Organising a FIFA World Cup™ is a mammoth task that involves many different facets. On top of the more obvious and tangible elements of the building and upgrading of stadiums and other infrastructure, there are aspects to consider such as ensuring the smooth co-ordination of the match schedule, transport, security, protocol, ticketing and much more.
For three years, the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Organising Committee South Africa (OC) has been laying the groundwork for a successful tournament and is confident that, thanks to the efforts of national experts in their respective fields, all the elements are coming together.
As the OC's Chief Executive Officer, Dr Danny Jordaan has the executive responsibility for the entire operation and for ensuring that progress remains on course and on schedule.
He is ably supported in senior management by the OC's Chief Officers. These are:
- Chief Competitions Officer Derek Blanckensee
- Chief Security Officer Linda Mti
- Chief Financial Officer Farouk Seedat
- Chief Communications Officer Richard Mkhondo
- Chief Operations Officer Nomfanelo Magwentshu
- Chief IT & T Officer Phumlani Moholi
- Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Derek Carstens
- Chief Transport and Logistics Officer Skhumbuzo Macozoma
Of course, all the years of meticulous planning and organisation ultimately boil down to the successful staging of 64 FIFA World Cup™ matches in 2010.
Meet the team
Dr Irvin Khoza: Chairman
Dr Irvin Khoza was the chairman of South Africa's 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup Bid Committee and is currently the Chairman of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committees Board of Directors. He is also Chairman of the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Vice-President of the South African Football Association (SAFA) and Chairman and Managing Director of South Africa's oldest football club, Orlando Pirates.
Born in Alexandra in 1948, Dr Khoza has been involved in football administration since he became secretary of the Alexandra Football Association when he was just 14.
He began his education at the Roma Mission School in Alexandra before attending Orlando High School in Soweto. He is a former student of Fort Hare University, but was expelled due to his anti-apartheid activities before he completed his studies. Dr Khoza was first appointed as secretary of Orlando Pirates in 1980.
Dr Danny Jordaan: CEO
Dr Danny Jordaan is a man with a variety of interests. He has been a Senior Lecturer at a tertiary level, politician, sportsman, sports administrator, businessman and a political activist in the struggle against apartheid. He was also an avid sportsperson participating in various sports, including soccer, cricket and hockey.
Dr Jordaan studied at the University of Western Cape (UWC) in Cape Town, and the University of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria, completing a Bachelor of Arts degree, Diploma in Higher Education and an Honours Degree.
Playing provincial cricket and football during the 1970's and 1980's, Dr Jordaan eventually combined his passion for sports with his political career, working tirelessly to break down racial barriers in South African sport.
From 1983 to 1991 Jordaan served as either president or vice-president on various football boards, including his appointment as Vice President of SAFA in 1991, a position he held until becoming the Chief Executive Officer in 1997.
In 1998 Dr Jordaan was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Bid Company, a campaign which ultimately proved unsuccessful. He then returned to his position as SAFA CEO for a brief period until taking up the reigns as the CEO of the successful 2010 FIFA World Cup Bid Company.
In 2005 Dr Jordaan was appointed as the CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee Board after South Africa was granted the 2010 FIFA World Cup on May 15th 2004.
Linda Mti: Chief Security Officer
Linda Mti, a married father and keen golfer has a Masters in Public and Development Management from the University of the Witwatersrand (2001) as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Zimbabwe (1989). He was appointed Chief Security Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee in December 2007. Mti's professional profile, after return from exile in 1990 includes being a member of the National Assembly from 1994 to 1996 as well as a Commissioner for the Department of Correctional Services from 2001 to 2007, before taking up his position at the Organising Committee.
Derek Blanckensee: Chief Competitions Officer
Chief Competitions Officer, Derek Blanckensee, the former Bidvest Wits University Football Club Chief Executive Officer, is the man tasked with ensuring that the all-important match schedule runs smoothly. As part of the team that organised the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and with nine years under his belt at the helm of Wits FC, Blanckensee is more than prepared for the task ahead. In its founding years Blanckensee also served as a member on SAFA's National Executive Committee.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Wits University at which institution he lectured in the School of Construction Economics and Management for many years.
