South Africa spread joy

Dennis Mumble, the general manager of FNB stadium and a member of the 2010 World Cup local organising committee, said the decision was prompted by a desire to see other communities share in the prestigious tournament.

"We shall spread the benefits beyond the nine host cities," Mumble was quoted by SAPA news agency as saying in a speech at a conference outside Johannesburg. "It opens up responsibilities for non-host cities."

Mumble urged smaller towns to ensure that they had enough accommodation and adequate security to meet the demands of the more than two dozen teams and hundreds of thousands of tourists expected to arrive in South Africa for the championship.

South Africa, the first African nation to host the World Cup, is under growing pressure to make sure that a large number of its 45 million people as well as other parts of Africa share in the economic spoils of the tournament.

Mozambique is among the neighbouring nations pushing to host a base camp. The former Portuguese colony, whose capital Maputo is only about two hours from Nelspruit, one of the host cities, also hopes to lure World Cup tourists to its famed beaches.

The prospect that teams and their supporters could end up in smaller cities and towns or even neighbouring countries comes as South Africa speeds up construction and renovation of 10 soccer stadiums that will be used for the World Cup.

International soccer body FIFA had criticised local organisers for what was perceived to be a slow start by the host nation in its preparations but officials said last month that construction appeared to be back on track.