 Soccer City in Johannesburg is expected to host the 2010 World Cup final |
Faced with TV images of majestic stadiums from Germany, South Africans are wondering what sort of World Cup their country will stage in 2010. South Africa boasts good roads, fervent fans, expansive scenery and the feel-good factor of a young democracy.
But its cities are snarled with traffic, crime levels are among the world's worst.
South Africa is also plagued by a deepening power crisis that has hit top tourist city Cape Town the hardest.
"Those stadiums in Germany, they are so big and nice," said Sibusiso Radebe, a 21-year-old fan from Soweto.
A visit to the FNB stadium in Soweto, the symbolic heart of South African football, illustrates the magnitude of the task at hand if South Africa is to host the World Cup in style.
 |  It's unavoidable that people will compare us with Germany |
In Frankfurt, trains, trams and buses all operating like clockwork whisk fans to and from the Waldstadion stadium. In Soweto, transport is by park-and-ride, car or overcrowded minibus taxis.
Parking is on adjacent scrubland, marshalled by locals hoping to make extra cash, and leaving the ground can take hours, with traffic jams long and collisions frequent.
When fans arrived for this year's opening match in Munich, they had to show personalised tickets before clearing two rounds of security, while extra police patrolled the stadium.
At the FNB stadium in Soweto, hundreds of ticketless fans regularly circumvent ticket marshals simply by turning up early and hard alcohol and marijuana is readily available.
But officials insist all that will change, and plans for a 'Soccer City' complex in Soweto are afoot.
Danny Jordaan, who heads South Africa's 2010 World Cup Organising Committee, said preparations - which include upgrading stadiums and building a new rail system - were ahead of schedule.
His communications manager, Tumi Makgabo, says South Africa can learn from Germany but would also strive to create an authentic local experience.
"It's unavoidable that people will compare us with Germany," said Makgabo, a former CNN television anchor.
"But am I worried we won't put on a great event? Of course not."
Others are not so confident. Construction of a new stadium in Cape Town has stalled due to wrangling over exactly where it should go.
And delays over a multi-billion rand high-speed train project meant to link Johannesburg to its airport have raised fears it may not be ready in time for the tournament.
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