Australia 2010. Maybe

South Africa or Australia. Sounds like a win-win trip in either event

Bring it on! I’m sure Aust can make a success out of it should it come downunder.

Well, I hope they get it. Then maybe ORDINARY but informed fans instead of VIPs will be able to get into at least one stadium!!! FIFA will find a way to muck it up, no matter where it is held. An offer of 300 euros for a ticket in South Africa should mean a lot more than it does here too.

Dave hamildav@yahoo.com

the 2010 australia thing is absolute rubbish..what a joke..!Fifa denies SA may lose 2010 World Cup
Jermaine Craig
July 03 2006 at 07:15AM

Fifa has “absolutely, categorically” denied that it has a contingency plan to move the 2010 Soccer World Cup to Australia if South Africa is unable to host the event.

An Afrikaans Sunday newspaper reported that South Africa’s chances of hosting the World Cup were getting slimmer by the day and that there were “whispers in the corridors of soccer power” that the event could be moved from the country.

“That’s absolutely untrue, 100 percent. There’s no contingency plan at all. Someone’s made that up,” the head of Fifa’s South African office, Michael Palmer, told The Star on Sunday.

“The president of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, has spent years ensuring the event goes to Africa, Fifa has an office and employees in South Africa and there have been over 60 South Africans on Fifa observer programmes at Germany 2006. Only to then take the event somewhere else?

‘It just genuinely is not true’
“We absolutely, categorically deny it, we won’t even discuss it. It just genuinely is not true,” said Palmer.

Citing a “third world” public transport system, a renewed wave of crime, HIV and a shortage of accommodation, the weekend report said Fifa officials were working on an “emergency” plan to take the event to Australia.

South Africa 2010 World Cup chief executive officer Danny Jordaan declined to comment on the report, but Palmer, an Australian, said Fifa is “more committed than ever to making a success of the World Cup in South Africa”.

“There’s no contingency plan at all. It’s going to be in South Africa and that’s the end of it,” he said.

The report also said there would be a shortage of accommodation for 120 000 people in 2010.

‘It’s a mega event’
Adam Brown, a representative of Match Services, a company mandated by Fifa to do the operational running of the accommodation, ticketing and information technology solutions until the 2014 World Cup, said the figure of 120 000 beds short was not taking into account the nature of a World Cup event.

“It’s a mega event. We’re not saying its simple and that there aren’t any complications, but saying you’re 120 000 beds short is nonsense.

“It’s not taking into account the nature of the event,” said Brown, who has been based in South Africa for a year.

“You need to take into account the movement of people within the country and at different stages of the World Cup. That’s a managerial excuse and the process is to take a historical point of view.

“You can look at what happened in Germany. There are dips between matches, with people coming in from the United Kingdom, Holland or France, staying for a day or two and returning home.

“That won’t happen in South Africa – people won’t travel from Europe and South America for one day.”

Brown said that in terms of the South African situation, the US World Cup 1994 gave a much better insight, in terms of distance between cities and length of time people stayed in different places.

“The people involved with Fifa in 1994 are still with Fifa and have a very strong understanding of the various trends within accommodation for a World Cup country.

“We know the needs, the requirements and expectations.

“We know what the situation has been in Germany and will analyse that and say what is needed to raise the bar in South Africa.

“That’s what the president of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, said in Germany – that every World Cup must raise the bar,” said Brown.

Seriously, I would never go to South Africa to see a match. I’ve been there, I know what those people are like. They already have the greatest crime in the world, imagine all those criminals organising themselves for the unsuspecting naive fan.

The people that want this to happen are the thieves and murderers. You will see. Africa is not ready to have such an event take place on their soil. Not even South Africa the most well off country in Africa.

i think its premeture to say south africa cant host the cup. they are soccer mad over there and they will be ok i’m sure. but they need the infrastructure to make the tornament a success. it needs to cater for an olympic size atmosphere. the only country that can cater to the event at short would be australia or germany. because we already have alot of great stadiums that can host games. and i would imagine australia would be a back up for alot of world cups to come if australia isnt the winning bid becuase of the size of our aussie rules stadiums that are world class quality.

Australia is the most sports-mad country in the world… And we would be ready to organize anything at the drop of a hat…!! We have organized an Olympics in the recent past, and can readily host the world cup. If not 2010, say 2014…!! after all Oceania has been left out in the cold when it comes to Football.

I know what those people are like. They already have the greatest crime in the world, imagine all those criminals organising themselves for the unsuspecting naive fan.

…errr Italy is ‘organized’ crime-free ?

Wow – such enlightened views…at a time when FIFA is trying to use football to combat rascism.

Anyway, I can’t understand the gripe of the African teams – did FIFA induce the troubles within the Togo team ?

Unfortunately the South Africa government has brought these rumours on itself by messing about for the last few years. They still haven’t started building any new stadiums!

As a South African I can categorically confirm for all fans out there that the 2010 WC will not be as safe or as easy to get around as Germany has been.

It will be fun and the tournament will take place there! FIFA cannot afford to allow the first African tournament to be a shambles!

Any speculation of changing venues is parlor talk. The decision of the next host country is a long process and many issues arise before the name of the country is released to the public. FIFA knows their reputation is at stake that would lead to consequences with sponsorship, political undertones, and a decline of fans.

