The Big One – World Cup South Africa, 2010
Moreso next year though. Jacob and I are going to the World Cup. I’m sure I’ll write a bit in the lead up, but covering the experience in my own ridiculous way will be an important part of the experience for me at least. That’s still a long way away.
What I want to attempt to get at here, in typical blog-tradition, is a discussion about what the hell I should do to organise this (to me) ambitious adventure. Is any of the handfull of people who read this blog going themselves? Have any of you been before? So far I’m thinking of finding a tour deal, but are there ways of getting the best deal and the best chance for Australian-game tickets?
Of course I fully expect, from reading about people’s experiences of the 2006, 2002 and other Cups, that regardless of how well we have tickets, accomodation and transport organised, that it will be chaos. Jamie Trecker (Love & Blood at the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans and Freaks), a notable and card-carrying journalist with expenses, found himself struggling and once had to sleep on a train station with dozens of other fans after a riot stopped the trains for a while. This was in Germany. Germany might be said to be among best practice in the world when it comes to efficiency, organisation and security. South Africa would not be included in such a list.
Now I consider myself a worldly and resourceful person but this one makes me a little anxious, and Jacob has never been outside very safe boundaries. On the other hand I will be at the quixotically auspicious age of 42, and Jacob will have just turned 15 – not old enough to drink, have sex and make up his own bloody mind, but at the same time old enough to… um… drink, have sex and make up his own bloody mind. Anyway, an adventure it will be, and I have briefed the lad that nothing will be guaranteed, that we will wear colours and use any groups of Australian fans as security, especially if we beat England on a dubious ref decision, and we will make absolutely certain that we meet a Norwegian single mother with her teenage daughter. Apart from these key things, we might have to wing it.
Anyway, if anyone reading has any advice at all, serious or otherwise, lay it down please.
World Cup 2010
Since the Qatar game the other night, Australia has entered the fray of the 2010 World Cup, and I’ve had some fun checking out how the competition is going so far. This is just some random notes.
Of 201 teams who officially began (or are yet to begin) the qualifiers, 31 have already been knocked out.
In October and November last year a preliminary knock out round in Africa claimed Comoros, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia. The rest of the federation has been drawn in 12 groups of four, to begin the round on the 30 May with Cameroon vs Cape Verde Islands and other games. They play for 5 places in the finals, including South Africa which has it’s place as host guaranteed.
New Zealand has all but won Oceania but definitely out in that Federation are American Samoa (remember them), Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tonga and Solomon Islands. On 23 June New Zealand will most likely defeat Fiji bringing them to 12 points and claiming the Oceania 0.5 chance, knocking out Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Then they’ll have to wait for the Asian Federation to get sorted before they can play off Asia’s number 5. Oh what delicious irony if they have to play Australia.
A lot of teams were knocked out in Asia before we got to play, seeded as we were in the third round of play-offs. They are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Macau, India, Vietnam, Palestine, Nepal, Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, East Timor, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Yemen, Tajikistan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. The remainder are in five groups of four, playing for our 4.5 places.
Europe is divided into nine groups of six and their opening match on 6 September is between Albania and Sweden. Europe is playing off for a whopping 13 places in the finals.
Games have already been played in the North, Central America and Caribbean Federation, but teams will not start dropping out until 26 March, when Dominic and Barbados play their second home-and-away to decide who will play off against the USA (good luck to either of them) along with a few other parallel games between minnow hopefuls. They go for 3.5 places in the finals,
South America may be one of the top two Federations but it is the smallest in numbers. They are one big home-and-away group of 10. Everyone’s already played 4 games but there’s a long way to go. Paraguay is on top with 10 points and Bolivia is trailing on one. The next games are on 14 June, with Argentina (on 9 points) vs Ecuador (3), Uruguay (4) vs Venezuela (6), Peru (2) vs Columbia (8), Paraguay (10) vs Brazil (8) and Bolivia (1) vs Chile (4). They are playing off for 4.5 places in the final, the 5th having to play off against the 4th from Africa.
I intend to maintain at least a watching brief of this meta-competition, and will no doubt stream a few of the games, and more as the stakes in the big federations heat up. I do this with a globe on my desk. Really, this game is cool.
However sparsely, I intend to follow an entire World Cup for the first time.
South Africa buoyed by Preliminary Draw success
2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa Board Member (OC) and owner of the Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, Kaizer Motaung, was very pleased with the outcome of the draw.
“Well first of all it was great to be part of this auspicious occasion and obviously it is quite exciting to be part of an event of this magnitude. It is also gratifying to see that this dream is becoming a reality and that we are getting closer and ready to hosting this huge world event. And it bodes well for Africa because it is the first of its kind and I am sure its going to leave a long lasting legacy for us. I think the real work starts now and for the next two years there is obviously a lot of work to be done to make sure we are able to deliver a very good final product,” said Motaung, who was one of the Preliminary Draw assistants.
