Travel Advice for American fans - 2010 World Cup

Every country in the 2010 World Cup gets a ton of travelling around South Africa.
What becomes quickly apparent is that this won’t be the cheapest World Cup for travelling fans to follow. Once in South Africa, the tournament be one of the most different and exciting.

There are three big problems facing fans wishing to follow their teams: flights, match tickets and hotels.
Air tickets were already expensive before the draw was made. Now they just look unreasonable. Cheaper economy fare groups have long since sold out, leaving only ‘Y’ class unrestricted economy seats on many routes. Reaching South Africa from the US or Australia involves either several changes linking up with precisely the Europe and Middle Eastern routes other fans will be on, or pricey direct flights. My tip? If you don’t have tickets already, book soon and try transitting through an African hub like Nairobi.
It could be worse. As Sky Sportrs Lashias Ncube  notes, Africa-based fans in the west and north of the continent may well have to fly to Europe to pick up connections that are in any way affordable.
Hotels have been block-booked by FIFA for years, and their US$300-a-night three-star rooms don’t look tempting. They’ve gone as far as booking rooms up in Namibia, Botswana and even Mauritius, second-guessing that fans are going to use one place as a base and travel to and from games from there. Mauritius is four hours flight from Johannesburg. The idea of flying in and out for games is an absurdity. Unlike airlines, the hotel situation may get better nearer the tournament as unsold rooms are released back onto the market.

Tickets are always in short supply for these tournaments. If you’re not travelling on an official package – not bad value if you’re following a team like England, but selling fast – then the only option is to join the FIFA ballot and hope. Beware of unofficial agencies offering tickets at a huge mark-up. Not only are there the usual concerns about actually getting your hands on the tickets but you may find the tickets you do get are the cheapest ones, set aside for South Africans. If you’re not a Bafana Bafana fan you may well be refused entry.
Some supporter groups from teams expecting to do well are speculating that many fans will come out for the second half of the tournament. The logic is sound: many fans (including those of the Australia, New Zealand and the USA) will pack up and go home after the first round as they’ll be out. A glance at airfares certainly bears out this theory. But match tickets are more expensive for later stages.
Some fans will be taking unorthodox routes to the final. The Overland Truck rumour mill is buzzing with stories of Dutch fans chartering up to a dozen trucks to carry them thousands of miles to reach the tournament in fine style.
Safety has already arisen as a key concern, and we’ll return to it with a separate post nearer the tournament. Seasoned travellers know the risks, but in many ways the advice for South Africa is similar to other places: be alert using ATMs, take taxis after dark and watch yourself travelling between games. England fans face a combine journey of 2480km (1550 miles) for First Round matches alone.
Logistical issues aside, this World Cup is most exciting for keen travellers since 2002’s visit to Japan and South Korea. It may cost the earth but it promises to be the trip of a lifetime.

Zakumi - South Africa 2010 Worldcup Mascot

Zakumi - a Mascot with attitude

So what can we say about him? One thing is for sure, Zakumi will be first on the dancefloor and last off it at the biggest party in the world - the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. He wants to dance and entertain as many people as he can. He is an animator for fans, players and officials, for schoolchildren, teenagers and big kids alike!

Needless to say, he is extremely proud to be the Official Mascot and determined to be the best host for everyone visiting his beloved country. He symbolizes South Africa and the rest of the African continent through his self-confidence, pride, hospitality, social skills and warm-heartedness.

Zakumi is a jolly, self-confident, adventurous, spontaneous, and actually quite shrewd little fellow. He loves to perform and always follows his instinct and intuition, yet sometimes has the tendency to exaggerate a bit. You will often find him fooling about and teasing people but not in a mean way. He is warm-hearted and caring, and wants to make as many friends as possible.

He loves to play football as it is a great way to connect with others and break down language barriers. He always carries his football around which he will use to invite people to play with him.

Zakumi loves football. At one time he decided to dye his hair green as he felt it would be the perfect camouflage against the green of the football pitch; a bit like his rosette spots are when hunting in the wilderness!

He does have one striking weakness. With all his energy, he needs frequent rests. Occasionally, in-between performances on stage, he may suddenly fall asleep on the spot at the most random times! But rest assured, these are only short breaks that a leopard of his calibre needs to recharge his batteries.

Over the last years he has travelled the whole of Africa where the leopard habitat is good (pretty much everywhere from open savannahs, forests, jungles to mountainous areas, even deserts). He has therefore learned to adapt to new environments; enjoying the diversity in nature and people across the African continent

The name ‘Zakumi' is a composition of ‘ZA' standing for South Africa and ‘kumi', which translates into ‘10' in various languages across Africa.

Zakumi's main priority is to turn the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa into one huge, joyful and unforgettable party and show the thousands of international guests the warmth and spirit of the African continent.

"He wants to create a good mood for the fans and raise the excitement for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first on African soil. He is a proud South African and wants to ensure that the world will come together in South Africa," explained Lucas Radebe, South Africa's football icon and close friend of Zakumi.

Mbombela stadium - Pitch problems

Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Dr Danny Jordaan has "no doubt" that South Africa's preparations for the FIFA World Cup - about 100 days away - are going according to plan and that all tickets will be sold.
"We are comfortable with the preparations so far," he told Engineering News Online on the sidelines of a media tour at Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, which will host five first-round matches and a semifinal game.
In preparation for the soccer event, the Royal Bafokeng stadium has increased its capacity from 39 000 to 44 389 and now boasts 24 suites, new electronic scoreboards, floodlights and a public address system.
Jordaan said the LOC was still finalising agreements to ensure that enough electricity would be available and that information and communication technology (ICT) would be ready for the event, which starts on June 11.
His comments came amidst concerns about pitch of the Mbombela stadium, in Mpumalanga, but LOC and FIFA officials insisted that the venue would be ready for the World Cup.
Last year, FIFA advised the municipality to remove the pitch's grass, as it did not meet the required standards. Three attempts have been made to lay the pitch, but without success.
It will take about six to eight weeks to grow the pitch and at the moment it is ready for seeding.
"We did not want a good pitch, but the greatest one that will conform to all world standards," said FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke.

Jordaan pointed out that the Mbombela stadium was new, which gives it flexibility and the opportunity to continue with uninterrupted work to ensure that it was ready for the event.
Eight teams have been approached to play their Nedbank Cup or Telkom Cup games at the venue to test the quality of the pitch.
Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza said that the new Mbombela stadium used 100% local content and that it had experienced no cost escalations.