Hello, all ye nay- and yea-sayers! It’s pretty clear that SA is keeping the Cup, and equally clear that there will be plenty of intruige along the way to July 2010. Follow local developments on SouthAfricaLogue:
http://www.southafricalogue.com/tag/2010+world+cup/

I’m not so sure Australia has enough world class stadiums to host a world cup, sure we have some great Aussie Rules stadiums, but I don’t think they would be any good for football, they’re too big, I remember watching a State of Origin League match at the “G”, It felt like the sideline was 30 metres from the closest seats. I think Australia would have maybe 6 or 7 stadiums tops that would be able to satisfy FIFA without too much of an upgrade

I think that on or near the top of the list of alternatives, should South Africa need to be replaced in the last minute, would be a few European countries and Mexico. Sure, Australia could do it, but they would need time to get the stadiums ready. In Europe the stadiums are already used to big crouds, but by 2010 Europe would have still just hosted the previous World Cup, and the Americas haven’t seen the tournament come around since 1994. Mexico has already been a backup choice (for Colombia in 1986), and has produced two of the best World cups in history, so would be another obvious alternative.

That said, it would still be nice not having to travel if the World Cup was here in Australia!

I am not here to dog on Africa as I think Massimos comments were borderline offensive. But the fact is that millions of people want to attend and the country has to have a few things set up well before the world cup shows up. A country needs hotels and a efficient and straight forward transportation network to the ten or so biggest cities in the country. This is where i fear what will happen in SA. DOes the tenth biggest city in SA have enough hotel rooms to accomodate the visitors and can they get to that city on a train or enough buses and in a timely fashion? otherwise we will see empty stadiums at the world cup and FIFA for all their grandiosity and forcefulness in this africa thing, will not permit that.

So that begs the question where will it be if no SA and my response is that it will need to be a place where the tenth biggest city has plenty of hotel rooms and is reasonably accesssible. Likewise the tenth biggest city will need a decent stadium and the biggest city will need a very large stadium.

There are plenty of European countries that could do it but Germany 2006 probably means they won’t have the chance.

I think the USA is a clear and obvious choice – and if Bush isn’t in the White House FIFA will be more likely to think about it.

Mexico is another choice with tons of hotel rooms for the tourism industry and great weather and a reasonable transportation network. in addition, they have some very large stadiums.

Australia would seem a thirb best choice to me because of the lack of football specific stadiums.

Canada is a thought although football is not a big priority there.

Japan and Korea would be another but of course 2002 would work against them.

can’t think of anybody else that could essentially pick up the phone and agree to do it at the drop of a hat.

It is not surprising or is it? that already there is a conspiracy to move the event from Africa. If South Africa do not have enough infrastructure can they not co host with another African country like Japan did with Korea. What is the rush to move it to Australia. I think its all propaganda like kite flying, testing the waters and this is engineered by the press..believe me. I think fifa would a lot of reputation if they allow the pig heads to have their way as in this case. If you cant come to Africa stay in Europe or wherever and watch via television. We have enough fans in Africa provided the gates are affordable to African fans. it shouldnt be all about money..they knew Africa was poor before granting them hosting rights. And the talk about AIDS as if there are no AIDS in Europe and America. You cant catch it just by being in South Africa but rather when you misbehave over there as in elsewhere. 2010 is Africas turn and thats it.

This is just ridiculous.people are already starting to talk about alternatives for hosting World cup 2010.This just shows how much goodwill and belief the world has on Africa.Zero!!What a shame.This tournament doesnt deserve the name world cup.If I was asked,you can take it and remove all the african teams from it until when people are going to be treated equally or at least given a chance to prove themselves.Its still 4 years away and discussion has already started.
i am african myself and when I hear this i just feel so so bad.Close to crying.Are we really this lesser beings??

All it takes is planning to host the event. South Africa can come through and I’m sure it will. It will be a beautiul event in SA.

I second the feeling of Moses — if there is no faith in us Africans to host the world cup, let them take their cup and their event.

If that happens, Africans should no longer participate in the event. We’ll have to do for ourselves and be content with ourselves. After all, what’s the use of participating in an event if we can’t be respected enough to be given a chance.

In any case, this is all speculation that has in fact been denied by FIFA.

“…Are we really this lesser beings??…”

I don’t think that naming a backup country is a sign of disrespect to any nation or continent.

There has to be a backup plan for major events, no matter what and no one should gripe about that. What if the stadiums aren’t ready? What if political conflict arises? What if natural disaster strikes? I sincerely hope neither one will be the case and that WC2010 will take place in Africa, but let’s not gripe about the fact that there are other countries that are more than capable of hosting a tournament of this size at a drop of a hat.

I really hope that one day WC comes to Mexico again (the Nort/South America compromise and best of both worlds), so having said that, will it be 2018? 2022? Darn, will I be around to care?

Oh and by the way, about Africans feeling discriminated against — i don’t know if that is a pervasive view in all 53 plus countries that make up the continent. May be that is the pervasive view in Ghana, as that is the only country cited in the article.

In any case, i think Africans are always sensitive to discrimination against us on the world stage. why? because discrimination has been the only consistency in european contact with Africans since God knows when. I also sometimes think that for an African country to win the cup, we would need to have the most saintly referee ever.

But it’s premature to talk of referees screwing Africa just yet, because the truth is African teams need to get a lot better. They are getting better but are not there yet.

Moses and Paschal,

Please don’t flame me for what I am about to say — I want a huge success with the Cup in SA as much as you.

Of course you are not lesser beings! The thing is, there are some basic issues with hosting a cup, and it is legitimate to ask if a nation can provide the answers.

Issues include:
-Enough proper stadiums.
-Enough hotel rooms in safe areas (sorry, I’ve been to Joburg).
-Good medical infrastructure with a safe blood supply. Sorry again to mention the uncomfortable — I would say the same about India. My mum has been in international public health for 40 years, and unfortunately clean blood supplies are an issue in many nations. And not just hooligans get injured or sick at a Cup!
-Excellent transportation between cities that can handle HUGE amounts of people.
-And overall safety.

