Sports minister admits World Cup stadia concern- 29 May 2012 00:00:00
Sports minister Fikile Mbalula has raised concerns about the danger of the stadiums built or upgraded for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa becoming white elephants.
Mbalula told Sport24: ‘Some of those stadiums are not only underutilised but also face the long term danger of becoming white elephants.’
‘Communities are saying they don’t have facilities and then we go and find facilities that are not being used or have been vandalised.’
Mbalula added that in some instances facilities did exist but were too costly for communities to access.
‘Stadiums in Dobsonville were upgraded as training facilities in 2010, but communities and clubs cannot afford to use them.’
‘We’ve been paying lip service to these things but instead of complaining, we can sit down and resolve these issues with local government and have an integrated approach.’
Mbalula said he wanted schools to have access to facilities but the costs were prohibitive.
CONNECT WITH US
Follow @SportIndustrySA