By IANS,
Pretoria : South Africa has begun preparation for one of the world’s biggest sporting events, the FIFA World Cup 2010, BuaNews reported Friday.
With just 500 days to go, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) has stepped up its activities to host Africa’s first FIFA World Cup June 11, 2010.
“The 500 days countdown to the world’s biggest sporting spectacle will begin Monday. More than 26 billion people will watch the FIFA World Cup worldwide,” the LOC said here in a statement.
The mark the day (Monday), a range of activities will be organised across the country, it said, adding that, the main event will be organised at the Mangaung Outdoor Sports Centre in Bloemfontein.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the LOC, Irvin Khoza and Danny Jordaan, respectively, will address the media Monday in Johannesburg on the achievements made since South Africa was awarded the right to host the event five years ago.
The conference will highlight the progress made so far for the tournaments to kick-off at the Soccer City Stadium in Soweto.
The mayors and representatives of the nine host cities of the event will also meet to discuss the preparation.
A poster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be unveiled Monday. Various other events will be held in other cities to mark the day. A large number of people, including sportsmen and politicians, will participate in the events.