The police and military can take care of the safety in central areas, but the infrasturcture issues are huge. People will want to take the opportunity to come to Africa for at least two weeks. They will not want to stay home and watch on tv. Yes, lots of the tickets need to be affordable for locals, but that will not stop the visitors from coming. They will have to be taken care of.

Please note: I do NOT know how far along things are regarding construction in SA. These are purely issues that are legitimate to raise and must be addressed. If it turns out things are right on schedule, then those asking the questions are being silly.

Heck, people have been making noises about China not getting it together for the Olympics, and what they are doing in response is throwing an unbelievable amount of people and money at the problem. They can make their populace do what they want — they are after all a dictatorship, unlike (happily) SA. If the stadiums and hotels fall down after a year, China won’t care — the prestige and publicity of the Olympics will be theirs.

So, I fervently hope that the Cup will go off without a hitch in SA. It is well deserved for sure!

And rest assured, the US won’t get to host the Cup for a long time. The outrage would be incredible.

People people.It is 4 years away.This world cuop aint over yet and worries are already there for the next.Surely!!
For those who say that during every other WC there is always a backup, what was the backup country this time for Germany?I still insist.It is a sign of utmost disrespect for already starting to get a back up country 4 years before the event.Just imagine how those people who are doing the organising in SA and the rest of the africans feel when they hear about what you guys are saying.Its a vote of no confidence really.
Instead of giving them moral support and belief you start looking for plan B.
Even when you have kids,do you show them they can make it or lose hope from the beginning about their lives just because you think they are not upto par?
If you think a friend cannot do something,you try help them out not criticise all the time.
WC is a festivity (in theory) for all people …….that includes africans.
We as humans are supposed to try and intergrate not divide as we have always been doing.
This makes me think the slogan of this WC is a joke
Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden ……yeah right!
This world full of prejudice is just sickening.

What hubris, what wanton arrogance from people like massimo,bp,james and their ilk. Don’t you think FIFA and the South African Football Association have considered and are addressing some of the concerns you are raising?
South Africa and the country near by – Namibia – have some of the most beautiful terrains in the world, and this is a golden opportunity for the rest of the world to see such prestine, unpolluted natural beauty. The robust South African economy will be able to build the stadia, the hotels and the infrastructure between now and 2010. Remember the world has become flat; South Africa can easily insource the manpower and the technology to do the job.
What the naysayers are really afraid of is that an African nation is likely to win the 2010 World Cup. Watch out for Ghana,Nigeria,Cameroon, Ivory Coast or Egypt. massimo,bp and james, lets play fair: it’s our turn, for Christ’s sake, to host the game and win the cup.

I agree with Lulu that some concerns raised are germaine and unlike China, SA may not respond with the same vigour and that is the challenge to Africa. But that is not to suggest that SA is not ready and cannot be ready even if it means co hosting with one or two other African countries such as Zimbabwe(dont laugh),Mozambique, Egypt, Nigeria etc and why not.

I have no fear at all about an African side winning the cup the suggestion is laughable indeed. I am bothered to be accused of some type of veiled racism. Maybe I should have prefaced my comments or chosen them more carefully because I would be happy to see a great Cup go off in Africa in any part in fact and maybe I should have admitted up front that I don’t know the state of SA at the moment and have never been there. My emphasis was on the whole tenth city thing. I am sure Cape Town and Johannesburg will be fine but I am concerned about some of the smaller places.

Anyway FIFA has a website already at http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/FWC/tournament/0,6416,FWC-2010-21,00.html

it has a page that has all the host ciies and from what i can tell every one of the stadiums needs to be built from scratch or almosty entirely overhauled (like adding 40,000 seats). Daunting task but i would not like to be misunderstood to say that i wish it to be impossible or something like that.

I wish SA genuine good luck and If i’m lucky i’ll get tix and bet there.

Anywhere but Australia!!! How about the US as an alternate site. and if it is in Australia all the other teams should boycott so Australia can have a world cup title, than maybe they’ll stop crying.

South Africa can host a great tournament. However, may I suggest:

1) They pick only 4 cities to host all games. This would put less strain on transport, communications, hotels, and security. It also means building 4 world-class stadiums instead of — perhaps — many less capable stadiums.

2) Perhaps they should consider Windhoek, Namibia as a host city. Namibia has a noteworthy tourism industry that could (probably) accomodate global citizens. If South Africa wants to make this an African event, they should consider including its neighbors. Namibia also has the resources to build a world-class stadium. They also have great German-African beer (ie, “fan fests”).

3) South Africa should consult with the AU about security issues. There are many highly-trained security officers in other African states that could be recruited to assist the South Africans. Germany did a great job including neighboring police officers from other countries (such as the UK). South Africa must rid itself of the stigma “crime capital of the world.”

I think the idea of neighboring african countries is a good idea. Namibia, South Africa and Botswana are amongst the most well off in Africa and attract a lot of tourism.

The GDP per capita is higher in Botswana (10,500) and South Africa (12,000) than Brazil (8,400)and Mexico (10,000) – 2005 estimate. So if brazil ad Mexico could host the event, South Africa, with or without help from its neighbors, should be able to as well

Give South Africa a chance. The decision has been made and they should be given the chance to show their stuff. FIFA like they did for 2006 and probably every other WC will keep an eye on things and make sure that everything is ready on time. If FIFA determines in about 3 years that South Africa isn’t ready there will be enough countries available to take WC 2010. Let’s not forget that before this WC FIFA was expecting a ticket fiasco and half empty stadiums. Even with Beckenbauer’s assurance FIFA was still worried. FIFA worried about the wrong thing. They should have worried about the refs. FIFA you worry about the officiating in 2010 and let South Africa take care of what they need to do.

