And so the recriminations have started following
Port Elizabeth's axing as a Confederations Cup venue.
The Organising Committee on Tuesday deemed it too risky
to retain Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium due to "the complex nature of
the construction and erection of the roof".
With the stadium scheduled to be completed just four weeks before the
tournament kicked off, the OC had no choice but to drop it.
The city's acting mayor Bicks Ndoni disputed these finding and told SAPA
the construction of the 50,000 seater was on target.
"Here again, we can categorically confirm that our production and
assembly schedule is 100% on track," said Ndoni.
Ndoni is adamant his city would be ready before the FIFA imposed deadline
of March 2009.
He said he was "completely baffled" by the decision because
Port Elizabeth would "definitely have been able" to host the
tournament.
"The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality and all of its stakeholders,
service providers and residents are completely baffled both by the decision
and by the purported reason for such decision," he added.
Following this Ndoni intimated that a hidden agenda might be at play.
"We can only assume that the decision has been made for reasons other
than technical," he explained.
The OC has yet to confirm the revised plans for the Confederations Cup,
but it seems likely that the tournament will be restructured so that only
four stadia are utilised.
Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus in Pretoria, the Free State Stadium
in Bloemfontein and the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg are the remaining
venues.
All four stadia are being upgraded for the 2010 World Cup and are ready
to host the Confederations Cup.
Meanwhile, the OC reiterated that Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium would be
prepared in time for the showpiece event in 2010.
