The organisers for the 2010 World Cup are confident South Africa will be ready to host the tournament, amid concerns over transportation, accommodations and stadiums.
Danny Jordaan, head of the organizing committee, said FIFA had already given $10 million to South Africa to rebuild its national team.
South Africa have approached former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who quit after his team was eliminated by France in the quarter-finals, to lead the team in 2010.
FIFA has also contributed $10 million to go to a new headquarters for the South African Football Association.
“We are relaxed,” Jordaan told a parliamentary committee. “We should not demoralize ourselves unnecessarily.”
South Africa is the first African nation to be awarded the event but there have been concerns that the country is already behind schedule with its planning. There has even been speculation that FIFA are considering taking the competition away from South Africa.
Michael Palmer, FIFA’s leading official in South Africa, dismissed such talk as “nonsense.”
The government has earmarked about $710 million for building and renovating 10 stadiums, and another $1.2 billion for upgrades to South Africa’s transport infrastructure.
