World cup roundup: This weeks 2010 news highlights.

This is the first of a weekly round-up of local news around the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Take a look at worldcupblog for more info.

A winning start for Parreira and Bafana Bafana (From muti)

Given the opportunity to use his European-based stars, Carlos Alberto Parreira got off to a winning start as coach of Bafana Bafana as South Africa recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Chad in an African Nations Cup qualifier in N’Djamena on Saturday.

With Zambia and Congo drawing goalless in Brazzaville on Sunday, the win saw South Africa move to the top of their qualifying group.

Parreira acknowledged that it was important to get a win in his first game in charge, and declared himself happy with the result. Although Chad is only 135th in the FIFA world rankings, it is a team that has been moving up the standings, and playing away from home in Africa is a notoriously difficult challenge.

Tickets on sale in 2009: (From IOL)

Tickets for the 64 matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa will likely go on sale in 2009, an official with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) said on Tuesday.

Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the LOC, said more than 3 million tickets will be available, while no more than one third of which will be provided to local fans.

All stadia on track!! (From IOL)

All South Africa’s stadiums will have a construction company on site by the end of the week in preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) said on Monday. “All stadia are well on course. The Fifa delegation was here, they inspected the stadiums and were satisfied,” Khoza said.

World cup 2010 not so ready for disabled. (From IOL)

It was “highly unlikely” that South Africa’s government and tourism industry would be ready to accommodate an estimated one million disabled visitors to the 2010 World Cup, a trust said on Wednesday.

“I think it’s highly unlikely unless the industry, government and 2010 planners catch a big wake-up,” said Fadila Lagadien, trustee of the Disability Empowerment Concerns Trust, and disability representative on the SABC board.

She estimated that about one million of the aimed-for 10 million 2010 visitors would be disabled.

They would need access to hotels, public buildings and stadiums, suitably trained hospitality staff and guides, space for their helpers and access to transport.

2010 a benchmark for gauging SA (From Mail and Gaurdian)

The 2010 Soccer World Cup has become the benchmark against which everything in South Africa is measured, and this has forced the local organising committee to answer some difficult questions, its chief executive, Danny Jordaan, said on Tuesday.

The reason is that 2010 is not just about 90 minutes of football, but is part of the transformation of the country, Jordaan said at a conference in Johannesburg on the preparedness of the accommodation industry for the tournament.

“When there are water shortages in Polokwane, I must answer what is going to happen to 2010; when there are power outages [in the Western Cape], I must answer what is going to happen to 2010; now there are questions about what is going to happen to Mugabe and I must answer what is going to happen to 2010,” said Jordaan.

He said that although it is not always easy, he is glad to answer the questions.

“Post-2010 South Africa must be significantly better than pre-2010 South Africa,” Jordaan said.

One question he is no longer prepared to answer is whether or not the country will be hosting the tournament.

Highlighting the fact that the 2010 World Cup has already generated more than $3,5-billion, Jordaan said the South African event has already become the highest revenue earner in World Cup history.

He said the soil turning ceremony for the construction of the last of five new stadiums will take place in Polokwane on Friday.

“We have thus delivered on our promise to the world to start construction in the first half of this year.”

In the meantime, Adam Brown, senior executive of Match — the Fifa-appointed agency for ticketing and accommodation — said they will start looking for 30 000 additional rooms for accommodation in the next few weeks.

The agency already has 25 000 of the 55 000 rooms needed to accommodate officials, the media and fans.

“We will be able to deliver 55 000 rooms for 2010,” he said. — Sapa