Pretoria - With less than 50 days to go to before the kick-off of the biggest soccer spectacle, Cabinet says the recent ticket frenzy was an indication that the country is ready and excited to host the World Cup.
Last week, there were scenes of excitement, anger and frustration as fans rushed to ticketing centres countrywide to get their hands on the tickets.
Briefing the media on Thursday following an ordinary Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said over the next few weeks, billboards will be set up and the flighting of adverts on various radio and TV stations will raise awareness to get South Africans more excited about the World Cup.
He said mass mobilisation efforts such as Football Friday, Fly the flag, road shows and the countdown campaigns were also having the desired impact of inspiring South Africans to embrace the biggest show on earth.
"Millions of South Africans are flying the national flag from their cars and wearing the Bafana Bafana and other football shirts as a sign of their readiness to welcome the world during the World Cup," he said.
Maseko said all the stadia are ready and are in the process of being handed over to the host cities well ahead of the FIFA requirements that stadia be handed over to them 15 days before the start of the World Cup.
"The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has developed and finalised the 2010 Disaster Management Plan in partnership with the National Disaster Management Centre. Simulation exercises are being conducted to test the effectiveness of the plans.
"Government confirms without convocation that South Africa is ready to host the world on the southern tip of Africa! Ke nako!" he said.
