Three million tickets. 64 matches. 32 teams. Approximately 450 000 international visitors. A global television audience of more than 26 billion viewers cumulatively. And billions of rands spent on improving South Africa for the long term beyond the World Cup. This is the spectacle that will greet the world on 11 June 2010 – more than six years after South Africa was chosen as hosts, bringing the largest sporting event in the world to the African continent for the first time.

On Tuesday, 2 March, the Fifa World Cup 2010 will be just 100 days away.

The national and global highlight of the 2 March festivities countrywide will be a widely publicised event in Durban where government, the OC and FIFA will jointly start the 100 Day Countdown.  The extravagant celebration will include a special gala banquet and a football match at Durban's new Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The mayor of Durban, Obed Mlaba, who was elated by the choice of his city, said it was a tremendous honour to host the 100-day countdown and Durban would be pulling out all the stops.

Moses Mabhida Stadium will be hosting seven games, including the semi-finals, in the most pleasant weather of all the venues during that time in South Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal will be host to five countries: Greece, which will be based in Durban; Nigeria in Ballito, Algeria have chosen San Lameer on the South Coast, Cameroon will train in Umhlanga and Paraguay will train in the Midlands.