if not 2010, bring it to aus in 2018. imagine 100,000 spectators watching the world cup final at the greatest stadium in the world, the mcg. not to mention the numerous other massive grounds around the country. as long as we dont see it held in north america again, who could stand another USA held event. major turn off.

the southafrican timezone is the same as the european (+- 1 hour) the australian timezone is, well unfortunate for most parts of the world….and its a 24h flight to sydney

I Just returned from a trip to South Africa – had a good time but realised how bad the infrastructure is. No person visiting the country would dare to use public transport (especially the trains) without a serious risk to his life. Crime is out of control – people get shot on highways on a daily basis – for no reason at all. Of course Australia has the infrastructure to easily host the cup (and clearly does better than South Africa on the field as well – but thats besides the point). All I can say is good luck to FIFA – this is a massive gamble – and we will all see the chaos in 2010. I just hope not too many lives will be lost – and hosting a major event in Africa will be lost forever,,,

white people make me sick, they always think of africans as lesser beings, and australians in particular always think they have solutions to everything. so immature to cry for the world cup. south africa will host the world cup so you all out there with your ill wishes get over it. poor public transport…crime…AIDS…what a bunch of garb. which place is free of AIDS? why would people out to watch soccer catch AIDS anyway? Sluts?

tsk! tsk! tsk! Peter, Peter, Peter…. I used to like Australian people… Not anymore. They just seem so ignorant and full of themselves. Anyway, the world must realise that 2010 is 4 years away. It’s just too early to start judging the country…. The country has long started to prepare for the event. The world doesn’t know about these developments because FIFA wanted all attention and focus to be on the current world cup. People, give South Africa a chance. As a previous post says, if Brazil and Mexico can host successful events, so can SA….easily. The country is blessed with enormous mineral wealth. It’s stock exchange ranks as one of the top 10 largest and best in the world. People must know that preparations are underway. Even the police are preparing themselves. Public transport system is getting an overhaul. SA 2010 will be a great event. Stop underestimating SA’s potential.

South Africa has the stadiums to cope with hosting the World Cup, although some of them will have to be upgraded and at least two new ones will have to be built.

There is allot of Hotels, that should not be a problem either. Last year south Africa had 7.4 million visitors alone, up from 3 million in 1993.

It has world class highways, but little public transport, and the public transport it has can be plagued by crime.

Authorities plan to spend about R8,7-billion on upgrades to airports, roads and railway lines. That’s about 80 mil euros.

Talk of co-hosting the tournament is not very clever. South Africa’s economy is the size of the rest of the African continent’s combined. Namibia’s economy is not even 3% of South Africa’s, and it’s capital Windhoek is smaller than Brighton in England.

Im my opinion South Africa will host a succesful tournament. It wont be perfect, there will be the odd mugging and hijacked tourist. Welcome to the way the majority of the planet lives. At least its not boring.

I think its a little early to write SA off and i think that Africa definetaly deserves to host a world cup on their continent’s soil. However, as an assie the, the prospect of Australia hosting the world cup in just 4 years has me very exited. I hoped that at best we would get a good shot at 2018. Thats 12 years away. 12 YEARS. I cant wait that long. So without any disrespect to SA, I would be over the moon if Australia got to host the cup in 2010.

I reckon we could easily pull it of in 4 years. We could use the MCG, Telstra Dome, Telstra Stadium, Aussie Stadium and Suncorp Stadium. Thats 5 world class stadiums all over 50,000 seats which i think would be enough seats. I dont know how many stadiums u need but i reckon we could build 2 new stadiums in adelaide and newcastle and that would be 7 world class stadiums. And i spose u could throw the GABBA in their if u had to. Also fans wouldn’t have to travell all across the country because all these stadiums are in the south east corner of Australia. Dont complain perth your too far away, it wouldnt work

I do not have nothing against SA. But from a long time I heard that crime is out of control in SA. I have been to Japan/Korea and Germany. I am having big doubts of going to SA. I think its impossible to bring crime down to safe levels in four years. Transportation looka like its going to be a big problem, I ve heard that driving trough SA is not a good idea for tourists, and public transpartation is also very dangerous. For the sake of the world cup, I hope it gets moved out of there.

Mmm – the arguments are not very convincing – “give SA a chance”, “no country is perfect”. Haha we are not talking about assistance programs here – this is a world class event. Soccer SA promised FIFA that the SA government would build 5 new stadiums – nou it surfaced that the government approved only 2 stadiums. Roads are in a dismal state – read the local newspapers – even better try driving there! In the 2 weeks I have been there 6 people were shot on the Highway that passes the Johannesburg int. airport. There was a strike of security workers – 200 were killed because they wanted to go back to work. Even the minister of security said “people who are upset about crime in the country – should shut up or leave the country”. Very encouraging. All the talk seem like windowdressing – reality is so different…

Maverick. You need at least 8 large stadiums to host a world cup. South Africa already has 5. Diego, South Africa had 7.4 million tourists last year. Mostly from Germany, Scandinavia and the UK. Crime is a huge problem, but you are 3 times more likely to be affected if you are poor. Most crime takes place in urban ghettos.

Peter

You said: “Haha we are not talking about assistance programs here – this is a world class event.”

I’m wondering why Austrlia took part in the World Cup cricket and World Cup rugby in South Africa. Indeed, why is your rugby players in SA this week for the Tri-Nations?

I wish that all the people in the world, but specially in SA, who bear negative comments could be somehow tracked. So that when SA host the most wonderful and succesful World Cup of all time in 2010,then those poeple should be banned from entering the country, from goign to games and from reaping in any of the benefits that it will provide SA for years to come after the WC. I am so sick and tired of people thinking that because football is a black sport, that SA is goign fo fail. Did anyone had doubts of us hosting the cricket and rugby World Cups or the ALl Africa Games. No but because white SA don’t feel included ( most of white SA follow the ENglish premiership not local SA football) then they think it will be a disaster. I am not accepting any negative criticism from anyone, if so you are not longer a friend of mine. And those in SA and who know soccer know who I am. I love soccer, I breath soccer here in SA and it is about time that our people get given the support that they deserve. And those friends of mine who want to be negative, I tell you again, do not reap the successes of the WC when they eventually come! Viva South Africa 2010!!!

