All About Soccer World Cup 2010 South Africa

2010 Clock Ticks in Nelspruit

Nelspruit - A 2010 FNB Countdown Clock was unveiled at the Grove Shopping Centre in Nelspruit on Wednesday, to remind residents that the FIFA World Cup which kicks off on 11 June is drawing nearer.

Mpumalanga's MEC for Sport, Culture and Recreation, Vusi Shongwe said thanked FNB for providing the clock as a token of celebrating the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

"Our hosting of the 2010 World Cup has become visible in all areas in the province and I want to ask all our people to ensure that the province is on the map by making successful preparations for the event," he said.

England schedules warm up matches

England scheduled two World Cup 2010 preparation matches against Mexico and Japan.The date of the match with Mexico has still to be confirmed. England football association officials hoping Fifa will allow the game to be played on sunday 23 May. England will ithen take on Japan in Graz on SUnday 30 May. Fabio Capello, the manager , will name what is likely to be a 28-man provisional World CUp squad on 17 May the day after the FA Cup final.

The final 23-man world cup squad will fly to South Africa on 2 June, 11 days before the opening Group C encounter in Rustenburg.

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Minister probes 2010 accommodation price hikes

Johannesburg - Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has commissioned Grant Thornton to investigate allegations that some accommodation providers are hiking prices excessively for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Van Schalkwyk on Thursday said: "Until now our impression has been that this is not the case, but we believe it should be investigated and the results made public".

The results are expected on the 26th of March.

He said the survey would help safeguard the reputation of the tourism industry since South Africa is known as a "value-for-money destination".

"Price-hiking could damage the reputation of our tourism industry. However, it must be kept in mind that June and July will be high season in South Africa, and tourists should not expect the normal low-season prices," he said.

World Cup to honour Madiba - Zuma

Cape Town - South Africans have been urged to make the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup a success in honour of Nelson Mandela.

In his address during the opening of Parliament, President Jacob Zuma said Mandela was central in assisting the country to win the rights to host this great event.

Mandela was part of the delegation that presented South Africa's bid to the FIFA Executive in 2004 and was present on 15 May 2004 when FIFA President, Joseph Blatter, announced that South Africa had won the bid to host the World Cup.

How to get your hands on 2010 World Cup tickets

Johannesburg - Tickets for the 2010 FIFA World Cup go on sale from Friday, 20 February.

South Africans, Africans and the world will be able to get their hands on these prized tickets online at FIFA.com and at all First National Bank (FNB) branches from Friday.

The tickets, as promised, will be affordable for all South Africans, starting at R140. They will be officially available from the FIFA.com website from 1pm local time.

FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) have made it possible to apply for tickets from FNB branches too because many South Africans do not have access to the internet.

Over-the-phone 2010 ticket applications

Pretoria - As from this week soccer fans will be able to apply for 2010 FIFA World Cup tickets over the phone.

A special call centre, which started operating on Monday, has been set up for this purpose. It will operate from 8am to 5pm Central European Time (CET) and 9am to 6pm South African time.

Fans can call 083 123 2010 as well as the international number +41 44583 2010.

Meanwhile, 84 percent of the World Cup tickets sold so far in the fourth phase of ticket sales have been bought by South Africans.