World Cup 2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, an international tournament for football, that is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010 in South Africa. It will be the first time that the tournament has been hosted by a nation in the Confederation of African Football, leaving the Oceania Football Confederation as the only FIFA Confederation never to have hosted the event.

Qualification
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification As the host nation, South Africa qualifies automatically for the tournament. However, South Africa is the first host since 1934 to participate in World Cup qualifiers. This is because the CAF qualifiers also serve as the qualifying tournament for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, for which South Africa had to qualify separately. Like the previous tournament, the defending champions Italy do not qualify automatically. The preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup was held in Durban, South Africa, on 25 November 2007. The Final draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be staged in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 December 2009 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Mascot
Zakumi, the mascot of the 2010 FIFA World CupThe official mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is Zakumi, a leopard with green hair. His name comes from "ZA", the international abbreviation for South Africa, and "kumi", a word that means "ten" in various African languages.

Preparations
This article or section contains information about planned or expected future infrastructure. It may contain speculative information and may change upon or during construction. Five new stadiums are to be built for the tournament (three new match venues and two new practice grounds), and five of the existing venues are to be upgraded. Construction costs are expected to be R8.4bn.In addition to the stadiums being built and upgraded, South Africa is also planning to improve its current public transport infrastructure within the various cities, with projects such as the Gautrain and the new Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) titled Rea Vaya.Danny Jordaan, the president of the 2010 World Cup organising committee has said that he expects all stadiums for the tournament to be completed by October 2009. The country is also going to implement special measures to ensure the safety and security of local and international tourists attending the matches in accordance with standard FIFA requirements.

Relocation rumours
Rumours have circulated in various news sources that the 2010 World Cup could be moved to another country.Some people, including Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt and, reportedly, some FIFA executives, have expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa’s preparations.However, FIFA officials have repeatedly expressed their confidence in South Africa as host, and have stated that the event will not be moved, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter re-iterating that "Plan A... Plan B... Plan C is that the 2010 World Cup will be staged in South Africa".Blatter has stated that there is a contingency plan to hold the World Cup elsewhere but only in the event of a natural catastrophe, and that the 2006 World Cup in Germany also had a similar contingency plan. Despite reassurances by FIFA that the event would only be moved in the case of natural catastrophe, rumours continue to circulate about possible relocation of the event.These rumours have been criticised by South Africa's Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi, saying that some have targeted the event to reflect their persistent negativity towards South Africa and Africa.

Controversies
According to an article in Le Monde diplomatique, "More than $8bn has been budgeted for the building and upgrading of infrastructure for the football World Cup in 2010, including 10 stadiums and a high-speed train... But almost none of the building or the money can be accessed by the poor who live in shantytowns without proper water, sanitation or electricity." As with many 'hallmark events' throughout the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been connected to a number of evictions in South Africa which many claim are meant to beautify the city, impress visiting tourists and hide shackdwellers. The most prominent controversy is the N2 Gateway housing project which plans to remove over 20,000 residents from Joe Slovo Informal Settlement along the busy N2 Freeway and build rental flats and bond houses in its place in time for the 2010 World Cup. The residents would be moved to the poverty stricken Delft township on the outskirts of the city and out of sight from the N2 Freeway.


More Informations:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html
http://www.worldcup2010southafrica.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup