South Africa is well-prepared to stage the Confederations Cup from Sunday onwards, one year ahead of hosting the World Cup, an advisor for the ruling football body Fifa said on Tuesday.
”I believe the country is well-prepared. We will have the odd problem in organizing scheme, just as it was the case 2005 in Germany. But I don’t foresee any major problems,” Horst R Schmidt told the German Press Agency, dpa.
The eight-team tournament June 14-28 in four cities is a test of South Africa’s readiness to host the first World Cup on the continent next year.
Ever since the nation was awarded the showcase football event doubts have been raised in many aspects ranging from stadiums to security and general infrastructure.
The appointment of Schmidt a vice-president in Germany’s organizing committee for the 2006 event was one measure to help the hosts get ready for the huge undertaking.
Schmidt told dpa he was not immune to the doubts, wondering for instance ”whether all my input would move the project ahead.”
”Of course I could see the risks. The question does arise whether the country has the capacity to organize the World Cup well and to provide the whole infrastructure,” he said.
Schmidt said that the Germans have shared almost every document from 2006 with their South African counterparts and that he at times had to use restraint not to force through his views.
”Sometimes I would have loved to have said ‘We will do this in this way.’ But of course that has nothing to do with my mission,” he said.
There is good news to report after all, with Schmidt saying that the hosts are prepared well in the sensitive area of security.
”The organizing committee is supported superbly by the state authorities. The concepts are of high quality, ranging from long-term programmes to specialized police officers,” Schmidt said.
The World Cup stadiums will also be ready by the end of the year but there are also certain problems in this area.
”One problem is that some stadiums belong to the Rugby union.
”The Lions Rugby Tour takes place at the same time as the Confederations Cup,” Schmidt told dpa, looking at marketing and seating differences between football and rugby.
”This puts a strain on the Confed Cup as a World Cup rehearsal.”
Schmidt doesn’t expect many foreign fans for the Confederations Cup, but despite modest ticket sales is pleased with ”a general enthusiasm in the country.”
Some 400 000 of the 640 000 tickets have been sold so far, and various sales methods from other areas such as Europe don’t work in South Africa, such as simply selling tickets on game day at the stadium.
”There is a danger that too many people would try to get into the stadium,” he said.
But Schmidt said that Germany didn’t sell all tickets either when it hosted the Confederations Cup in 2005, but 86% of them.
”It would be a great success if 70-80% would be sold (in South Africa),” Schmidt said. — Sapa, dpa