JEDDAH: Preparations are in full swing for staging the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The world’s biggest sporting event is coming to Africa for the first time in its 78-year-old history, according to a top South African diplomat.

“With 18 months to go, the stadiums where the world’s top soccer stars will meet for the world’s biggest sporting event in Africa are speedily nearing completion,” South African Ambassador John Davies told Arab News in an interview.

The envoy, who was here in connection with the MENA-EX mining forum held at the Jeddah Hilton last week, appeared confident about the country’s preparation overall, and particularly about the progress of stadium construction, renovations and upgrades, as well as security aspects.

“Completion of all venues is expected well ahead of time, by the end of 2009,” he said. “Good progress is being made on all 10 stadiums across the country,” he added.

Mentioning that some Saudis had expressed reservations about traveling to South Africa, citing personal safety as a reason, the ambassador said his country had an undeserved reputation in this regard.

“In fact, the authorities are pulling out all the stops to ensure that all fans attending the World Cup Finals could do so in complete safety,” the envoy said, adding that there are already comprehensive safety measures in place in all areas frequented by tourists.

He maintained that tourism figures during the four weeks of the World Cup would not be affected by the ongoing global economic crisis. Fans will not be deterred by the weakened economic climate the world over for the first-ever football World Cup to be staged on the continent.

Fanaticism of football fans around the world being what it is, there will not be a major drop in visitor numbers, as South Africa is an affordable destination and the country has a favorable exchange rate.

With the Confederations Cup due to take place in South Africa between June 14 and 28, work on the four stadiums in the host cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Bloemfontein has been progressing, and the fans are excited.

All four stadiums are on track to be completed well ahead of the Confederations Cup tournament. The four stadiums are also among World Cup venues. Johannesburg is the only city in the country that will have two venues used in the group stages of the 2010 event - Soccer City and Ellis Park. Soccer City in Johannesburg will host five first-round matches, one second-round match, a quarterfinal and the final.

All the major refurbishments to Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Bloemfontein’s Free State Stadium, and the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg are complete. Work on the remaining six World Cup stadiums is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

They include Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, and Nelspruit’s Mbombela Stadium, which sustained minor damage during a fierce storm earlier in January, and will be handed over the FIFA in October.

The Green Point Stadium in Cape Town will be ready for handover in December. Soccer City’s stadium is increasing its capacity to 96,000 that will make it one of the biggest in the world. “In fact, some rugby grounds are being upgraded for soccer use,” Davies added.

“We are ahead of schedule and it’s been a big challenge for us,” he emphasized. “If Saudi Arabia qualifies for the world’s biggest event, then we expect a large turnout of soccer fans to support their team,” he said, hoping that African teams would do well to qualify. There will be 32 teams divided into eight groups. Each group will be based in a different city.

The Confederations Cup, held a year before the World Cup, is considered a dress rehearsal for the most widely-viewed and followed sporting event in the world.

The official football of the tournament is the striking Adidas Kopanya, a name taken from a Sesotho word meaning “joint together.”

The ball was officially unveiled at the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge match last November. The artwork of the ball is inspired by the traditional designs of South Africa’s Ndebele people and features the characteristic geometric elements, vibrant colors and black borders made famous by talented Ndebele artists.