Global Economic Crisis Will Not Affect 2010

The world economic crisis will only have a limited impact on FIFA 2010 World Cup preparations in South Africa according to the president of the organising committee Danny Jordaan.The world is suffering from a financial crisis at the moment, and many fears have been raised as to how this might affect the World Cup in 2010, specifically with regards to stadium construction and other essential preparations. Jordaan said that stadium construction costs had gone up by 10 percent compared with the initial budget, due to the rising cost of building materials such as steel and concrete, as well as exchange rate variations. Jordaan was quick to relax those who are fearful regarding the effects of the financial crisis. “These increases were calculated some while ago and all costs are now frozen. There will therefore not be an impact on our stadium budget. No one in the world can say they are not affected by the world economic crisis but its impact should be less on our country.” Jordaan added, “What worries us the most is the long term consequences and the quicker we get through this, the better. We are keeping an eye on what is happening but as I speak there is not a serious or direct impact on World Cup preparations.”