The only thing I’m concerned about is getting all those damn shots!!! Has anyone gotten it, how many needles are there? Is it really that painful?!! I’m already freaking out, cause I hate hate hate needles!!!!

You don’t need any shots for South Africa. Ai ja jai! Your a bunch of sissies.

I am an Australian.

South Africa will do a great WC – it won’t be as organised and efficient as Germany 2006 – so what? It will be African – that means friendly, colourful, noisy, passionate, probably even chaotic, disorganised at least to our western eyes.

There is a lot of mis-information being peddled on here, 7 of the 10 stadiums being used have already been built and need upgrading. Only 3 new stadiums are being built – CT, PE and Nelspruit.

Finally, Australia would not do justice to a WC – the MCG is dreadful for football – it is a cold lifeless bowl (not a true Football stadium), same goes for Telstra Dome, Subiaco, and Football Park (Adelaide). These stadiums are NOT suitable for Football. The only decent football stadiums are Suncorp (Brisbane), Telstra Stadium (Sydney), Olympic Stadium (Sydney). That means there are no suitable stadiums in Melbourne (the new proper football stadium will only hold 20-25k), Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, Darwin.

an unbelievably high crime rate in South Africa is a tragic reality.However, it would be beneficial for the country in many respects to host the WC. It would also be very exciting to attend !

I am Proudly South African but that does not mean that I am blind to the realities of my home nation. Yes, I am one of those who no longer live in that part of the world, I am one of those that felt anxious about crime and yes I am worried about the safety and security of some of the soccer fans that will besiege the nation. BUT
SA loves soccer. Kaizer Chiefs [the band are avid supporters of the team] have the biggest fan club in the world
The fans are second to none whether it be premiership of local soccer
The country is certainly capable of hosting [ think back to the Rugby World Cup and the Cricket World Cup]. They have the infrastructure and are much more advanced that many think they are.
The fun, fervour and excitement with the blend of cultures – Imagine the carnival atmosphere when the Zulu dancers match steps with the Brazilian dancers on Durban Beachfront.
South Africa is a rich and vibrant nation with a fascinating past so go there and experience an event of a lifetime!
I will be!

Marc,
Telstra Stadium and Olympic Stadium are are the same stadium, which makes me doubt the credability of your post.The MCG and Telstra Dome hold 96,000 and 65,000 respectivly so they could easily be used. They are not lifeless and there are plenty of stadiums similar to them being used in this world cup.

Also you forgot Aussie Stadium which is perfect for football and holds 45,000. And of course they would build a couple of other stadiums so eventually we would easily have enough stadiums to host the 2010 world cup

Maverick

Yeah your right … I meant Aussie Stadium.

However your credibility (lack thereof) takes a double beating. Your capacities are way out pal:

Telstra Dome – not even close to 65,000 – try 56,347

Aussie Stadium – better try, but not 45,000 – try 42,000

Any no there are not “plenty” of stadiums that are similar to the MCG or Telstra Dome – 3 out of 12 (Berlin, Stuttgart, Nuremberg) and they are much much better for viewing than the MCG or Dome ever will be … you are 40 metres from the sideline at these awful for football stadiums.

I repeat Australia’s AFL grounds do not do the World Cup justice and would not come close to capturing the atmosphere the WC deserves.

Consider your credibility well and truly destroyed.

The focus on South Africa has already had a positive result. There was a massive police swoop in Johannesburg yesterday. I predict a much tougher line by the SA police and even the army.

Hosting the World Cup will force the SA government out of its lethargy. SA coan’t afford to loose the opportunity to host it.

The pressure and spotlight on SA has already have positive results. Their was a massive police swoop in Johannesburg yesterday. I predict more of the same. SA can’t afford to loose the cup, and this will force the SA government out of its lethargy.

i have been in SA couple a times n i must admit its a nice place to be if u if u live like the locals. the western tourist who vist SA mostly go to cape town only n they do their trips on the tourist buses, so they hardly get in touch with the locals n they live in expensive n good gaurded hotels or villas, so there is no way they gona across any kinda crime. but with soccer tourist it will look diffrent cuz most of this fans r on budget n will try to get a cheap accomodation, try to travell with taxis or public trasport, they will get drunk after games.. so do u think the most notorouis gangs in the world livin in south africa wont get advantage of this kinda tournament, and once more u cant compare rugby or cricket with soccer.. this gang r so notorouis that they rob banks at the airport n evrybody knows how tight securities r on airports, so do u think it wont be easy for them to robe n kill inividuals,, n if we talk about the police themselfs they also corrupt to the last n i have seen this with my own eays.. n the last n majot treat is torrism, how could such a currupt security department prevent a torrist attack wich could be prepeard 4 or 5 years b4 the tournament takes place.. im an african myself n i was so proud n happy that the world cup could finally come to africa but at the same time SA wasnt the best choice n 4 years is too short to change a whole nations attidude..

Dear Wessel haha “the pressure and spotlight on SA has already have positive results. .. a massive police swoop in Johannes burg yesterday…” What a joke. Wjhat about thousands killed over the past number of years – do we need soccer pressure to lead to a “assive swoop” – this sounds like windowdressing – what a poor show! Shame on the SA government. Just do the right thing – dont wait for soccer pressure.

Let Zidane do a sweep of SA before the WC, so he can headbutt all the criminals before they steal tourists’ money!

