With the 2009/10 season almost over (bar a play-off or two) most of the footballing world have started to turn their eyes towards South Africa as they anticipate the start of the world’s biggest knock-out tournament. So much has changed in South Africa since it was announced that the continent would get its first international football spectacular, it’d be hard to get an idea of just how much the place has been transformed by the news. Luckily, we’ve got people on the ground over there, in the shape of Umbro South Africa, who are based in Cape Town. They’ve been experiencing everything first hand, and now they’re going to give us an insight into how the excitement is building up over in Cape Town, which will host England‘s game against Algeria plus a quarter and semi-final. Here’s Claire Conroy, a member of Umbro’s South African team, to give us the lowdown on the construction of a footballing city…

“Drills, jackhammers, the sound of trucks reversing (that incessant “beep-beep”) and builders yelling at each other has been Cape Town’s ever-present soundtrack for the past few months. Starting at the unusually early hour (for this laid back city) of oh-seven-hundred, construction workers have been putting on their hard hats and reflector vests to lay the foundations for Africa’s first hosting of the FIFA World Cup.

With South Africa’s high unemployment rate there is a real sense of pride and a tangible (and audible) cheer around the construction sites. Great to see. And hear.

Initially, Capetonians and tourists alike could not walk a few hundred metres without coming across some sort of obstacle or road closure…

…but as June 11th approaches these frustrations are being replaced with freshly planted shrubs on the fan miles and directional signage on the roads and footpaths – leaving no doubt as to which way the stadium might be.

There have also been developments to the advantage of those city-dwellers traversing on foot, such as this pedestrian walk-way over the busy Buitengracht Street which will streamline traffic on the fan mile to and from Cape Town train station to the Greenpoint stadium. There’s also the Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) System that has been built in Cape Town (and Johannesburg) using a “high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast, comfortable and cost-effective urban mobility with segregated right-of-way infrastructure and frequent operations”. Sounds efficient.

Then of course there are also the numerous amounts of street poles that have received a waft of colour (and branding) too. And some businesses in the city seem to have gone flag crazy – not just the international hotels that usually boast and hoist the nations. These little bars and car salesmen seem to want to advertise the fact that they, too are aware of and supporting this mammoth event.

And then, there are the cars pledging their allegiance…”

We’ll have more from our South African colleagues as we closer to kick off, plus a whole lot more on this summer’s big football action. Keep your eyes here on the blog and over on Umbro.com for details…