I'm here at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, no great shakes as a sporting event in its own right,but hugely significant as a dry run for the World Cup Finals a year from now. It'll be Africa's first and franklyabout time the great continent got its chance to stage the most popular sporting event on earth.I was in Zurich nine years ago, July 2000, breaking the news that South Africa had been beaten to the stagingof the 2006 World Cup by Germany. You may remember the huge row that broke out when one of the FIFA delegatesan elderly gent from New Zealand called Charlie Dempsey refused to cast his vote amid allegations of impropercanvassing by the bidding countries and it cost South Africa victory by that one single vote. Like many of themedia and fans who'd hoped it would be Africa's turn at last, it was a huge disappointment, and I spent much ofthat afternoon being interviewed by South African journalists on how unfair it all was. They were the favouritesto win the vote and their greatest day had been snatched away in the cruellest fashion.Less than a year later though, those who believed that it was a blessing in disguise, that South Africa wasnot yet ready to stage the World Cup, were vindicated. In echoes of Heysel and Hillsborough 43 fans were killed ina terrible crush at Ellis Park in Johannesburg after up to one hundred thousand fans reportedly tried to forcetheir way into a domestic club match at the old stadium which had room for only sixty thousand. It was a tragedythat shocked everyone, yet one that perhaps proved the turning point for the post-apartheid rainbow nation.Within three years South Africa had won the right to stage 2010, and with the ten World Cup stadiums now almostcomplete, over the next couple of weeks we'll get a chance to see how they'll handle it. It hasn't beenthe easiest start for them, I arrived here in Johannesburg to reports that FIFA President was unhappy at the sightof empty seats for the two opening Confederations Cup matches between the hosts and Iraq, and the team of themoment Spain against New Zealand. Blatter's long been an advocate of having an African World Cup (in fact he wasready to make the casting vote in their favour over Germany had it not been for Charlie Dempsey's controversialabstention at that fateful Zurich vote nine years ago) but he's a hard man to please. On top of those empty seatsthe pitches here have already been criticised, one of the team's luggage went missing, and the new park and ridefor the opening match in Johannesburg went pear-shaped too.I'll be honest here too, I walked through Jo'burg airport to the immigration desk set aside for FIFA accreditedpeople and was confronted by a short-tempered female officer who told me I had to go to the back of the regularqueue because I didn't have a FIFA proof-of-ID letter that nobody had told me I would need. She was in a right oldmood and got us right off on the wrong foot. What made it so ridiculous was that she had a FIFA list of names(with mine on it) right in front of her but wouldn't look at it because I didn't have the letter. Anyway,I evenutally showed her my name on the list, she saw common-sense and into South Africa I came. Phew!Still, that's what the dress rehearsal is for, better get the gremlins out of the way now before the worldand his wife arrives for the real thing next June. It's a dry run for a reason. Everywhere else here the welcome has been incredible and thehundreds of thousands who'll come here from all over the globe can expect a fantastic reception.I made straight for Ellis Park ,legendary rugby venue of course, and one which staged the 1995 Rugby World Cupbut much has changed since then, not least after the aforementioned disaster in 2001. The stadium has beenrebuilt and will play a major part in 2010, along with nine others (five of them brand new). I'll be visitingmost of them over the coming fortnight and will keep you posted on what we can expect next year.
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