By Chumani Bambani

South Africa‘s World Cup soccer boss, Danny Jordaan, visited the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium on Tuesday and expressed delight at the progress with construction.

The Port Elizabeth stadium is set to be the first to be opened for the 2010 event.

Jordaan, the World Cup local organising committee (LOC) chief executive, viewed the 21 roof girders already up out of 36, the grass pitch and stadium seats installed thus far.

“I am very delighted with the progress made. It is exciting to see the stadium taking shape.

"It will be a magnificent stadium – one of the best in the world.

"I am really looking forward to the opening. It will be the first stadium for the World Cup tournament to be opened,” he said.

The stadium is earmarked for completion in May, with the final touches with the floodlights, external roads, area lighting and fencing to be completed in that month.

Jordaan commended the metro and the provincial government on a “sterling job” in ensuring “everything went smoothly despite challenges that were faced”.

“The city and the province need to be congratulated on a job well done.

"The Eastern Cape is the heart of sport in the country, and we need to regain that berth with such a top-class facility available.

“Umlilo (Bay United) must collect points and stay in top-flight football, and the province‘s rugby and soccer teams must be on par with the stadium.

"The argument of not having facilities is now dead,” he said.

“We are convinced Nelson Mandela Bay will be a magnificent World Cup host city.

“It will host eight matches – including a quarter-final and the third and fourth place play-off – so the city will play a very important role during the World Cup.”

The draw for the World Cup to determine the groups of the teams participating in the tournament will be held on December 4.

Jordaan urged home supporters to purchase tickets for the Confederations Cup and the World Cup as early as possible.

Ticket sales for the tournaments will be sold at a fixed rate of R7 to the US dollar, costing $20 (R140) for the World Cup and $10 (R70) for the Confederations Cup.

“We want to give fans price stability. We encourage them to purchase as early as possible because there are also people from overseas who want the tickets,” he said.

“One can miss a game between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates and get to watch the following one, but if you miss the World Cup you will not get to watch it in South Africa again in your lifetime.

"This is a once-off opportunity.”

Tickets can be bought online or at First National Bank branches.

Jordaan said the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system should not be a major concern after clashes with taxi associations, as talks with the various stakeholders were well under way.

“There have been talks with all the people involved and they are still continuing.

"The system is a good one and will benefit the metro beyond 2010.

“The matters that have been raised are being discussed and if there are still issues of concern, they need to be addressed and the discussions intensified.

"The construction work is under way and I hope everything will go smoothly, but the differences should be rectified,” he said.

Source: The Herald