Derek Carstens: Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer
Derek Carstens, First National Bank's Brand Director, was seconded to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee in September 2008, having previously been on the organisations Remuneration Committee.
He has vast experience in advertising and marketing spanning 20 years, having pioneered and executed a range of successful marketing campaigns - predominantly with Ogilvy & Mather in South Africa, London, Sydney and Chicago. He was also intimately involved with South Africa's bids for the right to host the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Under Carstens' guidance FNB - one of the 2010 FIFA World Cup commercial affiliates - launched the "Proudly Helping South Africa Shine" campaign, with initiatives such as the 16 000 ticket promotion, which gave FNB customers the opportunity to win FIFA World Cup tickets, the Artificial Pitches for 2010 programme, which has already seen pitches installed in Pietermaritzburg and Umtata, FNB's Airport Countdown Clocks and the Countdown 2010 Television Show on SABC 1 to name just a few.
Richard Mkhondo: Chief Communications Officer
Rich Mkhondo's job is to lead and direct the strategic vision of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee Communications and Media Operations department for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa in partnership with FIFA.
A marketing communications, corporate affairs, public relations practitioner and writer of international repute, Mkhondo is a well-rounded communicator with excellent writing and oral communication skills, strong and proven newspaper, broadcasting, news agency, management and editing experience.
Mkhondo was previously Managing Director of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide/South Africa, Deputy General Manager for marketing services at Discovery, South Africa's largest life and health insurance giant; Executive Manager for Corporate Communications at South African Airways (SAA)
A graduate of Rhodes University Journalism School, Mkhondo started his journalism career at the now defunct Rand Daily Mail, and then moved to The Star before joining Reuters News Agency, the world's largest news and information agency. He rejoined Independent Newspapers, owners of The Star, as correspondent in Washington DC, where he covered North America for the company's 13 newspapers spread across South Africa's nine provinces.
Nomfanelo Magwentshu: Chief Operations Officer
Nomfanelo Magwentshu was appointed Chief Operations Officer in October 2007. She joined the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee from SAA where she held various executive positions, including long-term planning and corporate strategy, alliances, aero-political affairs, network planning as well as revenue management and pricing. Her last assignment at SAA was the Chief Restructuring Executive. Prior to that, she worked for the Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank's Corporate Banking Division as an account executive, as Director in the DG's office in the Department of Public Enterprises and as Business Planning Manager at Metrorail. She has a MBA from GIBS, a BSC Hons (Statistics) from the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg and a BSc (Mathematics and Statistics) from former University of Transkei (Eastern Cape) which is now the Walter Sisulu University.
Skhumbuzo Macozoma: Chief Transport and Logistics Officer
Skhumbuzo Macozoma was appointed Chief Officer: Transport and Logistics in July 2008. He joined the Organising Committee in June 2007 as Transport Manager. Prior to joining the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee he was Chief Director: Infrastructure at the National Department of Transport, having joined in 2003. He also served as Project Manager and Research Engineer at the CSIR Building and Construction Technology Division from 1993 -2002. He completed his BSc Civil Engineering and MSC Civil Engineering at Wits University in 1997 and 2007 respectively. He spent some time at the University of Florida in the US on a fellowship conducting research on Sustainable Construction in 2001. Mr Macozoma is also a non-executive director of the South African National Roads Agency Limited.
Phumlani Moholi: Chief IT & T Officer
Chief IT&T Officer Phumlani Moholi, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the IT and Telecommunications infrastructure for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee, has an extensive career that has prepared him well for the job at hand. Moholi was previously with MTN South Africa where he held the position of Chief Technology Officer, a role that put him in charge of the design, rollout and operation of the cellular network.
Farouk Seedat: Chief Financial Officer
Farouk Seedat was appointed Chief Financial Officer in September 2006. He joined the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee from the professional services firm, Deloitte & Touche, where he served as a partner of ten years. South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) were among the many clients he served. He is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), and holds a Bachelor Commerce (Accounting) from University of Durban Westville, a B Compt Honours degree from University of South Africa and is a Chartered Accountant.
