Tag Archives: Danny Jordaan

Cape Town scores Final Draw goal

The City of Cape Town and the FIFA Local Organising Committee (LOC) signed a Service Level Agreement this week, for Cape Town to host the FIFA Final Draw on 4 December, reports www.goal.com.   The Final Draw will determine which of the 32 teams play at which venues.

Mayor of Cape Town Dan Plato and LOC CEO Danny Jordaan agreed that the Final Draw will take place in the Cape Town International Convention Centre, and is to be attended by 2 000 guests and 800 media representatives.   The FInal Draw is expected to be broadcast in 200 countries. The ceremonial signing was accompanied by Minstrels.

“We can’t wait for the fourth of December and we can’t wait for 2010 to welcome all the visitors and spectators to our city. Cape Town is ready and prepared to deliver a memorable Final Draw and to provide unique visitor experiences for visitors and the soccer fraternity alike. The timing coincides with Cape Town’s festive season and all stakeholders are working together on integrated planning and preparations for the event,” the Mayor told reporters.    The Final Draw will capture the imagination of the football world and will be a week-long event featuring a number of activities staged by FIFA, the Organising Committee, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Provincial Government and all the local Host Cities, says Jordaan.  “There are two projects left in the delivery of the 2010 FIFA World, the Final Draw this December and then the tournament itself starting next June. The FIFA Confederations Cup has really shifted the mood world-wide. Where people once questioned and doubted, we’ve now reached a position where people are looking forward in anticipation and excitement to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa,” said Jordaan.  
“The Final Draw in Cape Town is a critical date and an important milestone for us. And we could not find a better city in which to host it. Cape Town’s a wonderful location and its Greenpoint Stadium is a landmark, one of the best in the world,” he added.      

“The impetus of expenditure and investment in infrastructure for 2010 could not have come at a better time to counteract the effects of the economic slump. While not every individual or suburb of Cape Town will benefit directly from the World Cup, improved facilities, services and infrastructure will benefit all indirectly,” said Plato. 

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2010 World Cup volunteer score

The required total of 15 000 2010 World Cup volunteers has been exceeded in just a week after the volunteer applications opened, reports bizcommunity.com.

FIFA’s website calls for volunteers to apply to assist in the country’s largest ever event, at www.fifa.com/volunteers2010.   The application form requests a number of demographic details, language proficiency in speaking and writing, details of one’s driver’s licence, and a first and second choice of volunteer involvement.

Danny Jordaan, CEO of the Local Organising Committee, said he was delighted with the response of South Africans as well as volunteers applying from 132 countries.

Applications can be entered on the FIFA website until 31 August.

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FIFA: “South Africa is not only ready, South Africa is committed”

FIFA Chairman Sepp Blatter is visiting South Africa, and has given the thumbs-up to what he has seen on his latest visit to South Africa, to mark the 365 day countdown to 11 June 2010.  

Blatter met President Zuma and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille at Green Point stadium in Cape Town this week, and declared: “South Africa is not only ready, South Africa is committed”, reports The Times!

Blatter congratulated Zuma on his presidency, stating that he was happy that “he likes football and has realised what the World Cup can bring to his country and the continent.”   Blatter added:  “You have the confidence and trust of FIFA but also of the fans.  Everyone wants to be here.”

Danny Jordaan, CEO of the Local Organising Committee, praised the beauty of Durban’s Moses Mabhida and Cape Town’s Green Point stadia.   “The 2010 Fifa World Cup must be the end of an era and the beginning of a new era.   It must herald an era.  It must herald an era in which our country becomes a major driving force and an active participant in the global economy” said Jordaan.

Jordaan also said that 630 000 tickets have been sold to fans in 188 countries, half of these being sold to South Africans, for the 2010 World Cup.   The USA and the UK are the next biggest ticket purchasers, with roughly 70 000 and 43 000, respectively.

Jordaan also said that 70 % of the 640 000 Confederations Cup tickets have been sold.  The Confederations Cup commences on Sunday.

Cape Town Tourism organised the ceremonial kicking off of soccer balls from Table Mountain on 11 June, to mark the 365 days before the start of the World Cup, and attracted a fair number of Capetonians.   CODA performed a new song they have written for the World Cup, and vuvuzelas trumpeted.   The Green Point Stadium is already about 70 % completed, and will be ready for handover on 14 December, says a special Independent Newspaper “1 year to kick off” insert.   A pedestrian underpass will run underneath the traffic circle near the stadium, and the Green Point Common will be upgraded.   Green building practices are being applied for the stadium construction.   The Cape Town International airport upgrade will have been completed by November.

Best 2010 World Cup tickets sold out

All tickets for the opening match, semi-finals and final match for the 2010 World Cup are sold out, reports the Cape Times.   Team-specific tickets for England, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands are also sold out, as are individual match tickets for soccer matches in Cape Town, Nelspruit and Pretoria.

The second ticket selling phase has been underway since the beginning of this month, and just over 100 000 tickets have been sold in this phase to date.

The majority of ticket sales, after those to South Africa, is to the USA, reports USA Today.   Americans have bought 93 300 tickets to date.   The USA is also the top spender in terms of broadcast rights fees, with ABC/ESPN and Univision paying FIFA $325 million for the 2010 and 2014 television rights.

Danny Jordaan, head of the South African World Cup 2010 local organising committee, told an American audience earlier this week that he hopes to prove the doubters about South Africa’s ability to host the World Cup wrong, and to change South Africa’s image:  “It’s about trade.   It’s about investment.   It’s about business.   It’s about tourism.   Those are the stories that we think we want to place on the media platforms.”

To date, 400 000 tickets have been sold for the Confederations Cup, being hosted in South Africa from 14 – 28 June this year.