There is still more to be done ahead of the June 11 kickoff of the FIFA 2010 Wold Cup, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe admitted in an address, marking the 100-day countdown to the tournament.

"Despite the completion of the 2010-related infrastructure, we need to focus more on soft issues, like ensuring that the 500 000 soccer fans are transported in the country to experience a truly African tournament," he said at the Moses Mabhida stadium on Tuesday.

With a capacity to seat 70 000 fans, the Moses Mabhida stadium will be scaled down to 66 000-seats in legacy mode, but also had the potential to be expanded to 85 000-seats to meet the requirements of large scale events, such as major athletic meetings.

The transport difficulty was also highlighted a day earlier by Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan mayor Nxeba Faku, who indicated that the completion of the construction of all 2010-related roads posed a challenge.

The municipality boasts a new 48 000-seat multipurpose stadium, which will host eight of the 2010 FIFA World Cup games. The development of the stadium has seen the upliftment and urban renewal of the surrounding residential and major routes around the stadium.

"I am, however, confident that the roads will be completed by mid- or at the end of April, as some are 90% to 95% completed. We are also waiting for the arrival of 25 buses from Brazil, which will make our transport system accessible to the multitudes of fans that will grace our shores for the event," Faku revealed.

The draw card for the province was likely to be the game between the Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal on June 16, which has already been dubbed "Ronaldo against Drogba".

Faku was convinced that the stadium would be used regularly once the World Cup had been concluded, saying that it aims to position the flower-shaped facility to host Premier Soccer League clubs and Super Rugby. "All our post-2010 plans are in place and we are convinced that the province will get its return on injecting billions to build the stadium and we are ready to host a successful tournament."

RECESSION RESISTANCE

Motlanthe added that the benefit of hosting the World Cup has been felt by the South African economy. "The investment in infrastructure development serves as a buffer against the recession and hosting the World Cup will give us impetus on increasing our domestic tourism."

FIFA president Sepp Blatter added that the 100-day milestone was the continuation of a love affair he had developed for Africa, when he was still the technical director of FIFA in the development of football on the continent.

"It was a long wait for the tournament to come to Africa and the continent waited with patience and did not give up when it lost the bid to host the 2006 World Cup to Germany."

Local Organising Committee chairperson Irvin Khoza argued that South Africa's preparations were months ahead of initial expectations.

"Tickets are selling well and we must ensure that we use 2010 to promote football as a social issue to ensure that the country is not the same after the World Cup," Khoza said.