South Africa’s World Cup organizers say budget is tight, under a lot of pressure

World Cup organizers: Budget is ‘tight’

JOHANNESBURG — The local organizing committee of the World Cup says its budget is “tight” and concedes that it is under pressure to stage the tournament without overspending.

“We are under a lot of pressure right now in terms of budget,” said Greg Fredericks, a top aide to committee chief executive Danny Jordaan. “We believe at this stage we are within budget. (But) I think it’s tight.”

Fredericks addressed a government committee on sports and culture in Johannesburg on Wednesday and updated it on the preparations of the Gauteng province, which includes host cities Johannesburg and Pretoria, where the opening and closing ceremonies, the opening game and the final will be played.

But Fredericks expressed concerns over the $430 million given to the LOC by FIFA to organize the tournament. He said at one stage organizers thought they were going to run out of money, “but the exchange rate saved us.”

South African organizers were handed the budget in 2005 but have faced rising costs.

“By 2010 it’s a different world,” Fredericks said.

He said the LOC’s allowance had been hit hard by the cost of ensuring all 10 World Cup stadiums have their own electricity supplies and backup power generators to guard against unexpected power cuts, which occasionally happen in South Africa.

“The cost is just astronomical,” Fredericks said.

Fredericks spoke to the Gauteng Legislature’s committee in the absence of Jordaan, who was in Cape Town for the arrival of the World Cup trophy.

According to organizers, the world’s most famous soccer prize will be kept out of sight until it goes on display at the Khayelitsha township near Cape Town on Friday.

Also Wednesday, FIFA put “a few thousand” match tickets back on sale for games it had previously said were sold out.

FIFA said in a statement the tickets had become available for matches in Cape Town and Durban, the coastal cities popular with tourists, after “ongoing finalization of seating arrangements … and further adjustments of different ticket allocations.”

FIFA said soon after they launched the final ticket sales phase on April 15 that all matches in Cape Town and Durban had been sold out.

According to the statement, 270,000 World Cup match tickets are still unsold.