By Sven Busch, DPA
Guatemala City : FIFA president Joseph Blatter says the 2010 World Cup will definitely take place in South Africa although he remains concerned about accommodation and transport plans for the tournament.
"The stadiums are being built now, that is clear," Blatter said in an interview with DPA in Guatemala City where he was attending the election of the 2014 Olympics host last week.
"But I am concerned about the accommodation and transport system. There are too few planes and not enough buses … But these are logistical issues we are a certainly capable of solving."
While football's world body keeps an eye on things like transport and accommodation, fans are more likely to be worried about their personal safety in a country where there were over 19,000 murders last year.
Car hijackings and residential robberies are also on the rise in the country while bank robberies have doubled, but Blatter played down the alarming figures, saying measures would be put in place to protect fans.
"If you know where something is taking place then you can take the necessary steps," he said.
"To put it more frankly: At the moment there is a big song and dance made if a chicken is slaughtered in South Africa. The US is also dangerous. The World Cup will definitely take place in South Africa."
Blatter's comments echo those he made in June following a two-day inspection visit to South Africa where he also highlighted issues with transport and accommodation but played down worries about the country's high crime rate.
"If you go to any big city in the world, you will face problems nowadays," he said at the time.
FIFA have a rotation system in place for hosting football's biggest tournament. The 2010 event went to Africa while the 2014 World Cup is scheduled to take in South America with Brazil as the only country bidding to host the event.
However, Blatter, who isn't a fan of the rotation idea, says it remains unclear whether football's ruling body will continue with this method of awarding the event.
"Rotation is in place until 2014," he said. "Now there are several possibilities. Either we continue with rotation or – and this is what I will be advocating – we leave it open. Then there would be more space for manoeuvre."