Locals want to benefit from 2010
Organisers find ways to make event inclusive for host citizens as preparations pick up
One major concern is whether the vast majority of South Africans will be able to participate in the party.
Intermittent protests in townships about promised improvements to basic living standards not happening while the country prepares for the tournament have recently hit the headlines.
It is imperative that organisers are seen to involve the local population. They insist that the atmosphere will be authentically African rather than a bland, soulless experience.
Fears have been partly allayed by a Fifa scheme to distribute 80,000 free tickets from sponsor allocations to locals, with an emphasis on young people.
Forty thousand more free tickets will go to construction workers. But that will still make up a minority of the total three million tickets.
Early concerns that South Africans would be outnumbered by overseas visitors and corporates led to a huge marketing campaign.
Now, more than 55 per cent of the 668,525 tickets sold have gone to buyers from the host nation. The second phase of ticket sales closes on Friday but by far the biggest tranche of tickets will go on sale after the draw.
The cheapest tickets cost 140 rand (Dh69). By way of comparison, a ticket for a South African Premier League game costs about 20 rand.
As far as England are concerned, many fans will be left frantically searching for scarce tickets.
