Tag Archives: Confederations Cup

World Cup 2010 on track

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said “I go back to Zurich a happy man”, at the conclusion of his visit to Johannesburg and Cape Town last month, according to the Cape Times. He said that the 2010 World Cup will be a “great, great success”, and said it would be an exceptional and the best World Cup event ever. He praised the progress of the stadium construction and the planning for transportation to the stadia, and said that everything is “on track”. He even downplayed the crime situation, and the effect it would have on the event.

He said during his visit: “my objective is to reassure the whole country of Fifa’s 110 % commitment … to organise Fifa’s 2010 World Cup”, reports the Cape Argus.   Blatter has reiterated that FIFA’s Plan B and Plan C for 2010 are all South Africa.

Blatter stressed that the Confederations Cup, which is a “warm-up” a year ahead of the World Cup, needed to receive communication support, not only in South Africa, but also in the qualifying countries Spain, Egypt, New Zealand, USA, Brazil and Iraq. The Confederations Cup will run from 14 – 28 June 2009. Unfortunately no matches will be played in Cape Town, as the stadium completion date is six months after the Confederations Cup. Tickets for the Confederations Cup go on sale from 23 November this year.

Cleverly Blatter turned the undersupply by about 50 % of accommodation to MATCH, the FIFA ticketing and accommodation agency, into a postive, saying that demand for accommodation by soccer fans has outstripped the number of beds. This is hardly the case.

The cheapest ticket price for the World Cup will be R 140, based on a pegged exchange rate of $ 1 = R 7, for the next two years. Ticket sales commence in January 2009.

During his visit Blatter berated the poor performance of the national Bafana Bafana soccer team, which he says has already had four years to improve its performance, but has not managed to do so.

Blatter would like to have the 2010 Opening Ceremony take place in Cape Town, but FIFA representatives insist that the opening ceremony will not be a separate event, and will precede the opening match on 11 June 2010, which is scheduled for Soccer City in Johannesburg.

Petrol price decrease fuels tourism

The significant petrol price decrease of 78 cents a litre, and in the price of diesel by R 1,44 a litre, on 3 September, not only was a monetary relief for every South African, but was also an important psychological boost for the tourism industry, which has experienced the toughest winter season ever.  Coupled with the interest rate being held at the same level, it signalled a turning point, in that things can only get better.

Not only has the winter season been a cold and dismal one as far as the weather as well as accommodation occupancy goes, but accommodation establishments have also seen that forward bookings are far slower than usual.  The UK is in recession, and as the most important source market for South African tourism, this will impact on bookings.   The last-minute booking trend continues, making it hard to predict what the summer season occupancies will be.

Good news for the winter next year is that both the Confederations Cup, a “warm-up” for the 2010 World Cup, and the British Lions rugby tour, will take place in June and July 2009.  Bookings are already rolling in for the rugby tour.