Tournament News
Jordaan spells it out
2009-01-25 13:13
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Johannesburg - It is 500 days and counting……
On Monday the South African World Cup Local Organising Committee will reach a landmark with 500 days to go before South Africa will become the first Africa country to host the biggest soccer event on the planet – the 2010 World Cup finals.
There were scenes of joy and celebration all over the country when Fifa president Sepp Blatter pulled out South Africa's name in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2004 as the 2010 World Cup hosts.
The CEO of the LOC, Danny Jordaan, pulled no punches in an interview to mark the 500 days to go, outlining the progress and warning both fans and Bafana Bafana of what lies ahead.
Jordaan said he and his team had four priorities - and they are:
* Delivering a successful Confederations Cup in June;
*Making sure the draw for the 2010 World Cup in Cape Town goes off without a hitch in December;
* Completion of stadiums for the World Cup;
* Tickets sales.
Jordaan also stressed that the Confederations Cup which kicks off on June 14 when Bafana host Iraq in the opening match which will also be a dress rehearsal for the 2010 extravaganza, is make or break for Bafana Bafana.
Said Jordaan: "The Confederations Cup is vital to our preparations, both on and off the field. It will either enhance or trash Bafana's hopes of doing well in 2010. We really need to put up a good show and build for the World Cup finals."
Jordaan accepts Bafana are the underdogs in the Confederations Cup, but they have a point to prove as they are currently ranked higher by Fifa than two other Group A opponents in Iraq (85th) and New Zealand 82nd. Spain, the other team in the group, are ranked number one in the world by Fifa. Bafana are rated 74th.
Apart from world champions Italy and Bafana, the other six teams involved are all continental champions.
In Group B are Italy who are fourth, Brazil fifth, the United States in 22nd place and Egypt who are 15th in the world rankings. That is by far the toughest group. The top two teams in each group qualify for the semi-finals.
If Bafana cannot get past Iraq and New Zealand on home soil, then serious alarm bells will be ringing in coach Joel Santana's ears.
Said Jordaan: "There have been a lot of positive signs coming from Bafana at the end of last year. I reckon the side is far, far better than our ranking suggests. The new coach Santana is starting to build a solid squad after a difficult start last June where we failed to qualify for the 2010 African Nations Cup finals.
"But he has to show the world we should not be ranked 74th and will give the big guns a run for the money in 2010. If we fail at the Confederations Cup, then our 2010 hopes will be well and truly dashed."
Jordaan said South Africa would set a record of sorts by having all their World Cup stadiums ready six months before deadline. "The stadiums will all be ready ahead of schedule. And we will deliver world class venues. By December we should be able to unveil all our stadiums for the World Cup."
But Jordaan is worried local fans could miss out on both the Confederations Cup and World Cup by failing to buy their tickets in advance. "Next month the category four tickets - the cheapest for the man in the street costing R140 - go on sale. I know it is more than a year -in fact 16 months - before the event, but the old attitude of fans of rocking up two hours before kick-off and buying a ticket will not happen.
All tickets will be sold well in advance, especially for Bafana matches."
The category four tickets for the Confederations Cup cost only R70 and are selling fast.
Already 54 percent of the 36 000 category four tickets had been sold. Jordaan stressed they had kept the category four ticket prices low to accommodate South African soccer supporters.
"Ticket prices for top of the range seats will cost around R7 000, so we reckon at R70 for the Confederations Cup and R140 for the World Cup, our fans are getting a good price for Fifa's two biggest tournaments.
"My plea is that our fans need to get behind Bafana and they can only do that by getting their tickets early. I urge supporters to get out and get their tickets now. We have to change our mindset of simply arriving at a match and excepting to get a ticket.
"We won the rights to bring the biggest soccer events for our people and it would be sad if the man in the street did not get the chance to see the best teams and players in action on home soil because of our tradition of not pre-booking. We have to change this attitude and quickly. "