Pretoria - As the 2010 FIFA World Cup quickly approaches the half-way mark, initial glitches have been ironed out and the competition is progressing magnificently, says the CEO of the Local Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan.
Evaluating the tournament after 32 of the 64 matches had been completed, Jordaan said the World Cup had been a wonderful "success story" so far.
Speaking on Talk Radio 702, Jordaan acknowledged that there had been problems with transport during the initial stages of the World Cup and a number of empty seats at some of the stadia but added that these issues had since been addressed.
There was a preference among South Africans to use their cars instead of public transport and this had added to the congestion on the roads before the matches, making it difficult for fans to arrive at the games on time.
While this was a problem at the start of the tournament, Jordaan said since then a transport task team had been set up and traffic was now moving significantly better since the opening match.
More South Africans were also now making use of the park-and-ride and park-and-walk facilities.
On the issue of the empty seats at some of the matches, Jordaan said a large number of corporate suites had been sold out but the interest from these corporates were low at the start of the tournament and would increase as the tournament progressed.
An investigation was underway into why there were so many empty seats at four matches, he added.
Responding to a question about ticket sales, Jordaan conceded that over the counter ticket sales, should have been introduced a lot earlier.
Despite these glitches, South Africans have been good hosts so far.
Any plan B that might have been waiting in the wings should the country fail as hosts had long since "been sent back home", Jordaan added.
He said all the requirements for a successful tournament were already fulfilled - namely that matches had started on time; matches had successfully been broadcast across the world; the atmosphere at matches had been vibrant and most of the stadia were full.
Jordaan was confident that South Africans would not lose interest in the tournament even if Bafana Bafana did not progress to the next round, saying a large number of South African fans had attended every match so far, regardless of which teams had played.
"This event is in the heart of South Africans and goes over and above our own team," he added.
Jordaan also wished Bafana Bafana luck for their final match against France which will kick-off at 16:00 in Bloemfontein, saying he would keep his fingers crossed for a positive result.
Government spokesman Themba Maseko, who was also a guest on the show, said if South Africans continued to embrace the spirit of unity and national pride after the soccer tournament, then the country would have won a cup much bigger than any World Cup.
He called on South Africans to show the international community that the nation could host a world class event, regardless of Bafana Bafana's performance on Tuesday.
