Once a headache for the local organising committee, the 10 South African stadiums for the 2010 World Cup are now pride and joy as they are set to be ready on time for the football extravaganza.
Stadium construction faced many challenges, including strikes in July when more than 70,000 workers asked for salary hikes, countrywide blackouts in January 2008 that crippled the economy, budget deficits and sometimes unpredictable weather.
It has been a roller-coaster ride. Sometimes we were happy and most times saddened by the criticism and the pessimism but we always knew we would be ready on time, local organising committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo told AFP.
Mkhondo said five new and five renovated stadiums were now more than 95 percent complete and the final touches …