World Cup Newsdesk - Zuma Hails "Special Moment" for S.Africa; More Tickets Available

(ATR) South African president Jacob Zuma says his country will be profoundly improved by the World Cup.

Describing the June 11 to July 11 tournament as a "historical and extraordinary event", he said the first FIFA World Cup on the African continent was the culmination of many years hard work.

"We have been preparing for the tournament since 15 May 2004, when Mr Sepp Blatter, carefully removed from an envelope, the card that named our country as the host of the 2010 World Cup," he said in a special address to FIFA guests and government dignatories at an event in Pretoria on Sunday.

"We knew from that moment, that South Africa would never be the same again.

"Today we recall how far we have come to reach this point as a nation that emerged from division and oppression in 1994, to a stable, united progressive non-racial constitutional democracy.

"We recall with much appreciation, the support of the international community in the fight against apartheid."

Zuma made reference to June 1976, the date when FIFA took a decision to expel apartheid South Africa from international football due to racism in sport.

"Thirty-four years later, we are working with FIFA as partners in ensuring the success of this most magnificent tournament," Zuma said.

"We are doing so in a free non-racial society with a constitution that enshrines human rights to ensure that this nation never returns to that painful past.

"This is indeed a very special moment for South Africa, and Africa."

Zuma paid tribute to former president Nelson Mandela for being the architect of securing the World Cup.

"It is through his tireless efforts to achieve reconciliation and to build a thriving rainbow nation that the world bestowed South Africa with this honour of hosting the games. He also worked hard personally, to bring us to this glorious moment.

He also thanked FIFA president Sepp Blatter and praised the tireless work of the local organising committee led by Irvin Khoza and his team including CEO Danny Jordaan.

"When Afro-pessimists and others expressed doubts at certain points along the way, he [Blatter] consistently expressed his confidence in our ability to host a successful event."

Blatter will today receive the national Order of the Companions of OR Tambo at an official welcome dinner hosted by the government.

Zuma said the World Cup has united the nation: "The enthusiasm, joy and excitement that has engulfed the entire nation in recent weeks has not been witnessed since President Mandela was released from prison.

"The South African flag has become the most popular item on the shopping list of South Africans, and this augurs well for nation building.

"This explosion of national pride is a priceless benefit of the World Cup tournament. It is clear that millions of our people have waited for years and look upon this tournament with hope, pride and a sense of belonging."

Zuma highlights World Cup legacies

Zuma also spoke about the many legacy benefits of the World Cup. "Many ask what will be left behind after the final whistle at a tangible level other than social cohesion.

"A most visible legacy of this World Cup is the infrastructure. Our country is changing as we deliver magnificent stadia, roads, airports and communicationsystems.

"There are a also a number of development projects throughout Africa, to make it a truly African World Cup. Fifty two football pitches are being built in communities across South Africa, and another 52 around the African continent.

"These will serve as hubs for sport and community development and take the promotion of football to another level. Forty four stadiums have already been constructed in Africa, while another nine have been completed in South Africa.

FIFA's Football for Hope campaign will see 20 centres of education, public health and football being built across Africa. The South African government will host a 1Goal Education campaign summit on July 7 on the sidelines of the semi-finals in Cape Town.

Zuma said that successful implementation of the project would enable 72 million African children who do not attend primary school currently to do so.

He revealed that Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, will be attending the opening match between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Friday.

More tickets go on sale

FIFA put an additional 53,000 tickets on sale today with the launch of two additional ticketing products to the general public.

The two products - "Partially Obstructed View Tickets" and "Premier Tickets" - were available to buy at the 11 FIFA ticketing centres around South Africa. They do not include the final, semi-finals, the opening game and group matches of Bafana Bafana.

There are about 15,000 "Partially Obstructed View Tickets", which are sold at category 4 prices.

The 38,000 "Premier Tickets" were made available from unused hospitality packages and range in price from $200 to $300.

"As we are experiencing a high last-minute demand for tickets in South Africa, it makes perfect sense to create those two additional ticketing products, as we have similarly done for previous FIFA World Cups", said Horst R. Schmidt, chairman of the FIFA Ticketing Sub-Committee.

South Africans optimistic about World Cup

According to the latest FIFA survey, football fever is gripping the nation with a total of 92 per cent claiming the World Cup will be a success.

Apart from Bafana Bafana, the next most popular teams among South Africans are Brazil and England. Five-times world champions Brazil were cited as favourites to win the tournament, followed by South Africa and Spain.

However, South Africa are not expected by most football observers and commentators to reach the latter stages of the World Cup; and 22 percent of respondents predicted that Bafana Bafana would not make it past the group stage.

According to the poll, South African fans are most looking forward to seeing Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Kaká at the tournament.

The majority of respondents are optimistic about the long-term benefits of hosting the World Cup - 89 per cent of South Africans claim it will leave a lasting legacy; 80 per cent believe it will unite the nation.

High-speed rail link opens

South Africa opens the continent's first high-speed rail link tomorrow. The $3 billion Gautrain project, which has been hit by strikes and delays since work began in September 2006, will be used by World Cup visitors to travel from OR Tambo International Airport to the centre of Johannesburg.

About 300,000 foreign visitors are expected in South Africa for the World Cup. FIFA and tournament organisers scaled down their expectations from 450,000 visitors in recent months due to the impact of the worldwide recession and the high costs of flights and accommodation.

Withreporting from WFI editor Mark Bisson (mark@worldfootballinsider.com)

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