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| Bafana Bafana © Backpagepix |
With literally billions of dollars at stake - not to mention the
other vast implications of ensuring that Africa's first World Cup
is ultimately rubber-stamped a success - Fifa will ensure 2010
host nation South Africa emerges with at least a reasonably
favourable opening round draw in Cape Town on Friday.
And, in what is considered another essential priority, top
tournament drawcards among the 32 nations in the draw such as
Brazil and England, will not travel to venues like Port Elizabeth,
which will not be able to cope with the influx of as many as 25 000
or 30 000 overseas supporters accompanying such teams.
These were the "logical" views expressed on Tuesday by Nazeer
Camroodien, the South African Football Association's official
travel representative, who will be in the forefront of transporting
many of the anticipated 350 000 to 450 000 World Cup visitors round
the country.
"What we know for sure at this stage," said Camroodien, "is
that South Africa will be the seeded team in Group A among the
World Cup's eight groups of four teams - and the hosts will play
the tournament opener at Johannesburg's awesome Soccer City Stadium
on June 11.
"Also," he added, "Bafana's other two opening round games will
be played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on June 16 and at the Free
State Stadium in Bloemfontein on June 22.
Camroodien also expects universally popular, five-times world
champions Brazil, to be the seeded nation in Group B , which would
mean playing their opening game at Ellis Park on June 12, a second
game in Johannesburg at Soccer City on June 17 and their third
match at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on June 22
"But what is almost an essential proviso for the tournament to
come up to its highest expectatations," said Camroodien, "is for
the currently frail Bafana to progress beyond the opening round."
With this urgent eventuality in mind, Camroodien believes the
Fifa executive and World Cup Organising Committee will devise a
formula at high-level, vital meetings on Wednesday that will keep
the World Cup's most powerful playing nations out of Bafana's
opening round group.
"In the first instance," he added, "the top seven seeds who
will head the other seven opening round groups will automatically
be seperated from South Africa - and this means Bafana can rest
easy over the prospect of having to face teams like Brazil, Spain,
Italy, England, Germany, The Netherlands and Argentina in the
opening round,
"But more to the point," said Camroodien, "I'm sure a system
will be devised whereby South Africa receive a favourable draw
all-round.
"It happened for the World Cup 's Confederation Cup dress
rehearsal earlier inthe year when the rules basically ensured that
South Africa were drawn in the same initial group as minnows New
Zealand and Iraq and duly made their way into the semi-finals."
"It will be a draw conducted in accordance with prescribed
rules," added Camroodien, "and will therefore be construed as fair
- but it should be just a little fairer for South African than for
the others."
And Safa's travel agent predicts an opening round draw for
Bafana in the nature of being pitted against the United States or
Honduras, Denmark, Slovenia or Slovakia and North Korea or New
Zealand.
"Even such a draw will be no formality for Bafana progressing
into the second round as one of the two top teams in the group," he
added, "but it would make a lot of people sleep a lot easier over
the next six months or so."
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