They need to make a decision fast because we are already looking at accomodations in some of the most beautiful locations in the world to stay at, and recently I spoke with 2 different South African's who live near 2 of the stadiums going up, and they say that they are actually making better progress than being communicated. 1) We host stuff in California and they have rolling blackouts all the time, right? 2) Our own political state is declining to and will cause the entire world to be in a recession by 2010 if our leaders don't pull their heads out of their asses. 3) Our crime rate in some of our big cities isn't what you would call good. In fact the crime rate in our major cities is probably comparable to the South Africa locations. The bottom line is, don't go anywhere alone. Travel in a group of 15+ Americans and I think you will be okay. During the World Cups security is so big, you can't fart without military police smelling it! 4) Renting a car is what I hear is the ONLY way to go. The crime mentioned in #3, is bad on the public transits according to the locals I spoke to. This, IMO would be the biggest issue of the entire 4 items listed in the previous update. How are people expected to get from Cape Town to Johanasburg without mass transit. If you were in Germany you'd know that with good transite it was still sometimes difficult to get to places because it was like being in a sardine can.
It's not just rolling blackouts, the grid is maxed out. No warm meals, A/C etc. is a major possibility Our political situation doesn't come close to comparing to S. Africa's, even at low points like we are at now. Crime in most American cities in now lower than most European cities.
Like I said, it's got a lot of problems. But they NEED this. It could be their rocket to the stars. I have faith in them. It may be blind faith, but something inside me says they can pull it off. South Africa has been though a lot, it's people are strong willed.
I'm with you on hoping they pull it off. But what they really need is to not only pull it off, but for enough people to show up to cover the costs of putting it on; or at least some good press reports about the country to encourage investment. South Africa borrowed a lot of money to prepare for this tournament, they need to get some of it back. One of things that worries me is that the South African govt. doesn't seemed concerned enough with the financial aspects of all this.
I though FIFA had already said that if there was a need to change the venue at the last minute it wold go back to Germany who already has everything in place from 06'.
but Germany, Korea/Japan, France, USA, and Italy have much larger economies that could swollow an unprofitable WC.
Mexico is a tourist country and, more important, is a country w/ major movement between cities/regions. They have always had a decent enough infrastructure to hold major events like the World Cup and the Olympics. HAD. One year. Several years ago. I'm not an electricity expert, but I have traveled in countless countries w/ grid problems. Tourist areas, wealthy neighborhoods -- especially where a politician lives --, etc., aren't subjected to blackouts. The normal ppl are. And the poorer they come, the less frequent their electricity. Sadly, the WC won't be effected.
lets just say fifa was going to pull the cup from SA, when would the realistic deadline to do that be?
I completely agree, I'm 95% confident that South Africa will be a top-5 economic power by 2015 if they host the 2010 World Cup. In fact, this World Cup will end all wars and all famine throughout the African continent!! The reality of this is that FIFA and Blatter, in doing this, have put their own political ambition and naivete ahead of the safety of the teams and the fans. There is absolutely nothing that indicates South Africa is up to the challenge of hosting a World Cup. Perhaps in 15 or 20 years they will be. In two years? No chance. This isn't us "circling like vultures." I think most of us here sympathize with the people of South Africa, who have to live in these precarious conditions every day. We're just stating the obvious.
Since this is BS I actually believed you meant this. Again, this is BS, so ignorant statements with little clue of the actual world outside US is quite common. Thankfully I read on before ignoring the rest of your post. Just goes to show how the idiotic can be assumed normal in some arenas. Onward. I went to SA 3 years ago. I am afraid to say that unless something changed drastically in that time, including the next 3 years, there is every possibility of disaster. The chances are much greater that some things will go terribly wrong than things going fairly smoothly. There will be no roaming freely like there was in Germany, ******/SK, France or the US (yes, I have been to all of them). There will be many restricted areas. The infrastructure will be overloaded. There will be issues when some people inevitably ignore the warnings and become serious crime victims of some kind. The task at hand is monumental. If this soemhow comes off well, and they get their act together, it could be immense for the country. It will still however be a starting point down there. It's that bad. Could wind up being the end of PC in FIFA. It may make the old NZealander who voted for Germany in 2006, and who took tons of global heat from the PC police, look like a genuis. I really do wish them nothing but luck, but it's gonna be real hard.
That crime you speak about is on a 12 month decline by 25% percent. (The crime itself is heavy really in jo'burgh and involves locals. Intresting fact, you're more likely to get pickpocketed in Vatican City 3-1.)
This thread has a definate unpleasant stench about it. Having been to Southern Africa I've never experienced any problems with crime and the people of all races are looking forward to a great tournament. This is the ideal time for them to showcase their country to the world and everything possible will be done to ensure a great time is had by all. I spoke to hotel staff in Namibia planning to attend games who are saving up already - Africa is football crazy - I often gave hitch hikers lifts between towns and all they wanted to talk was football. The stadiums will be ready and if it is slightly rough around the edges and the air con doesn't work who cares? When Spain held the world cup in 1982 it was coming out of decades of facist rule, Argentina in 78 was still under military dictatorship, Mexico in 1986 was also a very different travel experience to today. So some VIP's will have sweat patches and a few naive tourists may get robbed but far better that then a entire continent gets screwed out of the most exciting thing to happen to them in living memory.
No way '10 gets pulled from S.A. The only way I could see it happening is if something disastrous happens at the Confed. Cup in '09 or there is some type of military conflict in the country. Otherwise it'll be there. I agree with TIMA. The worst that's going to happen (I hope) is a few tourists will tempt fate by not taking time to understand their surroundings and get into trouble. That'll probably make for big headlines, which will reflect more on the sad state of the world press than anything (JMO). There'll be security up the wazoo and they'll have power diverted to that part of the grid which puts the tourney in the best light. My prediction is that they'll surprise everyone and have a great experience.