Cape Town was yesterday officially apointed as the venue where the 2010 Soccer World Cup final draw – at which all the qualifying soccer teams will be allotted into groups – will take place.

The week-long event will culminate in a draw on December 4 at which the 32 participating teams will be divided into eight groups and is the last milestone before the tournament kicks off next year.

The draw is expected to attract more than 2000 guests, including all the qualifying teams’ coaches and captains, and will be held at the city’s Green Point Stadium, which is still under construction. Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said construction was on track and the stadium would be completed in time for the draw.

To date, 800000 of the 3,2-million World Cup tickets have been sold, with 240000 snapped up by South Africans, 57000 sold in the US and 27000 in Australia. Not many tickets have been sold in the rest of Africa, although Ghana is an exception.

Another concern among Cape Town residents was whether the R4,5bn Green Point Stadium would be viable after the World Cup, especially after the Western Province Rugby Union indicated that it was not interested in trading Newlands for the new stadium.

[via BusinessDay]