Stadiums upgraded for Paarl 2010
2008-02-21
THE Drakenstein municipality will spend R7 million to upgrade the Dal Josaphat, Mbekweni and Faure Street stadiums, as preparation for the 2010 World Cup bid. “We are working with a team of planners and engineers to begin upgrades to our sports facilities. We plan to start upgrading at the stadiums no later than the end of March,” said Drakenstein deputy mayor, Councillor Wilhelm Nothnagel, who is responsible for the infrastructure and technical side of the 2010 World Cup preparation. “Council is committed to ensuring that we offer visiting teams the best possible base camp in 2010.” According to Councillor Arthob Petersen who guides the team, the Paarl 2010 team was mindful that 13 teams from UEFA will qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and that Drakenstein was looking towards enticing one of these teams to set up base in Paarl. “This year we will also be making sure that we put on a good show at the 2008 Soccerex. “Last year we did well, but this year we will be encouraging the province to focus more on the base camp offering in the Western Cape,” said Petersen. The Paarl 2010 convenor, Khaya Mrali, added: “Our key priority for 2008 will be to get the whole of Drakenstein involved in supporting our town’s 2010 ambition. “This will be achieved through the launch of our internal 2010 newsletter on a quarterly basis. We promised to keep people informed and that is exactly what we intend to do.” Said Petersen : “Paarl 2010 is so committed to football that we had planned to host a major Fan Park if Bafana Bafana had made it through to the next round. “Unfortunately the team did not make it, but that did not dampen our spirits. “We remain as determined as ever to ensure that the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the best ever and that the people of Drakenstein and Paarl in particular, will make South Africa proud.” The Paarl 2010 team has set itself lofty goals this year, in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Drakenstein Municipality, which initiated and funds the Paarl 2010 World Cup bid, has confirmed the key priorities for 2008. The Paarl 2010 team will make direct contact with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), to invite teams to assess Paarl as a base camp after the 2008 MTN African Cup of Nations in Ghana. Excluding South Africa, five nations from Africa will participate in the 2010 finals. The Drakenstein Municipality, through its Paarl 2010 team and partners Match, the tourism grading council of South Africa, the Tourism Enterprise programme and Wisdom Keys group, secured the FIFA required 200 beds for classification as a FIFA satellite venue for the 2010 World Cup. The Municipality will be using this status as leverage when engaging tour operators at the 2008 Indaba, to lobby for visitors to use Drakenstein as their 2010 base. The Paarl 2010 team will be working closely with the Western Cape Provincial 2010 Committee to look at what opportunities can be maximised at Europe’s UEFA premier tournament.
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