I think you need to give it time. Greece wasn’t done completing all of their sites until just days before the start of their Olympics….

I THINK SOUTH AFRICA WILL BE A GREAT HOST TO THE 2010 WORLDCUP.
The only thing i thought FIFA
overlooked is that it is going to be winter in SA during world cup 2010. And winter can be harsh in SA too. But overall i think FIFA made a good decision and that we all should go to SA
to support and help make this world a better place by just being there.

Marc,
Did u see the stadium the final was held in . The spectators were easily as far away from the sideline as they would be in the MCG. And anyway we only have 2 of them and as u said germany had 3. The capacity’s dont matter anyway as they are still large enough to host matches.
Consider your credability well and truly destroyed and mine well and truly re-instated.

I am totally opposed to South Africa hosting the 2010 soccer world cup. As a South African I think the tournament will be a total disgrace for the country. I have three reasons: 1) the crime wave that’s sweeping SA shows that the government does not have the capacity, or will to provide security at such a major event. If the ANC-led government of Mbeki is serious about crime it must crack down on the criminal element. Yet, they’re clearly not willing to do that because those who rob, rape, murder, steal, pillage and plunder are mostly blacks who support the ANC! 2) the public transport is in a shambles. Trains are antiquated and dangerous, buses are inefficient, and the minibus taxis are simply deathtraps that cause mayham on the roads; 3) the AIDS pandemic that sweeps South Africa poses a serious health risk to foreign fans who might be tempted to procure the services of ’sex workers’. I think FIFA should move the 2010 world cup tournament elsewhere. South Africa under the current black regime is just not capable of hosting such a huge event.

Malcolm Lupton says South Africa under the current black regime is just not capable of hosting such a huge event. As an African, I say go to hell you u lil white boy. I don’t even consider you as an African. Your probably a white Afrikaner who still believes in apartheid and hates to see blacks trying to better themselves in South Africa. Your people stole the land, enslaved the natives, and exploited South Africa’s many resources. Go back to Europe and stay there. Your a low-life piece of shit.

I just returned home to Jo’burg after being two years in LA (USA). Its great to be back home to a vibrant and colourful South Africa.
To be honest, my life is much lke it is in the US with all the same amenities and services (I can even drink the tap water!). Yes, we have many social problems and this is a legacy of our sad past. These and other topics are debated daily.

The World Cup will be a wonderful tournament here in South Africa. There will be some difficulties and I doubt we’ll be as efficient as the Germans (but few countries can be!). Jo’burg is an amazing African city and I welcome the world to enjoy what will be the biggest party we’ve ever thrown. Don’t be put-off by detractors. S.Africa has been involved in fairly sophisticated public and private initiatives for many years and this is just another big project. I have no worries. Just remember to bring your warm clothes!!

Malcom:
I’m white too, man but those racist comments???
Damn you must be really stupid if you do not know that poverty & unemployment are subsidiaries of CRIME, then Apartheid is the Holding company in the long run as 12 years of equality is not enough and the Govt’s role is bridging the gap between unemployment and the opposite of it but i guess as long as you were born with a silver spoon in your hands everything is fine???
No, the massive of our people need this event and you and i my friend won’nt play a part as we were not really disadvantaged (REFERENCES to BEE/Affirmative Action), so my point is “Poverty eliviation”; so that our country can improve as to tackle the CRIME & AIDS pendemic, if you don’t support SA as HOST then relocate to Australia and suck Mark Viduka’s D*%$!!!
B*&^$!!!

I would like all South Africa who support us Hosting carry out a full verbal assault to a certain Malcom!!!!
He is Racist and Stupid!!!
The Apartheid system gave birth to all the major problems today, but its just unfortunate that when we got free, it was a bit late as “Economically” many natives were uneducated & still all the resources are still held by us the Whites and we’ll still want them out of our steaks by demonstrating against BEE/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION!!!
No Whiteman is better than any Blackman or other, we are all just different and we all have many talents!!
There is no Govt do better than the current one as the Whites, who knows, we even would still have been in isolation as far as Sport is concerned!!!

I agree with you Kendal on Malcolm Lupton. He is definetly
a racist(verkrampte) afrikaner and should stay in is comfort zone with his afrikaners KKK friends.Me and my friends and family will be there in 2010 to support SA in his effort to host the best world cup.

I’m sorry for the use of language I decided to use on Malcolm Lipton. It was quite vulgar and unappropriate. But thanks to futebolblinger and Marloth for showing their support and disowning that racist pig Malcolm.

Hi Guys,

I’m a balck South African who is very much patritic and believe in the current countries leadership. Yes, crime is a serious issue in South Africa and the government need to action on that ASAP. Yes, the government is now implementing strategies to curb the crime, but more needs to be done. The former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is invited by the Gauteng governemnt to help them in crime and corruption irradication, he reduced crime and murder for an average of 65% while he was NY mayor. Business against crime have just donated some money into crime elliviation, etc. Yes, come 2010 South Africa will be a safe haven. Tourists Police are being trained. All I can say is that a lot is happening.

When you talk about infrastructure then I will just have to ignore you as that will now be based on the fact that you don’t trust that an African country can host the tournament of this magnitude and I must just say to you “wait and see”. Just 3 days ago and extra R3 Billion was invested into the Rail improvement and into making sure that all our roads are up to standard. South Africas roads are tarred and more are tarred on a daily basis.

There are lots of projects going on currently in our country. Our Governemnt is spending billions to make sure that from and to 2010 and after the country will be one of the best in the world. January this year the city of Durban hosted tha A1 Grand Prix and it was voted the best and most succesful organized A1 GP, but all these critics are ignoring that fact.

