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South Africa is a beautiful country and has the potential to be a wonderful location for the event. In the past South Africa has proven itself to be successful in hosting major sporting events. The Rugby world cup of 1995 and the Cricket world cup of 2003 were hosted by South Africa.
For the 2010 Soccer World Cup to be a success, there are a couple of challenges for South Africa. Every South African hopes that all will stand together to ensure the success of the event!
Airport
OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg will be tested to its capacity limits with the arrival of thousands of tourists, fans, players, media, etc that will flock to South Africa for this major event. Unfortunately there are limited flights to the other South African International Airports (Durban, Cape Town, and Lanseria). OR Tambo Int. Airport can be a major bottleneck. ACSA (Airport Company of South Africa) is busy with projects to upgrade the infrastructure. Will it be enough? Will it be completed on time?
Traffic
The major roads in South Africa are already utilized over capacity. With a lack of adequate public transport, this could be a big frustration for soccer fans that needs to get to and from the stadiums. Maybe the Gautrain project will be a success to help alleviate the congestion on the roads? Maybe South Africa can implement a couple of additional public holidays on those days when important soccer events take place?
Crime
I do hope that in the times building up to the start of the 2010 Soccer World Cup that South Africa will come up with a brilliant plan to tackle the crime problem. This is serious, and possibly the biggest single reason why lots of soccer fans will spend the World Cup watching the games on television, internet, or cell phones in the safety of their own homes. The crime problem needs to be addressed as number 1 priority by Politicians, the Justice System, Department of Safety and Security, Police, Correctional Services, and every citizen of South Africa. There is a perception that the crime levels in South Africa is too high. Perceptions matter, so weather it is a true reflection or not, South Africa needs to make a plan!
Stadiums
Will the stadiums be completed on schedule? They should. Progress has been delayed a couple of times due to increasing costs and striking workers.
Crowd Control
Will the local soccer fans behave themselves outside and inside of the stadium? There have been instances of violence when fans could not get tickets for a game and was refused entry at the gates. Hopefully the security and crowd control will be of a high standard to ensure the safety of the players and spectators.
Bafana Bafana
Bafana Bafana - South Africa's National Soccer Team. Will Bafana Bafana be ready and up to their task to be competitive in the event? Currently the team does not have a very good winning record against 1st Class competition. I do hope that they will not be a disgrace for South Africa.
Electricity
Will ESKOM (The national electricity supplier) be able to cope with the load? Currently South Africa is experiencing some major black-outs. Load Shedding plans are in place to share and minimize loss of electricity. It might however have a big impact on the hospitality services, stadium lights, traffic, etc. I am not sure if there is enough time to add more electricity capacity before the kickoff.
Conclusion:
I am sure that if all South Africans stand together and work hard that the above challenges can be overcome! Let's give them our support!
To read more, including tips for travelers, follow this link: http://www.maakal.com/maakalColumns/2010WorldCup.htm
Andre Maakal - http://www.maakal.com
Andre Maakal is a Database Administrator for a Multi-National Mining Company. He has 15+ years experience in the full spectrum of Information- and Telecommunication Technology. He has a Masters degree in Information Technology. His experience includes analysis, design, programming, managing databases, fault finding-and-resolution, performance tuning, pc-, server-, and networking hardware. As a hobby he is actively involved in long-distance running and spends time as a web entrepreneur.
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