Confederations Cup 2009

Pretoria-Loftus Versfeld
Loftus Versfeld was the first stadium to open for play on Saturday, 7 February. The South African Premier Soccer League team Kaizer Chiefs lost 1-2 to Moroka Swallows. Loftus Versfeld is one of the Confederations Cup venues and will host the USA matches on 15 and 18 June. The stadium was built in 1906. For the World Cup a new roof has been installed over one stand and capacity has been increased by 5,000 to 50,000.

I'm a little behind the times on this, but it seems that tickets for the Confederations Cup have been on sale since November. I went through and priced out the cheapest seats for the USA matches and they're only $30 each. Unfortunately, I'm still not certain I can make the trip. It seems I have until June to figure it out.

A FIFA inspection team tells us that 2010 stadiums are on track.

The CONCACAF fourth round of qualifying, otherwise known as the hexagonal or "hex", will start on February 11, 2009. I've got the full schedule below. The USA will be participating in the FIFA Confederations Cup between June 14-28, so they've been permitted to schedule their June hexagonal dates earlier than the June 6 and 10 dates reserved by FIFA.

CONCACAF hexagonal dates for USA:
February 11
March 28
April 1
June 3-7 (two dates)
August 12
September 5