Mangaung - With just 16 days to go before the kick-off of the FIFA World Cup, Mangaung (Bloemfontein) officially handed over the Free State Stadium to FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke on Tuesday.
The handover was marked by a plaque unveiling ceremony at the stadium, which was also dedicated to those who contributed to making the tournament possible and all the countries that will participate in the group matches to be played at the stadium.
The plaque was unveiled by executive mayor Playfair Morule and Bloemfontein Celtics Life President, Petrus Molemela.
"We are happy and lack words of expression as the host city about the excitement that has overwhelmed the country with the upcoming tournaments and are continuing to declare our readiness to host the world during the spectacular soccer tournament," said Morule.
According to Valcke, focus should no longer be on the readiness of host cities but rather be on the masses enjoying the sport that is bringing the world together in Africa. He said that Africa has massively contributed to soccer and still continues to, and this is one of the reasons it deserves to host such an event.
"Lets enjoy football and forget about the rest," said Valcke.
Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Danny Jordaan said the level of commitment to host the event has been shown through infrastructure development, resources and time dedicated by the city and province.
