South Africa gearing up for summer of football

As the world is getting ready for the up and coming new decade ahead of us next year South Africa, the World Cup 2010 host, is gearing up for what is expected to be the biggest influx of visitors the country has even seen. A record 450,000 are expected to be attending the tournament over the course of one month. The draw for the matches was held late last week and all the 32 countries involved are now aware of where and when they will play their first three matches.

England will start their campaign in Rustenburg, which is in the northwest of the country. Their opponents will be the USA and it is expected to be the most testing match for England. The ground is high at 1,500 metres above sea level, which should prove a testing match for both teams.

One of the major concerns about the tournament in South Africa has been will the coutry be able to cope with all the fans that are expected. Some of the major stadiums are to be used as a sort of pre-check-in for fans that are following their team to others cities. This will alleviate some of the pressure that will be put on to the airports.

Another major concern is the amount of rooms available at cites across South Africa. An audit was carried out by the Government that found there is 202,000 rooms across the country that will look after the travelling fans. Despite this reassurance by the tourism minister there are still concerns for the smaller host towns in the country.