Kaizer Chiefs on of the best and most succesfully South African team it in preperatin to start the development of its own 60 000 seater stadium and that is outside the World Cup, but it will be completed by end of 2008. Some of the traind have been replaced with the new Metro rails. Putco and other bus companies are running on our roads but none of these critics are realizing that fact.

Did all these crtics ask themselves as to why did FIFA award the event to South Africa?
Why all the FIFA sponsers deposited the money into FIFA’s account even before the 2006 SWC ends?
Why FIFA dismissed all the rumours that the World Cup will be taken away from South Africa? Why all the American and Germany companies are establishing theselves in South Africa?

I just want alll you critics to lay down all your reason as to why South Africa won’t host the best Wordl Cup.

Check the following links out and then comment

- http://www.fifa.com/en/worldcup/index/0,3360,118845,00.html?comp=WF&year=2010&articleid=118845

- http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=2871&art_id=qw1152712805619S163

- http://www.swc2010.com/news.php

It amazes me how niave people are about South Africa. I have lived in SA for forty years and and have had seven friends brutally murdered. My one friend had his wife and daughter raped in front of him before he was murdered (shot in the ear)
SA is the murder and rape capital of the world.
This is why I emigrated a year ago.
Just have a look at these web sites http://www.crimexposouthafrica.org and http://www.africancrisis.org on this website look for the pictures of the murdered and tortured farmers who feed millions of black people in the richest country in Africa.
If you want to visit SA in 2010 hey go ahead its your life.

cp,
It is an exciting thought that australia may be the back-up plan for the 2010 world cup. Although I think south africa would greatly rise to the occasion but you feel there will always be that risk factor with what could go wrong. As for stadiums in australia, you need not worry as brisbane, melbourne, sydney, perth can hold a football match and don’t forget new zealand as joint hosts just like korea & japan 2002. As for wheather australia is worthy to host a world cup, that is up for question, you have to remember australia is a long way from the having a real passion towards football or any football culture. Having held sydney olympics just 6 years ago and don’t forget football matches where played not just in sydney but brisbane and melbourne aswell. But would all 64 games be sellouts or would the crowd attendences be a bit poor as australia is a long way for europeans, south amercans & africans to travel to. Anyway it will be interesting to see what happens…

John I sympathise with you as my husband’s brother was murdered in 1996 at the age of 24 and this really brought home the reality of crime. South africans live such a compartmentalised life. We left the country in 1997, but I have to say we really miss Africa. There is always a more romanticised version when one is away from it, but I think Africans have a sense of life that many do not. If South Africa can get better I am all for it so I hope 2010 does us all a huge favour and prove the many of us who have been touched by so much negativity, wrong.

Hi, Crime is more a perception than a reality for the tourist. Very few tourists are victims of crime in SA. When you avoid the dangerous places you’ll very unlikely to encounter any problems. I don’t know of any family member who has been assualted or murdered… It always depends on the area. South Africa is amazing :) Visit http://www.southafrica.info/2010 for the latest news.

http://www.crimexposouthafrica.org

It is said to hear of MR VAN NIEKERK s case the whole world is sympathysing with you but such report occur anywhere in the world. Remember you are still nre to wherever you are give it time and come and report that to us again even if it didnt happen to you. We really need those stats. But what ever one s wish is come 2010 I will be watching Bafana Bafana or Bawawawawa!!!!! as some call it at the johannesburg soccer city stadium. Proudly SOUTH AFRICAN.

Fools. Crime is EVERYWHERE in South Africa. You dont need to go looking for it, it WILL find you.

Would you go to Iraq now? No, yet more people are killed each day in South Africa than in Iraq.

Would you go to South Africa?

Perhaps its best if you do go. You’ll quickly be removed from the world gene pool.

World cup progress for 2010:

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,6119,2-7-1442_2010876,00.html

Anyone remember Arnold Schwarzenegger saying “If you give these blacks a country to run, they’ll run it down the tube?” Seems like he was a visionary. Cant wait to see the headline after the fans get rape and make international news. Haha.

Hi

Until 5 years ago I’ve been a very positive, sceptics-hating, future embracing, South African. I still try to be. I still want to be.

Unfortunately you cannot avoid crime in South Africa by “avoiding the dangerous places”. You can visit news.24.com to get a feel for where the most horrific crimes occur. That very often includes airports, suburbs, tourist sites, and upmarket shopping centres. In 2010, it will include stadiums. Another myth is the poverty myth. While you are LESS likely to be pickpocketed at a tourist site in South Africa than in, say, Italy, you are much more likely to get raped, tortured to death, hijacked, violently robbed or asaulted than on any other country on earth. Which do you think is the type a hungry person would do, pick pocketing, or raping?

In the face of this horrible threat to our very existence, the government is doing next to nothing about crime. Most of their statements about crime are either criticising people who complain about it, or defending and saying crime in this country is not out of the ordinary. Seldom are there bold statements declaring war against crime.

To you Kendal. Malcolm is probably not an Afrikaner. I am. You can insult him if you like, whatever he is. The way you reacted in insulting Afrikaners is equally racist. Most Afrikaners bleed with passion and love for this country and it’s people. What most of us want to see is NOT for the world cup to move to Australia, but for international bodies to at least cite that as a possibility, to get our government to do something about crime. The world cup is all about government prestige and our government is very, very image conscious. They will not even comtemplate the humiliation if the world cup goes to Australia. If that threat is real, THEY WILL do something. Believe me, they will.

Crime in South AFrica was unacceptably high when the tournament was awarded. What concerns me, is that it has increased signifficantly since then. More concerning, morturies and insurance companies are at odds with the government over crime stats. There is some evidence of a huge cover up, the 18 000 murders per year is the official stats.

