World Cup stadiums get FIFA approval – officials

World Cup organisers said on Friday that South Africa’s stadiums have passed FIFA’s final inspection, 76 days before the opening match of the world football championship.

“The final tour is now complete and we can say with confidence that we have delivered on our promise of 10 world-class stadiums,” World Cup organising committee CEO Danny Jordaan said in a statement.

South Africa built five new stadiums and renovated five existing ones ahead of the June 11-July 11 tournament, spending more than 1.3 billion dollars (one billion euros).

The stadium projects were plagued by early worker strikes and budgets that soared beyond initial projections as the rand took a hit on the foreign exchange market.

But Jordaan said the stadiums are now nearly ready.

“The only remaining issues are questions such as parking for team buses, finalising security arrangements and posting signs to direct fans,” he said.

“What we are looking at now is just the final detail.”