South Africa moves firmly into world football’s spotlight over the next days as the first formal event ahead of the 2010 World Cup takes place in the coastal resort city of Durban.

The preliminary draw for the finals is held in the city on Sunday, the first opportunity for the country to prove its potential as upcoming hosts (we will have live coverage of the draw over at the main soccer site, so check back for the draw as it happens).

The city was chosen because of the gargantuan size of its International Convention Centre, which has previously played hosts to a bevy of international summits, including a Commonwealth Heads of Government event.

Durban is bedecked in the official orange World Cup livery that will surely dominate the South Africa landscape over the next 30 months and there are some 3,000 visitors expected in the city over the next 48 hours.

It presents a decent-sized test for organisers and volunteers, new to the scale of a sports event of the magnitude of the World Cup.

It is also an opportunity to show what the South African Local Organising Committee promise will be a “unique African experience” for visitors.

What exactly they mean is unclear but the draw is far from an absorbing event. An endless succession of country names being drawn from glass bowls on a giant stage is being dressed up with dance and music in what is essentially a made-for-television spectacular.

South Africa’s premier league has shifted its season classic, the Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to Durban on Saturday.

Already the 50,000 tickets for the event are sold out. The atmosphere at the derby is often a sensory-tingling experience but both clubs, who traditionally dominate the local league, have been performing poorly so far this season.

Fans are fickle in Durban, as witnessed by a poor crowd of some 5,000 who bothered to pitch for an international between South Africa and Canada on Tuesday. After a run of poor results, Durbanites were not prepared to pay to watch their national team.

South Africa host two more FIFA events before the 2010 World Cup. Eight teams participate in the 2009 Confederations Cup and there will also be the finals draw in December 2009, the venue for which is still to be confirmed.

PHOTO: FIFA President Sepp Blatter smiles during a news conference in Durban November 23, 2007, ahead of Sunday’s preliminary draw for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings