: Performers take part in a ceremony in Berlin in
July 2006 to unveil the logo...
Organisers of the 2010 World Cup have warned Cape Town that
South Africa's tourist hub would be deprived of a role in the tournament
if it delayed the start of construction on a new stadium.
"The LOC will not tolerate any delay. If there is any delay in Cape
Town, Cape Town is out," local organising committee (LOC) chairman
Irvin Khoza told reporters on Wednesday.
The southern city is due to host one of the two semi-finals at a yet-to-be
built stadium in the neighbourhood of Green Point.
However residents are considering launching a legal challenge to the decision
to grant planning permission for a site which is currently home to municipal
pitches and a public golf course.
While locals have accused the LOC of trying to "blackmail" them
into backing down over their threat of court action, organisers say that
construction work on the 68,000-seat arena must be up and running early
next year.
"Without withholding anybody's democratic rights, we have to deal
with a very strict timeframe and we don't have time to be engaged in litigation,"
Khoza added.
Khoza did not respond to a question on how the organisers would proceed
if Cape Town was frozen out and an LOC source acknowledged there was no
"Plan B."
LOC chief executive Danny Jordaan said negotations were ongoing with the
Cape Town municipality and expected an announcement would be made later
this month.
"The city council wants the semi-final in Cape Town. The debate is
much broader now," he said at the regular press briefing.
South Africa is expecting nearly half a million foreign tourists to visit
during the World Cup, the first time the tournament has been staged in
Africa, and Cape Town has traditionally drawn many more visitors than
other cities.
