By Mogomotsi Magome
The city of Pretoria has officially handed over Loftus Stadium to Fifa for use during the 2010 World Cup.
The stadium, which was handed over to Local Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordan and Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke by mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, was the first stadium to be handed over to Fifa.
A plaque was unveiled to symbolise the handover, bearing the names of the teams that will be playing at the stadium during the group stages of the World Cup.
Speaking at the handover on Monday, Ramokgopa thanked Fifa for having chosen Pretoria as a host city and promised unforgettable experiences for all those involved.
She added that everything was in place to ensure even people who would not be attending games at the stadium would be well catered for at the public viewing areas.
"We have been involved with programmes to build excitement ahead of the World Cup and they have really been successful because now the excitement is there.
"The public viewing areas will also be ready and we expect people to flock to them and enjoy the World Cup," said Ramokgopa.
She said she had also been in contact with the religious sector, which was rallying its support behind the tournament and praying for its success.
Jordan and Valcke then travelled to Rustenburg, where the Royal Bafokeng Stadium was handed over to Fifa.
The rest of the World Cup stadiums are expected be handed over during the week, with Soccer City and Ellis Park to be handed over on Tuesday.
According to Jordaan, all stakeholders were happy about the readiness of the facilities that would be used and were now were just waiting for kick-off.
"We tested Soccer City with the Nedbank Cup final this past weekend and it was a resounding success. All the inspections of our facilities have gone well and we are really looking forward to having a successful World Cup," he said.
Valcke was full of praise for the work that had been done in the city to prepare for the World Cup and jokingly reassured the mayor that the stadium would definitely be given back after the event.
"We hosted the Confederations Cup here and there is a lot of work that has been done since then. The grass on the pitch is also proof that a lot of work has been done as it is much better than last year.
"Now we are finished talking about preparations, now we are waiting for kick-off," said Valcke.