South Africa ready to deliver world-class Confederations Cup tournament on 14-28 June 2009 – THE CHAMPIONS ARE COMING!

South Africa will host the eight edition of the Confederations Cup, officially launched in 1997, from 14-28 June 2009. The tournament will comprise of the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation champions, i.e. CAF (Egypt), CONMEBOL (Brazil), UEFA (Spain), AFC (Iraq), OFC (New Zealand), CONCACAF (USA), along with the reining FIFA World Cup winners (Italy) and the host country (South Africa), to bring the number of teams up to eight.

The tournament in South Africa will be held in four venues, namely (1) Ellis Park Stadium (capacity: 61 000) in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, (2) Loftus Versfeld Stadium (capacity: 50 000) in Pretoria, Gauteng Province, (3) Free State Stadium (capacity: 48 000) in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, and (4) Royal Bafokeng Stadium (capacity: 42 000), North West Province.

South Africa, rated as having most passionate fans in the world, will host the event with a view to, among others; showcase the country’s readiness to host the historic FIFA 2010 World Cup tournament from 14 June – 14 July next year. The official ball to be used during tournament is called KOPANYA. The word ‘kopanya’, literally translated as “join together” comes from Southern Sesotho, a language spoken by almost five million people in various provinces of South Africa and Lesotho. The VUVUZELA, a plastic brightly coloured horn will feature prominently during the event as the instrument symbolises passion for sport among the South African football fans.

• Please click here to know more about the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa
• Please click here to visit FIFA’s link about the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.
• Please click here to directly link to Supersport.com coverage of the Confederations Cup.