Vuvuzela South Africa

On Wednesday 3 March Bafana Bafana will celebrate the 100-day countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban with a friendly against Namibia.

100-Day Countdown to 2010 World Cup

In the stands on the 100- day countdown night will be a man who knows what winning is all about. Former Brazilian Captain, Cafu will be in town to attend the dinner at the ICC the previous night, and the match on Wednesday. Cafu twice won the World Cup as captain of the Brazilian side.

Joining him will be a line up of former Bafnan Bafana Players. FIFA President Sepp Blatter will also be in town. March 2 officially marks the 100-day countdown.

Big Screen at Moses Mabida

Overseas-based Players in Bafana Bafana Squad

Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Parreira has included some overseas-based players when he announced his squad to face Namibia. The international friendly encounter will be played on Wednesday, 03 March at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Kick off is at 20h30.

“It’s a profound gesture for us; to celebrate 100 days before the World Cup demonstrates how close we are to the event, and we are glad to be participating in the proceedings. But over and above that this match comes at a time when the leagues around the world are at a crucial stage; so we have tried not to disrupt the club’s programs too much. At most we have taken three from each team but still keeping with the core of our squad. This is a chance to see some players more – like defender Bryce Moon ; who I haven’t seen in a Bafana Bafana jersey in a long time and also because he will not be able to travel to Brazil and Germany with us,” said Parreira on the Safa website.

But the coach was quick to point out that it does not mean that the players who are not in this team have lost their places in the squad for the World Cup.

“No, even though I have a good idea of what my final squad will look like, there are still places up for grabs, so I still have to see other players as we enter the final road of our preparations,” added Parreira.

Bafana Bafana Squad
BARON Emille (GK)
DAVIDS Lance
CARNELL Bradley
FRANSMAN Bevan
GOULD Morgan
JALI Andile
KHUBONI Thanduyise
KHUNE Itumeleng (GK)
KLATE Daine
LETSHOLONYANE Reneilwe
MODISE Teko
MOKOENA Lebohang
MOON Bryce
MPHELA Katlego
NGCONGCA Anele
SANGWENI Siyabonga
SEGOLELA Tlou
SERERO Thulani
THWALA Lucas
TOM Mzivukile
TSHABALALA Siphiwe
XULU Siyanda

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Bafana Bafana Training in Durban

Durban fans have their vuvuzelas ready to cheer Bafana Bafana tonight in the friendly against Zimbabwe at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

And I will be there – my first night match at Moses Mabhida and my fist look at the local Bafana Bafana squad in the steaming Durban summer heat.

Bafana 6 – Swaziland 2

During the friendly when South Africa eased past Swaziland 6-2 in a practice match against Swaziland on the weekend at the Chatsworth Stadium, one could already see some kind of shape, especially in the midfield where the South African team has just come to pieces in the past.

Parreira Expected to Field the Same Side

Parreira is expected to field the same side that started against Swaziland, with Katlego Mphela once again leading the line. The striker will be the focus of Zimbabwe’s defence according to Thomas Sweswe.

“Mphela has proven to be a quality striker and his scoring record bears testimony to that. If left unattended he can be a pain in the neck but we want to mark him out of the game,” the Kaizer Chiefs defender told Football365.co.za.

Bafana have been in Durban since two Fridays ago with Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira (CAP) focusing heavily on trying to get the players to play a possession game. This camp ends after tonight’s game and then there is another, heavy-duty one in Brazil in March.

Zimbabwe Squad no Pushover

The Zimbabwean Squad is not going to be a pushover. They are lead by Mamelodi Sundowns midfield general Esrom Nyandoro and contains plenty of other players based in South Africa playing for the top PSL teams.

Tickets available at Computicket – Via Checkers.

Kickoff: 8.30 pm.

Picture: Bafana Bafana Training in Durban football 365

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Durban and Cape Town are two of the Host Cities preparing themselves for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

I have just read two articles in bizcommunity.com about the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Both interesting and important, but they made me smile because the stories so reflect the general attitudes of the two cities involved -  Cape Town and Durban.

Cape Town Tourism Survey

Well, the Cape Town story is about the success of the FIFA Confederations Cup. Cape Town Tourism commissioned a survey. According to Dr Nikolaus Eberl, of the 323 international visitors canvassed, only one said he would not recommend South Africa as a holiday destination. 3.68% of respondents answered ‘maybe’, resulting into an aggregate brand advocacy score of 96% for destination SA.

In terms of destination branding, this is the highest brand advocacy score achieved by a FIFA World Cup host yet, beating the benchmark set by Germany in 2006 by almost eight percentage points, he says.

Now Durban, on the other hand has gone a bit lower on Maslow’s pyramid and put safety and security centre stage with less than a year to go before kick-off to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

Safety and Security in Durban for 2010 World Cup

In Durban, a joint initiative has been established to boost safety and security during the football tournament. Safety and security planning is being co-ordinated between the South African Police Force, Durban Metro Police, Durban Beach Law Enforcement and independent security companies with deployment as a joint initiative.

Julie-May Ellingson, head of Durban’s Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Programme, says, “Durban already has an enviable record for hosting large international events including the Cricket and Rugby World Cups, IPL 20/20 cricket, the FIFA preliminary draw, A1 motorsport and the Comrades Marathon and will be calling on that experience to ensure the same level of safety and security prevails during next year’s tournament.”

Ellingson says, “a joint operations centre will mobilize and reallocate resources and the overall safety and security planning will be collated by the Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (JOINTS). This structure will report directly to a national structure to allow for consistent and unified safety across South Africa.”

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2010 FIFA Football Stadium, Durban, South Africa

It was one of those beautiful days in Durban today. It started off a bit chilly and then was misty over the sea. When the mist burned off, it was hot, one of those pale blue hot winter days – probably about 25/27C.

I drove past the 2010 Stadium, the one we call the Moses Mabhida Stadium, and saw that it was deserted. Then I saw the workers all clustered around at the gate, and I remembered they were on strike.

I took some pics of the stadium from the pool across the road – it was so weird to see the stadium, usually a hive of activity  without any people crawling all over it.

According to IOL, the 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee  said that the employer body, the SA Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec), had offered the striking workers and “improved” offer.

Moses Mabhida Stadium from Across the Road

“The 2010 Fifa World Cup Organising Committee South Africa participated in talks to end the strike affecting the building of stadiums to be used during the World Cup next year. “We are happy that a framework for an agreement has been reached,” CEO Danny Jordaan said.

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