| Thursday 03 June 2010
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All eyes off the pitch for South Africa's World Cup warm-up
South Africa finally get an opportunity to prove their readiness to host next summer's World Cup when the Confederations Cup kicks off on Sunday afternoon in Johannesburg.
The eight-team tournament, featuring world champions Italy and the winners of each continental competition, is a small-scale dress rehearsal for the finals and the Organising Committee fully expect the world's media to be scrutinising the readiness of the country's infrastructure, stadiums and, above all, the security.
Hosts South Africa take on Asian champions Iraq in Ellis Park, Johannesburg, with European champions Spain later facing Oceania champions New Zealand in Rustenburg. Spain, Brazil and Italy have all taken strong squads to what promises to be an attractive event but there will be as much attention on events off the pitch as on it.
Security fears refuse to go away, especially in Johannesburg, a city with a notoriously high rate of violent crime. Reports in South Africa have focused on chaotic efforts to hire a private security firm to ensure supporter safety outside the grounds. There has been a last-minute change as Secutitas, believed to be the OC's first choice, walked away after talks over payment for guards collapsed. Chippa Protection Services have been hired in their place, but concerns remain that their guards lack the requisite training and that they are unable to provide VIP protection.
The FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, speaking in Johannesburg yesterday, was clearly impatient with continued doubts about security. "Why the hell do we keep getting these questions about security?" he said. "Give me one country in the world where they have perfect safety. Is there not now a little bit of envy when people ask why is Africa now getting the World Cup? We have to trust these people."
While the Confederations Cup will give some indication of the country's readiness, it cannot approach the scale of the World Cup, for which just over 70 per cent of the 640,000 tickets have been sold.
Danny Jordaan, the chief executive officer of South Africa 2010, points to the successful hosting of the IPL and the British and Irish Lions rugby tour in recent weeks. However, nothing can really prepare them for hosting the biggest event in world sport.
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