'There is no margin for error and we cannot fail. As we South Africans have done on many occasions before, we will succeed."
That is Danny Jordaan's unequivocal message to the many who doubt that the country will be able to successfully stage Africa's first Soccer World Cup in 2010.
"Doubters there will always be. But doubters you can only convince through thorough planning, thorough management and track record. We have people in our country with the skills and the expertise. We have hosted 11 major world events in our country and all of the world's big teams, such as England, Brazil, France and Holland. It's not something we haven't done before," the chief executive of South Africa's 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) said in an interview.
Hosting the big teams individually is one thing, having them and their hordes of fans in the country in one go will, however, be something else altogether.
Jordaan is confident though, saying 2010 will be a chance for South Africa's fledgling democracy to come of age.
"In 2010, if you take the country from the beginning of democracy in 1994, South Africa will be 16 years old. So South Africa's now a teenager as a democracy. When you're 16 you usually have your debutante ball and the teenager steps out into the world. The question now is what will happen to that teenager? For us it is about energy, enthusiasm and unleashing that energy to complete the path we started 16 years ago to strengthen our democracy," said Jordaan.
Spoken like the true politician Jordaan is, although he will be under no illusions about the magnitude of the task that lies ahead.
After all his years on planes, trains and automobiles ensuring along with many others that South Africa's day would come, Jordaan can be forgiven a bit of nostalgia in a momentous week for the country.
"It's been a long journey. It's a dream come true in a sense, not only for me, but for all of South Africa. This dream was their dream; it was the dream of Nelson Mandela, of President Mbeki, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and FW De Klerk. But most importantly, it was the dream of ordinary South Africans who cried when we lost the bid for 2006 and celebrated when we won 2010," said Jordaan.
Being a World Cup host country, he feels, will focus attention on South Africa.
"For us now it is about the challenges of job creation and creating opportunities for the youth. Just walking around Germany and saying you're South African immediately brings a recognition that we're organising the next World Cup.
"There's an interest in South Africa and people all over the world are wanting to invest in South Africa. So its an opportunity for South African companies to find international sponsors, it's about attracting investment, industry and development. It's about tourism growth and the improvement of infrastructure," said Jordaan.
The question of infrastructure will be a crucial one, especially if the country's transport system is to cope with the numbers that will descend on the country in 2010.
An amount of R5,5-billion has been budgeted for stadium costs, with five new and five existing stadiums to be utilised for the tournament.
"The stadiums are a very important issue and the individual cities will deal with this. Other costs will go towards the upgrading of infrastructure. SABC, for example, will move from analogue picture to high-definition digital.
"It's a competitive issue as it's something the whole world is doing. So we must be careful and not say all costs are only World Cup-related.
"These are things the country needs, like the improvement of road infrastructure and airports, crucial for our tourist flow.
"Telecommunications and technology are also a very important part of doing business in South Africa. So we must see the majority of the improvements and infrastructure as a way of ensuring our economic growth and competitiveness for years to come," said Jordaan.
As for the transport issue, he feels it's a situation that needs to be analysed and for creative solutions to be found.
"There are teams with high numbers of fans, like England, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, and others with lesser numbers. It depends on the teams qualifying. In Germany, many fans from around Europe came in and out of the country during the World Cup.
"We might have more South American visitors as its less flying time for them to South Africa than Europe.
"Some can arrive via Cape Town, others via Durban and others can fly in to Johannesburg. There are people arriving in South Africa as we speak and there are systems in place to get them from airports and around the country.
"It's just that in 2010, rather than arriving in business suits, they will be wearing soccer shirts. For the World Cup people will arrive in a staggered way, first the Fifa officials and the referees, then the players and the fans and so on. We will just have to regulate that process," said Jordaan.
