So Ivory Coast didn’t make it. But at least Ghana did, and now carries that hope of the continent.
Today my whole family sat that the edges of the our seats cheering Ghana on in their match against the USA hoping that an African team would make it into the quarter finals. It was a very stressful time, especially as the game went into overtime. We were rewarded with a win. Ghana has beaten the best American team that we have seen for a while and revived that hope of the continent.
South Africa has made our continent proud by hosting what is probably the best world cup ever – showing that from an infrastructure and logistics perspective, we are up there with the best. Ghana has made the continent proud from a soccer perspective – just when everyone was writing the African continent off, they have managed to become the third African team ever to qualify for the quarter finals.
Well done Ghana!!! As my brother-in-law, who is in London, said “Today we are all Ghanaian”. My household is certainly celebrating.
Posted in Current Affairs, Nirvesh Sooful.
Today I went to my first match of the soccer world cup – Portugal vs North Korea DPR at the Cape Town Stadium.
The match was a walk over with Portugal winning 7 nil against North Korea DPR essentially ending the goal drought of Christian Ronaldo (Portugal Captain) and the Cape Town Stadium. Captain Cristiano Ronaldo ended his two year wait for an international goal. The “Cape Town curse” was also finally broken.
This victory, and the 3 – 1 victory of Brazil over Ivory Coast makes it even more difficult for Ivory Coast qualify. Given that Ivory Coast is one of the stronger African teams, I would really like to see them making the next round. I also think that they really got a bum deal in the match with Brazil, with the referee allowing the second goal, which was clearly a hand ball (not once, but twice). Brazil is a great team and certainly does not need the referee to be helping them. I was therefore hoping that Portugal would not win by two large a margin – clearly this was not to be. I am sure that 7 nil is the highest score in this world cup so far.
Anyway, the logistics was great. This was the first match in Cape Town that was held during the day (it started at 13h30) on a work day. It was easy to get to the stadium. I had my kids with me and therefore parked in a parkade in the CBD and got the shuttle from outside Civic Centre. Everything went smoothly. There was minimal queuing (no more than you would expect at an event of this magnitude). The attendance at the stadium was just under 64 000. However it was very easy to get to the stadium, into the stadium, to our seats, out of the stadium and back to Civic Centre on the shuttle. The whole system worked, and worked well. I was impressed. Even my tickets (which were the cheapest tickets – category 4) were fine. I was happy with where I sat and the view that I had.
I have travelled quite extensively and been to large events all over the world, and I thought that this experience was world class. Well done South Africa!!! I think that we have shown the naysayer that we can do it. From my experience and from what I can see, South Africa is hosting this world cup with ease. I hope the world is sitting up and taking notice of what we can do when we set our minds to it.
I am looking forward to my next match which will be a night game – so it will be a different experience.
Posted in Current Affairs, Nirvesh Sooful.
A lot has been written about the high cost of attending the 2010 soccer world cup in South Africa. While there have been articles and surveys indicating that this is not exactly true, these reports persist. So I decided to do my own investigations.
I found that domestic flights between Cape Town and Durban are still relatively affordable (about R600 each way). In terms of flights between Cape Town and Johannesburg, I found that flights from JNB to CPT are also about R600 but flights to JNB are quite high (between R1400 to R2600). I guess that this indicates that all the action is happening in Johannesburg. However the price increases are not as steep as I anticipated.
In terms of accommodation, I found that prices have increased quite dramatically. For example, I looked at about 5 backpackers accommodation places and found that rates for a backpackers dorm room have increased from approximately R130 per person per night to between R450 to R1000 per person per night. This is quite a steep increase in pricing – even to R450. However, if you look, you are able to find places with very affordable accommodation. As an example, my wife’s company was recently commissioned to develop the website of a new accommodation establishment in Observatory Cape Town called LMR Lodge. LMR Lodge is offering extremely competitive rates. A dorm room during the World Cup will cost R195 per person per night. A twin room, with an en-suite will cost R295 per person per night during the 2010 soccer world cup. This is extremely affordable – the cheapest I have seen in Cape Town for the World Cup period. The website is www.lmrlodge.co.za.
So it does seem like it is possible to get relatively affordable accommodation and airfare in South Africa during the World Cup.
Posted in Current Affairs.
Tagged with 2010, accomodation, backpackers, fifa, LMR Lodge, self catering, world cup.
Recent Comments