The Confed Cup is mission accomplished

The 2009 Confed Cup ended on a high as evidenced by the closing ceremony on the final day. Again, the VWV Consortium did not disappoint with a stunning show that equalled the very high standards of the opening ceremony.

The visiting teams were all very satisfied with the organisation and very high standard of facilities that were available to them. The US team was particularly impressed with everything including the accommodation. Superstar players such as Kaka of Brazil gave South Africa the thumbs up saying that the country would put on a very good show next year.We were able to see the minor things that still need to be improved such as the Park and Ride transport system, to and from the stadium, and minor security complaints. The tournament was also very successful from a sporting perspective with Bafana Bafana showing that they have the potential to project a good image of our football by finishing fourth.

Now a lot of people around the world know that South Africa is a country capable of putting on a very memorable world cup. There are still fears that the global recession might still affect the numbers of visitors to the country for the FIFA, however many people agree that those that do come, will come in great numbers.

What I find intriguing is that South Africa did not reveal its full hand entirely. The best is yet to come since we didn’t use any of our brand new state-of-the-art stadia. The four stadiums that were used for the Confed Cup are existing stadia that have been upgraded. Three of these are traditionally rugby venues at that.

The world will be gobsmacked when they come and experience the brand new stadiums such as the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Limpopo, Soccer City in Johannesburg – which is as good as brand new, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, The Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and the Bombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.

The world ain’t seen nothing yet. The hospitality and catering industries enjoyed a much needed surge of business during the tournament, which is nothing compared to what they will experience during the world cup.

The hotels now know how to cater for the needs of superstar teams such as those of Brazil, Spain and Italy, and also the high level delegates such as FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who will descend upon our shores in their hordes. We now know what we need to do to stage a first-class tournament and we also introduced the world to the unique South African sound of the vuvuzela.