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In 2010 South Africa will be host to the Fifa World Cup...
the first ever FIFA World Cup to be held in Africa.
The new "African Renaissance Stadium" is set to
replace the existing Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. The new stadium
is still it's planning stage and is scheduled to be complete in 2008.
Source of above images: Green Point
Common Association.
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 - Article by SouthAfrica.info
Reporter.
South Africa regularly hosts major international sporting
events, and since 1994 has successfully managed some of the biggest -
including the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the
Women's World Cup of Golf in 2005 and 2006 and, in January 2006, the
only street race in the inaugural A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport.
But the Football World Cup, the world's biggest sporting
event after the Olympic games - in terms of television audience, bigger
than the Olympics - is in a class of its own. For four weeks in 2010,
South Africa will be the centre of the world. The 2002 World Cup in
Korea and Japan was the most extensively covered and viewed event in
television history. Germany 2006, and South Africa 2010, promise to
draw even bigger audiences. The eyes of billions of television viewers,
an estimated three million international visitors and the cream of the
world's sporting media will be focused on the southern tip of Africa.
WE DON'T AIM TO DISSAPOINT!!
INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES:
In choosing South Africa to bring the World Cup to Africa for the first
time, Fifa was not only looking at what the country already offers -
world-class transport, telecommunications, tourism and sporting
infrastructure, and a people renowned for their hospitality and passion
for the beautiful game. They were looking ahead. In 2010, football fans
will enjoy the benefits of a host of multi-billion rand infrastructure
projects recently announced by the government.
Between now and 2010, South Africa will spend in the
region of R5-billion on building and renovating 10 World Cup stadiums,
R5.2-billion on upgrades to the country's airports, and R3.5-billion on
improvements to the country's road and rail network. The country will
also be working to tight deadlines to ensure that the Gautrain, a
high-speed rail link between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg
International Airport, is up and running in time.
BOOST FOR THE ECONOMY:
According to consulting firm Grant Thornton, the World Cup will pump
around R21.3-billion into South Africa's economy, generating an
estimated R12.7-billion in direct spending and creating an estimated
159 000 new jobs. The country's tourism industry will benefit from the
estimated three million visitors expected for the tournament, while
construction and engineering companies will look to a slice of the
billions to be spent on infrastructure in the lead-up to the event.
However, the indirect spin-offs of an improved image
abroad could have an even greater impact on the economy. "There
will be a big direct injection for the economy", Standard Bank
economist Goolam Ballim said after Fifa announced the 2010 host.
"But the indirect impact may be more meaningful for a sustainable
economic lift in subsequent years ... it will help change the perceptions
that a large number of foreign investors hold of Africa and South
Africa."
In his 2006 State of the Nation address, President Thabo
Mbeki said the South Africa 2010 World Cup would make a huge
contribution, not only to South Africa's socio-economic growth, but to the
development of the continent as a whole. "In return for these
irreplaceable benefits, we owe it to Fifa and the rest of the soccer
world to prepare properly for 2010," Mbeki said, challenging South
Africans to work together to ensure that the country hosts "the
best Soccer World Cup ever".
Source: SouthAfrica.info
The all-in-one official guide
and web portal to South Africa.
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