For the other sceptics, amnemity wise, South Africa is still very much first world. (Allthough looking at service delivary, I sometimes feel it is about to change.) My point is, if the security issues are addressed, there is no reason why this could not be the most memorable tournament ever.

It will be a shambles!
People bang on about the rugby and cricket world cups in SA, but forget that they were organised by and large by whites.
It makes me laugh too when i see all these idiots on here who go on about how great SA is but do they live there? Do they f**k! They’re all posting from the UK!

Soccer World Cup 2010 in Africa will be legendary in the same vein as the Rumble in the Jungle.

http://www.crimexposouthafrica.org

It says it all.

Pippy. You are the one who is in England not me. So listen to me dude. You know nothing about South Africa. The organizers of the world cup in South Africa are quite capable of organising a good world cup. Remember they went through all the processes that any country would have done in order to qualify to host the tournament. We conviced a panel of people well equiped with knowledge of world cups and experience than you can ever aquire with your brain in your lifetime. Note we did not select our selves but high profiled knowlegeable people chose us. I just dont know if maybe in England Black people are incapable of organising an event, I personally know that my abilities and of course many black south africans is not limited to what you believe in, but if you say so because it is the religion in which you grew up in then be it. But you should have also queted your source. But I kindly sugest you humanly go through your statements and use every bit of your brain to think about this believes of yours. Your argument is childish and incompetant even 10 years back when I was 11 i would have come up with a better argument. Note i am not against any critisizim segregative thoughts of this lad who would give credit to people based of their skin colour.

Thank you for your comments “rode”.
Just a couple of points..
1, How do you know whether or not i know anything about South Africa?
2, You’re assuming i’m not black myself!
3, “You are the one who is in England not me” seems a strange thing to say because you obviously are pal! The computer don’t lie!

The arguments around 2010 are for the large part puerile. To say that blacks can’t organise an event of this magnitude is racist and whoever make a comment such as that, shows themselves to be the bigot they are. When the World Cup was held in Japan and South Korea did you also think that the Orientals would be incapable of making seats big enough for the European and African backsides? To the man from Australia who thinks that it can be a joint World Cup with New Zealand, unfortunately FIFA has decided there will no longer be joint World Cups. I am uncertain of their reasoning but it is why Libya and Tunisia did not make the grade. To the others who think that the website crimeexposure is a valuable source of information know this. Neil Watson the creator of the website has by his own admission never been a victim of violent crime. Him and his website are currently under investigation for pretending to be a non-profit organisation, which they were not and soliciting donations. The website is currently shutdown with no word why.
Crime in South Africa is bad, to deny this would be idiotic. But to say that every tourist will be mugged, raped or killed is ignorance. Having lived in South Africa and travelled abroad, I can honestly say I have felt more at risk in places such as Cornwall, England and New Orleans, USA. In South Africa, it would be a fair comment to say there are two countries. One which is still predominately white where the tourists generally stay and has private security, first world amenities and is as safe as anywhere in the world really. The other is the one which you all talk about. This is where the majority of citizens live. There is crime, little policing but at least the drinking water is clean. Only time tourists go there is on organised township tours to experience the “real South Africa”. These worlds sometimes collide but for your average visitor, they will never be affected by the problems which South Africa has.

Say Stuart, what have you been rooking man? Wake up and smell the coffee. Get real. Get the deal. And as for lil old Kendal who is so proud of being an African, that’s good man. But what have you guys ever contributed to the development of the modern world? I mean what have you guys ever invented, developed, discovered, built, etc of any substance? If the whites go back to Europe, South Africa will collapse. They already are and it already is.
Happy Days.

Oh well, looks like Aussie Football Fed is backing SA as 2010 hosts.

“Oh well, looks like Aussie Football Fed is backing SA as 2010 hosts”….

They’d be silly not to if they want to secure the African vote for their expected bid for the 2014 WC!

Deep down Stuart you know what Anton says is right, you’re obviously not man enough to admit it!

Oi Pippy, 2014 is going to Sth America i.e. Brazil as no one else is bidding

Australia should get the World Cup because everyone know it would be the best ever unfortunately money talks and bullshit walks so … US or England will get 2018 .. F$#k!

i think 2010 fifa should be in australia!

I think Australia would make a great job, I’ve been to 2 world cup finals the one in france 1998 and the one in germany 2006 (that final was very sad we lost) and I think Australia would be able to do aswell as the europeans. The only problem is that Australians don’t love enough football, they too much into their bloody cricket and rugby.

To all those who think that south africa cannot host a successful world cup, wait and you will see how much you’ve been wrong about africa. what irritates me the most is the fact that most of you have never been to south africa. the problem with you europeans and australians is that you don’t want us to ever catch up with you ito development. you forget one thing though that the time for africa has come.
why is everyone crying now that its black people who are organising the 2010 world cup? didn’t we host 1995 and 2003 world cups succesfully. no one cried about crime then. for Gods sake crime is everywhere. who the hell are you to even compare sa with iraq ito murders. i’m not trying to be defensive about it , but if you don’t have anything good to say about sa stay where you are. osme of you comment that the infrastructure is deteoriating because of the black government. you forget one thing foes, when this government took over the apartheid regime you left with your skills and sa money. the poor who have been oppressed for so long had to get a share in the slice cake.

there is so much happening in sa in terms of infrastructure development, making our cities compete with the best in the world. maybe some of you who left the country after 1994 are afraid that your lies about this wonderful country will come out. we will surely prove to the rest of the world that we are much better than you think of us.

yes we have a problem of crime and poverty which are as a ersult of colonialism, apartheid and the current ecomomic trends which are favouring the rich people.

i plead with all sa to pull together, and let all these monkies who are negetive towards my/our country eat a humble pie. So let football be a unifier as Rugby in 1995 and 2007 has done.