South Africa still not ready to host WC: FIFA

FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke has said that South Africa is still not ready to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals, nearly 100 days ahead of the start of the tournament.

"If the question is 'Could we host the World Cup tomorrow morning'? the answer is 'no'. At this stage, we couldn't play the World Cup because Soccer City isn't ready. At this stage, we couldn't play the opening game," Fox Sports quoted Valcke, as saying.

"That's a fact. At this stage we have 700,000 tickets still to sell. At this stage, I can make a list of things that aren't ready for the World Cup," Valcke added.

However, Valcke reckons that South Africa will be ready for the tournament kick-off.

"We have 108 days. It seems short. It is short. But even if we have to stay awake all night every day we will be ready by the time of the World Cup," he said.

Valcke also said he still didn't know where all the teams would be based.

Valcke's comments came after a feisty exchange with reporters about the state of several training camps.

England manager Fabio Capello, who visited South Africa to review some of the World Cup sites, said that he was more impressed with the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus near Rustenburg, which has been confirmed as the England training camp.

"Surprisingly the level of the pitches has improved because when we stayed here the last time they were terrible," he said.

"The first pitches are OK but the ones behind the hotel need some work. We decided to bring English people over to try and improve them, and that seems to have worked," he added.

Valcke promised the England training camp would be completed in time and would be up to FIFA standards.

"If the road to the hotel is not great, then so what? The rooms are there - there is a welcome desk where you can pay, a breakfast area where you can eat. There was a Sony television and internet in the room," he said.