The General-Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Zwelinzima Vavi, who is also an OC Board Member, expressed his views about the significance of the preliminary draw event and said that despite their right to strike, construction workers at World Cup stadiums are 100% behind the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.
“Remember there has been a lot of doubt over our ability. This (the draw) was an important opportunity for us to say that the executive of FIFA in 2004 was right (to award South Africa the tournament), that this is Africa’s time and we are ready. And I think it was very important that we make that statement and I think we made it very well”.
As the labour representative of the OC Board, Vavi confidently spoke about the importance of the workforce in the context of football.
“Workers are basically the number one supporters of football. Football is a working class sport and despite the fact that workers may go on strike to demand a better cut of the cake, they can never ever have any intention to sabotage our ability to host a successful World Cup in 2010. Because soccer is workers and workers are soccer. And this is their life, this is their sport and this is their emotions. I am very happy that those workers who now have their issues resolved welcomed the president of FIFA (during a stadium inspection of Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban) in such an enthusiastic fashion. It was a great statement by those workers indeed, just like it is a great statement by all the workers who work overtime, work long hours and work very hard to make sure that all the stadiums are ready in time. They know that the that whole African continent have their hopes and aspirations on the shoulders of those who have been given that responsibility to build that infrastructure that will put us up on the map of the world”.
“So congratulations to those workers and we know that they will do the country very proud. Their commitment to a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa cannot be doubted. They are only workers and they will always raise issues about their wages and working conditions but that can’t be understood to be a deliberate attempt to undermine our effort to hold a successful World Cup in 2010. And I am happy that they demonstrated that to the president of FIFA and they are demonstrating that every day too by working extra hours to make sure that we are ready on time,” said Vavi.
Moeketsi Mosola, the Chief Eexecutive Officer of South African Tourism, was extremely excited about significance of the success of the Preliminary Draw and the confidence it gave the international community.
“I think if there was any doubt the world saw tonight what South Africa is capable of. This is the first of the four big events that will take place over the next two and a half years and there is definitely no doubt that at the heart of what we are doing is our people. And really we are very proud of what the South African Local Organising Committee has put together and as a South African I can tell you definitely that I feel very proud of what happened here tonight.”
“We have always known that we can actually do this in 2010. People will leave this country knowing exactly that World Cup 2010 is in safe hands, is in good hands and basically people need to start booking their holidays come 2010,” said Mosola.
“People have felt the humanity of our people in the last few days and I know some people will be staying for a few more days. That’s why I keep saying that people must start booking their next big holiday in 2010, because you are going to be having a great time on this beautiful continent. We were hosting at least 20 very key journalists and editors from around the world, half of which don’t want to go home tomorrow, they want to stay. Suffice to say their perceptions have been changed by what we have here. They been very surprised by the level of commitment from our government and our people. I am very excited and I am really glad to be living in these interesting times,” said Mosola in closing.
Ghanaian football legend, Abédi Pelé, was equally delighted by the success of the Preliminary Draw.
“Well I think its unbelievable that today all those who didn’t have the confidence in us are all very happy. That’s why the say this is the power of football, football brings people together. We have proved to the world that we cannot only play the game, but we can host it as well,” said Pele.
Tour operator programme of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ presented at Soccerex
One day after the preliminary draw in Durban, South Africa’s Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, today (26 November) officially presented the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ tour operator programme to more than 200 interested travel experts from across the globe at Soccerex 2007 in Johannesburg. The tour operator programme, the first to be implemented by FIFA since 1998, will allow qualified and experienced travel companies to offer customised travel packages of their own creation in combination with 2010 FIFA World Cup™ tickets.
“Today marks a further step towards ensuring that the benefits of the FIFA World Cup are felt by all sectors from multinational to family businesses. It is an excellent example of government working hand in hand with the tourism industry and broader stakeholders towards a common goal – an African World Cup that we all can be proud of. The initiative provides tremendous global marketing potential for SMMEs (small, medium and micro-enterprises),” stated van Schalkwyk.
To make it easier for football fans to identify the tour operators who are entitled to sell travel arrangements with valid 2010 tickets, a special quality mark featuring the 2010 official emblem with the word mark “Authorised Travel Packages” has been developed. The registration period for tour operators will start on 15 February 2008. A total of 350,000 tickets have been allocated to cater for these packages.
