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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
Ron DelMont, head of FIFA South Africa, last week headed a high-level delegation on an inspection tour of stadium construction projects in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Rustenburg, Polokwane, Nelspruit and Mangaung. Project 2010 asked him…  After years of viewing architectural drawings and plans, your team has now had a first-hand taste of the actual construction projects which are taking shape. What were your overall impressions? If you talk about the level of preparation, I can tell you that many of my FIFA colleagues on the tour who have worked on a number of previous FIFA World Cups reaching back to 1994 have remarked that in terms of where we are now and where we are going, we are certainly on track and arguably ahead of previous events. The host cities we have visited have been amazing with their level of preparation. You clearly see the difference between this tour and previous inspections, even a year ago, because of the host cities' ongoing engagement among themselves, with FIFA and with the Local Organising Committee. We are building closer relationships between all stakeholders and developing a common vision on what needs to be delivered. Obviously an enormous amount of co-ordination is involved between the governing body, the Organising Committee and the planners and builders on the ground - are you satisfied with the levels of co-operation? We are very impressed with the efforts made in all venues visited. We have achieved our goals with this inspection to clarify the dynamic requirements such as the access routes and to assist the host cities in finding solutions for some of the challenges. The great engagement, from the Premiers and Mayors, to the project managers in each city - and the significant progress made - proves that we are on the right track. It has been really a very productive tour. The first objective was to confirm that FIFA requirements are being applied on the stadiums and - if need be - to clarify misinterpretations of some requirements and to assist in finding solutions. The importance for now lays on the follow-up and communication. We have had positive feedback and interaction from host cities, but this inspection tour will only be a success if the information provided during the inspection is now brought into action. Do you feel that FIFA's requirements in terms of the new stadiums are being fulfilled? As with all major events, it takes several forums to fully understand and implement our requirements. The FIFA Space Requirements are guidelines to be overlaid and, in some cases, adapted. There are elements of our requirements which are non negotiable such as the pitch and technical specifications, however, the negotiable elements will be a process of collaboration between FIFA, LOC and Stadium Owners / Operators. The benefit of the recent FIFA Inspection allowed us to clarify our FIFA requirements and implement changes which is a benefit to the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup as well as the legacy of the stadium beyond 2010. Therefore, this inspection occurred at an ideal moment to amend some misinterpretations of FIFA requirements. Now we just need to implement what has been agreed on during the course of the last week Do you have any major concerns about any of the stadium construction projects at this stage? Not at this stage. As I said earlier, the technical detail and level of understanding of the FIFA World Cup requirements by the six host cities visited on this tour is really very advanced. They understand the high requirements and are catering for them during the construction process. We now look forward to the stadiums providing updated drawings to reflect the discussion from the inspection. more interviews...
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