Is SA ready to host the 2010 soccer World Cup? Clues to this answer will depend on how the country does when it hosts the Confederations Cup from June 14- 28 2009.
The Confederations Cup, which features SA, the winners of the six Fifa confederation championships, and current World Cup holder Italy, is seen as a dry run for the World Cup. Any problems that emerge will reveal what must be fixed before the main event.
The Confederations Cup, to be hosted at four of the 12 World Cup stadiums, will test SA's capacity to deal with an influx of fans, and demonstrate the ability to broadcast high-profile matches - all under the scrutiny of sceptical global media.
Thankfully, the readiness of the stadiums isn't a problem. Preparations at the four - Johannesburg's Ellis Park (now Coca-Cola Park), Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, Bloemfontein's Vodacom Park and Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld - are on track.
What will come under closer examination are support services like transport, accommodation and entertainment for fans between matches.
Johannesburg is planning to introduce the first phase of Rea Vaya, its new public bus service in May, just before the Confederations Cup.
The bus service will have its own road lane and passengers can board at specially constructed stations. A total of 20 stations will be ready in time for the Confederations Cup and 143 buses will travel along 25,5 km of road. Estimates suggest the Rea Vaya could transport 69 300 passengers a day.
Tshwane and Cape Town will also be providing their own bus systems.
Besides getting the public transport on track, the Confederations Cup will be a chance for the Local Organising Committee to show it can deal with Fifa's match requirements, such as setting up a security perimeter around the stadiums and organising the thousands of volunteers who will be assisting in the running of the event.
It will also be crunch time for the establishment of the International Broadcasting Centre, the 30 000 m² media nerve centre that will house more than 20 000 journalists, to be built at Nasrec, south of Johannesburg. Fifa's deadline for completing the centre is March 2010 but construction is set to start in 2009.
By the end of 2009 the necessary infrastructure for the World Cup should be all but finished. Come January 2010, there will be little time except for the final touches.
