Cape Town - South Africa is ready to host the FIFA Confederations Cup and government is confident it will be a resounding success, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
The Deputy President was addressing the media on Thursday following an inter-ministerial committee meeting on the 2010 FIFA World Cup to assess the country's readiness to host the Confederations Cup.
During the meeting, reports were received from various departments responsible for implementing the commitments government made to FIFA.
Mr Motlanthe said all four venues chosen to host the Confederations Cup tournament - Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Free State Stadium in Mangaung and Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg - were ready.
The stadia which will host FIFA World Cup matches are also progressing well within the FIFA set target dates.
With regards to security, Mr Motlanthe said South Africa was well-ahead in its preparations to ensure a safe and secure Confederations Cup.
"In June 2008, we submitted to FIFA a comprehensive security plan which FIFA has since reviewed and endorsed, concluding that it lays a reassuring basis for the event's security.
"The SAPS is set to deploy 41 000 officers specifically for the event, made up of 31 000 permanent members and 10 000 police reservists. A total of 8 000 officers will be deployed for the FIFA Confederations Cup," he said.
He explained that while government was responsible for general security, venue security is the responsibility of the Organising Committee (OC).
The Deputy President said transport plans were also ready with technical teams having been deployed in municipalities to assist in the implementation of the transport projects to ease the movement of the football fans and tourists during the tournament.
Good progress has also been registered with the installation of the Information and Telecommunication networks, including the setting up of the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at NASREC.
There will be an International Broadcast Coordination Centre set up at Ellis Park during the Confederations Cup.
Turning to venues, Mr Motlanthe said South Africa had 207 330 graded venues and accommodation arrangements were receiving high priority attention.
"A total of 34 910 rooms have been secured for the tournament, more than 5284 of which are from small operators."
More support is being drummed up for the tournament through a special communication and marketing campaign, which Mr Motlanthe said was steadily galvanising communities to support the hosting of the Confederations Cup and World Cup.
However, ticket sales have shown that the support is already there.
"We have been informed by the Organising Committee that tickets to the opening match between South Africa and Iraq are almost sold out. All signs are there that we are heading for a fully packed Confederations Cup."
He said government was pleased with the levels of enthusiasm shown by ordinary South Africans in welcoming Italy and Iraq national teams on arrival to the country.
"I hope that the same passion will be shown to all other nations who are still coming. Every South African has a responsibility to go out and show their support for our national team," said Mr Motlanthe.
