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All set for a good World Cup
FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes that South Africa is 75 per cent ready to host next year's World Cup finals.
Addressing a press conference in Johannesburg to reflect on the Confederations Cup, which ended on Sunday, the chief of the world game praised the organisers, but said more needed to be done ahead of Africa's first staging of the global showpiece.
"I can say that the rehearsal from the FIFA point of view has been satisfactory," he said. "We are on the very positive side when we go to do an assessment.
"One of the items that specifically has always been put into question was that of security. The organising committee, with Danny Jordaan as chief executive, has done a very good job.
"The hospitality has been remarkable. We know that some of the logistical things, like transport and accommodation, will have to be worked on. But compliments to the organisers.
"Assessing the work that has been done on a scale of 1-10, I would say that you are at 7.5. This is before the beginning of the next activity, which is the draw. If you pass that, then it could be eight and at the end of the World Cup, you could be at 10. This is my assessment."
Blatter was also pleased with the action on the field, which culminated with defending champions Brazil snatching a thrilling 3-2 victory over the United States.
He continued: "Over the 16 matches, we've seen good football.
"The tournament has produced very attractive, passionate football, football with results that have not been expected and games that reached the final moments before being decided. This is one of the most important things."
One worrying factor for organisers before the tournament was the performance of the host team, who ultimately went down 3-2 to Spain in the third-place play-off.
"They have improved from the first match to the last," he said. "They not only created problems, but almost brought down the European champions.
"We look forward to them getting even better."
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Weather for Leeds
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
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