PE soccer stadium dumped - for now

Misses one important tournament, but the plan is to have it ready by 2010.

South Africa's 2010 World Cup organisers said on Tuesday the Port Elizabeth stadium had been dropped as a host venue for the 2009 Confederations Cup because it would not be ready in time. "The board, having assessed the information before it this afternoon, finally resolved that for now Port Elizabeth is no longer part of the Confederations Cup," Irvin Khoza, chairman of the local organising committee, told reporters.

"We find that there will be serious constraints for Port Elizabeth to meet the deadline," he said, before stressing that the stadium in the southern coastal city was expected to be ready for the 2010 World Cup.

The 1.2 billion rand ($154.2 million) Nelson Mandela Bay stadium was one of five venues due to stage matches during the 2009 tournament and among 10 due to be used at the World Cup.

The two-week Confederations Cup, featuring the world champions, six continental champions and hosts South Africa, is a test event for the World Cup.

BACK-UP PLAN

The stadium decision comes after local media reported last month that FIFA had a back-up plan for the World Cup if South Africa did not meet its requirements, raising concerns the country might not stage the event due to construction delays.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter was quoted as saying he would be negligent if he did not have a plan B for hosting the tournament but this would only apply in the case of a natural disaster.

On Tuesday, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, visiting South Africa to assess its readiness for the Confederations Cup, further calmed fears that the World Cup might be moved.

He stressed that Blatter was only referring to specific situations like the SARS epidemic in China six years ago.

"This just related to what happened to us in 2002 in China when... (we were) obliged to move the women's World Cup from China to the U.S. because it was a question of safety," he told reporters, adding South Africa was meeting its requirements.

The Confederations Cup will take place from June 14-28, 2009 with the draw to be made on Nov. 22 in Johannesburg