Envoy says South Africa is ready

HAVING ARRIVED in town during one of those rare weeks when the issue of violence at a soccer match in Dublin hit the headlines, Edward Griffiths could have been forgiven yesterday had he taken pleasure from the way events at Inchicore were treated by some of the papers here.

Griffiths, a journalist by trade, is the European representative of the South Africa World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC), and spends much of his time working to counter the lingering sense in this part of the world that, in successfully bidding to stage the 2010 finals, his employers may have bitten off more than they can chew.

In Ireland as a guest of the Football Without Frontiers organisation, Griffiths dismissed suggestions that the tournament's cost overruns have become a major problem, that the progress of construction projects remains a concern and that, perhaps most critically given the country's ambition to use the tournament to boost its image abroad, South Africa will not be a safe place to visit in two years.

"The fact is," he says, "that seven million tourists visit the country each year and we've previously delivered highly successful rugby and cricket World Cups. Now obviously there's a crime issue, that's clear, but we have a track record of hosting safe and joyous events, and that's what this will be too."

If money is any measure then the South African government is certainly committed to pulling the thing off in style. The decision to build more stadiums than were required contributed to an estimated five-fold escalation in the costs of the playing facilities - to around €1 billion - while a plan for the development of major infrastructural projects has been prioritised in such a way that more than €3 billion will be spent in the run-up to the tournament on those that facilitate its running. Still, almost all the main projects are on or slightly ahead of schedule.

The main venues are shaping up to be impressive, but Griffiths has been sharply critical of the media back home for what he sees as a negative attitude. They, on the other hand, argue they're justified in their criticism of what is, by the country's standards, an enormous commitment of resources.

"What we are doing here is attempting to reap a massive economic benefit," he says, "by showing our country at its best and persuading people that it is somewhere they want to visit for a holiday or do business or hold a conference. There's a huge determination to ensure both that it goes smoothly and that it leaves an extremely positive legacy."

Central to the tournament's success will be its ability to attract large numbers of fans from abroad and to fill stadiums. With the former in mind, the government has earmarked €80 million for security during the month-long event, with 40,000 police expected to be involved.

In relation to the latter, almost a third of tickets will be priced at €15 in order to attract locals, although how the resale of these tickets is prevented has yet to be clarified.

Power cuts during the tournament look inevitable as the country's national grid, even in normal times, continues to struggle with demand, but the stadiums will generate their own power.