FIFA: South Africa not ready yet to host World Cup
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File photo shows FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke addresses a media conference in Cape Town ahead of the final draw for the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, December 1, 2009. [Xinhua/Reuters File Photo] |
South Africa isn't ready yet to host the World Cup, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said on Tuesday.
With barely three months until the World Cup starts, organizers still face problems with Soccer City.
"At this stage, we couldn't play the World Cup because Soccer City isn't ready. At this stage, we couldn't play the opening game. That's a fact. At this stage, we have 700,000 tickets still to sell, at this stage I can make a list of things that aren't ready for the World Cup," Valcke said on Tuesday after a team workshop meeting in Sun City.
"We have 108 days. It seems short, it is short, but even if we have to stay awake all night, every day, we will be ready by the time of the World Cup."
Valcke's comments came after a feisty exchange with reporters about the state of several training camps. FIFA had wanted the list of training camps for the 32 finalists completed on Tuesday, but those plans have been derailed by teams still changing their plans ahead of the June 11-July 11 event.
Valcke is also frustrated that England's Group C rival Algeria is yet to decide where it will be based. South Africa announced on Sunday it had been forced to move from a base that was badly run down.
Meanwhile, South Africa's tourism ministry has ordered an investigation into allegations that hotel prices are unreasonably high during the tournament.
The probe into hotel prices follows an investigation announced last month into whether South African airlines are colluding to inflate prices during the World Cup.
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