“It is extremely important for us to ensure that the first FIFA World Cup in Africa touches as broad an audience as possible in the most meaningful way,” said FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke. “FIFA’s aim is to facilitate travel to the matches for more than 400,000 international visitors by making use of a strong alliance of available local accommodation in various forms, ranging from small bed-and-breakfast establishments to top world-class hotels, ground and air transportation facilities. At the same time, we want to ensure that the spectators will be in for a real African treat, experiencing the great culture that the continent and South Africa have to offer.” Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 SALOC, explained that: “The tour operator programme will help FIFA, the LOC, MATCH and all tourism stakeholders in South Africa to present the 2010 hosts in the best possible light. What is more, the tour operator programme will also enable South African SMME tourism entities to be involved in this once-in-a-lifetime event and benefit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is a chance to enhance international awareness of a world-class tourism destination.”
The programme will be implemented on a non-exclusive basis, allowing for the appointment of multiple tour operators per country and/or region in order to foster competition among the participating companies, thereby resulting in competitive prices for fans and facilitating a broad distribution of tickets within all countries/regions as well as among broad economic markets for potential customers.
FIFA has appointed its servicing partner, MATCH Event Services Pty, to administer the programme on its behalf. FIFA Ticketing Sub-Committee chairman and Honorary FIFA Vice-President David Will, FIFA Ticketing Sub-Committee member and consultant for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Horst Schmidt and co-chairman of MATCH Jaime Byrom introduced the workshop participants to further aspects of the programme, ranging from the host country to ticketing.
Interested tour operators are requested to register online at http://touroperator.match-ag.com. The applications of tour operators who meet the mandatory requirements such as insurance and experience will then be rated on additional factors. FIFA requires tour operators offering international packages to confirm international transportation to ensure that ticket-holders can get to the country in time for matches.
Salas rolling back the years
Known across the world for its excellent wines and stunning Pacific coastline, to name but two of its many attractions, Chile has also produced a host of fine footballers in recent decades – with Marcelo Salas arguably the pick of the bunch. After a lengthy spell away, El Matador is back and aiming to fire La Roja to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.
For many observers, Salas is the last of a golden generation of South American goalscorers left at the very highest level, with Ecuador’s Agustin Delgado, Argentinian poacher extraordinaire Gabriel Batistuta, Paraguay’s Jose Cardozo and Brazilian phenomenon Ronaldo all either retired or out of the international picture. Salas himself had called time on his Chile career, only changing his mind a few short months ago. La Roja fans are grateful that he did, as the veteran marksman grabbed a brace in the recent 2-2 draw against Uruguay, the Chileans’ first ever point in Montevideo.
Golden touch still intactHaving been plagued by injury ever since his return from European football, the former River Plate and current Universidad de Chile striker has endured more lows than highs in recent years. One of these low points even led to him abandoning the game for six long months, after a fall-out with the previous management at Universidad. However, the appointment of Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa as Chile supremo appears to have turned the situation on its head. After more than two years away from the national team, the Temuco-born front-runner has returned to lend much-needed experience to a youthful squad.
“I’m not the one who’s going to unearth the footballing ability of a player like Marcelo. We’re hoping he’s able to bring all his quality to bear on the pitch as well as his leadership skills off it,” said El Loco Bielsa when announcing Salas’ original call-up.
The gamble has certainly paid off. Chilean fans had all but given up hope of seeing Salas’ trademark celebration again in their red jersey, yet five games into his comeback there he was, kneeling on the turf of Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario, his finger raised in triumph towards the heavens. His first goal against Uruguay ended an international drought that went all the way back to 4 June 2005 and a 3-1 win over Bolivia in Germany 2006 qualifying.
“You never know what the future will hold, what matters at the moment is that Chile have picked up a point where they’d never done so before. On a personal note I’m very pleased to have contributed and to have scored again in these colours,” said the 32-year-old shortly after finding the net with a full-length diving header and a coolly taken spot-kick. La Roja were unable to build on that performance in their next game, however, slumping to a comprehensive 3-0 home defeat by Paraguay in Santiago’s Estadio Nacional.
SupportSouth Africa 2010 may still be a long way off, but many Chilean fans remain hopeful that Salas can guide them safely through the pitfalls of South American qualifying. If proof were needed, a quick look at the messages of support received by FIFA.com from every corner of the Andean nation should dispel any doubts.
” El Matador, you’re the greatest, we never lost faith in you!” roared SEBACHILE after the Uruguay match, jmarquez adding that Salas is “sharper than ever. Keep it going Chile!”
The country’s media was also quick to heap praise on the highest goalscorer in the history of the national team. La Tercera led with the claim that Salas “rewrote the history books”, while El Mercurio dubbed him a “first-class veteran”. And what does the man himself make of all this? “I always felt very close to the public, even though that’s not why I did my job. I’m always grateful for the support and I hope to continue to give more reasons for celebration in order to help this team grow and make all us Chileans happy.” In the case of Marcelo Salas, it seems the old saying is true: form is temporary, class is permanent.
