New Delhi, March 28: Since South Africa’s return to the international fold in the early 1990s, following nearly 20 years as an outcast owing to their racially biased apartheid policy, the rainbow nation has played host to many major sporting extravaganzas — the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup and most recently the ICC Twenty20 World Championship in 2007.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India shifted the second season of the lucrative and high-octane Indian Premier League to the African nation following a security stand-off with the government as the original schedule clashed with the Lok Sabha elections. This will give sports buffs from the southern tip of Cape Point to the diamond mines in Kimberly, a first-hand glimpse of the adrenaline pumping action.

More importantly the 59-match event will act as perfect preparation as the country gets set to host the quadrennial showcase of the world’s most popular sport — the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Speaking to this paper, an official spokesperson for the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee said the 36-day T20 tournament would not only be boon in terms of organising a major event, but would also dispel naysayers who have questioned the country’s ability to successfully stage next year’s World Cup.

"South Africa being chosen to host the IPL will definitely help us as we prepare to host the World Cup. It will also silence sections who have raised eyebrows over our ability to stage the World Cup."

Another point to note is that six of the host cities for the IPL — Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria — are also venues for the 2010 World Cup. The infrastructure in many of the 10 venues for the 2010 World Cup is still under construction or being refurbished. "According to Fifa regulations we need 55,000 hotel rooms. At the moment we have 42,000 rooms. However, everything is on track and the rest of the rooms will be developed before the October deadline," the spokesperson said.

The decision to shift the IPL also means fans in the southern nation will have a sizzling hot winter. The opening match of the IPL on April 18 is preceded by the fifth and final match of the ODI series between Australia and South Africa in Johannesburg a day earlier. Following the IPL finale on May 24, the Fifa Confederations Cup will kick-off from June 14.

"Moving this prestigious tournament, with its considerable financial implications and huge global television audience, to South Africa in such a short space of time is yet another major indication of the confidence the international community has in our country’s ability to stage major international sporting events. With the Fifa Confederations Cup 2009 taking place soon thereafter in June, the South African public are in for a real bonanza of great sporting action," 2010 World Cup OC CEO Danny Jordaan said in an official statement.

Domestic security has been a major concern for South Africa in recent years, with escalating crime, however the OC spokesperson feels that security for tourists and officials will be adequate.

"Crime is there in every country of the world. But, what I can say is that South Africa has hosted many major sporting events as well as world summits and there hasn’t yet been a reported incident. Security is our top-priority and we can safely assure security will not be an issue."