S.Africa confident of WC2010 readiness

The South African government was confident Thursday of its 2010 World Cup readiness, as the country gears up to stage the draw for next year's Confederations Cup.

“The stadia are on schedule and they will finish on time. We believe we are on track,” said Sicelo Shiceka, the provincial and local government minister, after a two-day workshop with host cities.

A high level FIFA team, including its vice-president Jack Warner, will be in Johannesburg on November 22 for the draw for the Confederations Cup, FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer told AFP Thursday.

Other members of the delegation include FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke and Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Issa Hayatou.

The Confederations Cup has traditionally been used to test a host country's state of preparedness for the World Cup.

The tournament — which features South Africa, Italy, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Iraq, New Zealand and Egypt — will be staged in the cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Rustenburg.

The final draw for the 2010 World Cup, to be staged in 10 stadia in nine South African cities, will be held on December 4 in Cape Town, Fischer said.

South Africa will host the continent's first World Cup from June 11 to July 11, 2010.