By By Lebogang Seale
South African football fans worried about about lack of access to stadiums during the 2010 Fifa World Cup can relax for now.
Fifa has approved a recommendation guaranteeing them first preference for tickets.
This turnaround was announced by Local Organising Committee chairman Irvin Khoza during the unveiling of the 2010 World Cup poster at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban, ahead of the preliminary draw tomorrow.
"Although category four (cheap) ticketing has been previously agreed, the board approved a recommendation that these tickets be targeted at SA residents and not just SA citizens," Khoza said.
But fans will have to wait a bit longer before they know how much they will have to pay as the ticketing proposal must still be approved by the Fifa World Cup Organising Committee.
Asked if preference for SA residents was not a form of segregation against foreigners, CEO of the LOC Danny Jordaan said it targeted those fans who do not have to pay for airline or hotel tickets, in addition to tickets to stadiums.
"The target market is ordinary South Africans fans - who have for many years shown passion and this is to enable them to share the experience - and this cannot apply to everyone."
Fears that Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Nelspruit might miss deadlines for their stadium construction again raised the ire of the Fifa top brass, with general secretary Jerome Valcke issuing a stern warning that stadiums had to be completed seven months before the start of both the Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup tournaments.
"The seating plan has to be ready at least seven months prior to the event and we need to know how many tickets. What we must do is to make sure we meet these deadlines so we are on time, not only for the World Cup, but for the 2009 Confederations Cup," Valcke said.
He added that a decision would be made before the end of next year about Port Elizabeth's capacity to host the Confederations Cup at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, where construction has been moving at a snail's pace.
Valcke said the possibility of changing venues for 2010 was not only influenced by the possibility of missing deadlines, but also by other infrastructural matters such as transport.
In efforts to ensure that deadlines were met, Khoza said the LOC would be engaging all stake-holders at 2010 host venues, where workers have at times gone on strike over wage disputes.
Also yesterday, the 2010 World Cup Board ratified its decision to make Johannesburg the host city for the much vaunted International Broadcasting Centre, which will be held in Nasrec near Soccer Stadium.
Barcelona star Samuel Eto'o was unveiled as the face of the 2010 World Cup when Fifa president Sepp Blatter launched the World Cup poster.
An image of the Cameroon striker about to head a football, his face and neck superimposed on a map of Africa, will form the centrepiece of the publicity campaign.
"You will have no problem recognising first of all that it's Africa and you have one of the most popular and well-known faces of the continent," Blatter told reporters.
"He was not able to participate in the last World Cup but what is more important here is to give this continent a face, a human face in football," he said.
Among those attending Friday's event was Tranport Minister Jeff Radebe, who presented an update on transport plans.