According to a report on the News24 site, Fischer allegedly told police at the access-control centre of the Cape Town International Convention Centre in December last year that his camera contained a bomb.
Eskom said it was confident there would be no load-shedding during the 2010 World Cup, despite the event’s being held in winter when demand for household power was higher. The Mercury reports that Ayanda Noah, the managing director of Eskom’s 2010 division, said South Africa had signed an agreement with the SA Power Pool which committed neighbouring countries to supply surplus power and suspend maintenance operations during the event. Noah said Eskom had spent R3-billion to upgrade sub-stations and generation lines, and municipalities had also invested money to strengthen their distribution networks.
Landmark new stadiums and gleaming modern airports are already redefining South Africa’s cities, but 100 days before the 2010 World Cup the nation is still sprucing up its image to woo international fans, notes a report in The Citizen. ’All the bricks and mortar are in now in place’ for the June 11 to July 11 tournament, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe said in February. But persistent fears about crime and sky-high prices have put off some would-be visitors, with many overseas fans still recovering from the shock of the global recession.
FIFA has announced the base camps of the 32 World Cup finalists. Although most teams play just one match in the Gauteng province, many of the teams opted to base themselves near Johannesburg and Pretoria. Sport24 reports that the defending champions Italy chose the Leriba Lodge in Centurion outside Pretoria, where they will be virtual neighbours of the American side, who will be based in the Irene Country Lodge. Germany, who will be staying in the Velmore Hotel have also opted for Pretoria as a base, as have Diego Maradona’s Argentina, Slovakia, North Korea, New Zealand and Ghana, who originally said they were going to stay in Nelspruit.
King wants portraits in public places during WC 24/02/2010
Zulu monarch King Goodwill Zwelithini says he wants his portraits to be displayed at key public venues like the airport and stadiums during the 2010 World Cup, notes a Mail & Guardian report. ’I wish to reiterate what I have said to this government in that it would be good to have portraits of the king in public areas such as airports and stadiums,’ said Zwelithini. He said this would be positive marketing for the province in that when people arrive at the airport they would see the Zulu brand.
Bafana’s plans catch school off guard - 23/02/2010
When Oupa Keele heard the reports that the Bafana Bafana team had moved their training camp for the World Cup to Sandown High School, he was shocked. As chairman of the school’s governing body, he was left in the dark about this move. And Keele said he wasn’t the only one. According to him, the school’s headmaster was also not aware of the SAFA announcement. The Star reports that despite the announcement, Keele argued that ’it’s not a given’ that the school grounds would be used as the national team’s training camp. He said they would need to ’negotiate with other stakeholders’ as some have other proposals for the facilities during the World Cup.
Health Minister opens transfusion centre 22/02/2010
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi opens the country’s Transfusion Medicine Training Centre aimed at improving blood collection and storage. The Health Ministry said the collection as well as safe storage of blood formed an essential part of the nation’s healthcare services. ’This becomes even more important as the country gears itself for hosting the 2010 World Cup’, the Ministry said. The centre’s function, among others, will be to train medical technologists in the field of transfusion medicine for safe blood supply.
England coach Fabio Capello faces a shock when he arrives in South Africa on Monday to visit his team’s 2010 World Cup training base. Sports24 reports that the England boss is due to stay at the Royal Bafokeng complex outside Rustenburg and check on the progress of the construction work. However, pictures show the England base for the finals, which kick off on June 11, is still a building site. Worse still, half of the five-star hotel where the squad will be based for five weeks has not yet been completed. And the training pitches, about which Capello has made so much fuss, appear to have drainage problems just 100 days before the manager and his stars check in.
South Africans may pose the biggest problem to healthcare services during the 2010 World Cup, said health officials. According to a Mail & Guardian report, Professor Jacque Goosen, head of trauma at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, said violence related to alcohol abuse presented the biggest challenge to healthcare services. ’Community parties during sport events are a problem, not the people within the stadiums,’ said Goosen. Injuries due to stabbing, shooting, falling from buildings and motor vehicle accidents increased during sporting events, he added.
The SA Military Health Services will not take over from the Department of Health during the World Cup, Deputy Health Minister Molefi Sefularo said on Friday. He said the department and the SA Military Health Services would tighten their co-operation ahead of the June event. ’The arrangement is aimed at filling any materials or personnel gaps that we may confront during the tournament.’
According to a report on the News24 site, he said they would also like to eliminate as much red tape as possible involved in jurisdictional borders amongst national, provincial and local authorities and personnel.
The use of traditional African medicines, promoting hygiene and the sexual behaviour of soccer players are some of the issues to be discussed at a medicine conference in Sun City. Organised by FIFA’s medical subcommittee, the three-day conference will be attended by various sports physicians across the globe, soccer greats and administrators. LOC chief medical officer Victor Ramathesele said the event will help them showcase South Africa’s readiness for the 2010 World Cup.
Some of the world’s top football coaches, including England’s Fabio Capello, Brazil’s Carlos Dunga and Italy’s Marcello Lippi, are on their way to South Africa for a team workshop ahead of the 2010 World Cup. The Cape Argus reports that the coaches are expected to meet at Sun City from next week for a three-day pre-tournament workshop. So far, 20 of the 32 national team head coaches participating in the World Cup have confirmed their attendance, said FIFA. The workshop will be the largest and most important session in the run-up to the 2010 finals.
A man who allegedly threatened to ’rob and kill’ 2010 World Cup tourists in an e.tv broadcast was remanded in custody by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday pending a psychiatric report. According to a report on the News24 site, Evans Tsietse Radebe will remain in prison until a bed can be found in the Sterkfontein Hospital, where he will undergo psychiatric observation. During Radebe’s previous appearance on February 11, Roux expressed concern that Radebe would spend an undue amount of time waiting for a bed. The waiting list is presently 180 people long. Radebe will reappear in court on March 18.
Good news for local Cinderellas looking for a prince. British princes William and Harry are to include South Africa in their first joint royal tour later this year in June. The Times reports that the two will take a break from military training and come to Africa for a week and a half. While they’re here, they will watch England play in the 2010 World Cup. The two plan to host a glamourous reception to highlight Britain’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
SA will host a successful WC, says Benson 17/02/2010
Jazz musician George Benson says SA will host a very successful 2010 World Cup, notes a report in The Sowetan. In a phone interview from his British base the guitar virtuoso, who is heading for South Africa and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in April, said the 2010 World Cup would showcase the country’s capabilities. ’ I have no shade of doubt that South Africa is capable of successfully hosting the 2010 World Cup, given the country’s background’, Benson said.
The 2010 LOC has embarked on a campaign in which football fans are being asked to select the best players ever to represent Africa at the World Cup. In return members of the public will win 2010 World Cup tickets for helping to select the best players through the media, including your favourite daily newspaper Sowetan. Eleven players in the starting line-up and three reserves are needed by the LOC as part of the 2010 World Cup 100 days countdown celebrations in Durban on March 1.
Congress of SA Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi wants the Competition Commission to intervene in the pricing of transport and accommodation ahead of the World Cup, notes a FIN24 report. ’This is absolutely something we want the Competition Commission to do something definitely about, and they must act decisively now before those unscrupulous employers put up their prices in June and July,’ he said. This follows widespread concerns about the inflation of hotel prices and flights in the run-up to the tournament.
