Pretoria - The Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality has declared its readiness to host thousands of soccer fans and teams alike during next year's FIFA World Cup.
This comes as Friday's Final Draw revealed that Tshwane will be host to at least six matches, five during the group match stages and one during the Round of 16 stages.
"The City and the Community Safety Department in particular, are ready to handle the demands that will be brought to bear by the matches," municipal spokesperson Console Tleane said.
He said the measures that will be carried out by the City include road policing and transportation plans, park-and-ride facilities and the logistical planning thereof, general safety and policing, emergency and disaster management, and by-law enforcement.
"Of note is that four out of the five first round matches will involve an African team, including the Bafana Bafana versus Uruguay match.
"This may mean that the matches will be full-house and highly-charged. The implication for the City and the Community Safety Department in particular, is that the safety personnel in the City will be stretched to the limit," said Tleane.
He added that the three divisions within the department which will be directly affected are the Tshwane Metro Police, the Fire Brigade and Rescue, and the Disaster Management Centre.
These divisions performed above par during the Confederations Cup, with the Local Organising Committee Chief Executive Officer, Dr Danny Jordaan, going on record to saying that Tshwane had the best planning of all cities.
