Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Danny Jordaan has assured government that all aspects of the 2010 World Cup preparations are on track.
With 211 days to go until the opening of the soccer tournament, Jordaan says the event will be “safe and secure” and everything is on track to be completed on time.
He adds that the construction of stadia is on track, and progress had been made on roads and transport, ICT, safety, security, and disaster management and electricity issues.
The overall IT solution for the event will include international audio and video connections with reliable backup connections from the international broadcasting centre (IBC) to international networks; solutions incorporating a fully-redundant environment that provides a seamless network with 99.99% availability; dual-route, secured, high-speed, high-availability link circuits between each one of the proposed stadiums and the IBC; and fixed-line and wireless Internet connectivity and mobile telephony for media operations.
Infrastructure plans include the implementation and support of approximately 40 000 voice and data network ports for the Fifa World Cup and 18 000 data network ports during the Fifa Confederations Cup; and support for about 10 000 communication and network devices, 4 500 notebook PCs and 4 000 mobile telephony devices.
security will ensure the event goes smoothly.
The South African Police Services plans to spend R640 million securing the 2010 Soccer World Cup by deploying about 41 000 police officers and new equipment, including spending a further R665 million on ICT.
The acquisitions would include an unspecified number of unmanned aerial systems, or robotic planes, as well as about 300 mobile cameras that can be fitted to vehicles, lamp posts and even clothing.
Ticketing woes
As the excitement surrounding the World Cup gains momentum, tickets have been in high demand worldwide, resulting in illegal ticket sales, explains Jordaan. Fifa is working closely with international authorities to crack down on illegal tickets, he adds.
"While genuine tickets were sold online exclusively via the official Web site Fifa.com, unscrupulous individuals were taking advantage of the great appeal of this event by trying to use the Internet to sell tickets they do not possess."
Over 650 527 tickets have been sold. Jordaan says Zurich-based Match Event Services is dealing with all ticketing complaints. Previous complaints ranged from not being able to log on to the Web site, to problems with the online payment system.
There will be an increase in the demand for tickets after the final draw of the teams in December, and the LOC is doing all it can to make sure all processes go smoothly, he says.
Share