Durban Unhappy With 2010 Soccer World Cup "Matchfill" Designation

South Africa is gearing itself up for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and while there's a rush on to get stadiums built on time and roads heavy-traffic friendly, some surprises and curious incidents of petty wrangling keep cropping up. For instance, Durban in Kwazulu-Natal is proving to be an extremely popular "matchfill" location. Which means that although Durban will only host 6 World Cup matches, they will host many of the tourists who have tickets for matches in Johannesburg, Gauteng, where most of the matches will be played.

Durban is strategically situated on South Africa's warm Indian Ocean coastline, so even in winter, when the Cup will be held, visitors can enjoy warm, sunny weather and a dip in the sea. It is also only an hour's flight from Johannesburg, which means that visitors can fly out for their match and be back in time for supper. According to Adam Brown, a senior executive at MATCH, the firm in charge of World Cup accommodation, tickets and IT solutions, the plan is to contract 6,000 rooms for around 12,000 soccer fanatics.

Strategic matchfill locations have been identified all around the country in the hopes of lessening the pressure on match hosting cities. George in the Western Cape also provides a scenic coastal location outside of the main fray for World Cup spectators, with a targeted 1,600 rooms for 2010. The Eastern and Western Cape Provinces are particularly popular matchfill destinations, partly because of their convenience to main locations and partly because they provide unrivalled natural beauty.

Not everyone is happy with the matchfill designation, however, as Durban's Ethekwini Municipality Mayor, Logie Naidoo, has voiced his dissatisfaction with arrangements. Naidoo is particularly unhappy about the fact that more than R2.6 billion is being invested in the new Moses Mabhida Stadium, for a mere 6 matches. He refers to the 2010 World Cup as Gauteng's World Cup because Johannesburg will host both the opening and closing ceremonies and the majority of the matches. According to Naidoo, "This does not make sense especially because Durban will be the hottest place in South Africa in winter 2010, whereas most of the other parts of the country will be freezing."

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