The five stadiums specifically built in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup

There may be no greater test of the logistics at South Africa 2010 than those on match day at the airport in Polokwane. It is an example of how the country has benefited from the World Cup: the main building has been rebuilt, which would not have happened otherwise, but the new building is not remotely large enough to cater for World Cup traffic.

Polokwane, formerly known as Pietersburg, is the capital of Limpopo province, a stop-off 230 miles north of Johannesburg. The hope is that the World Cup will advertise the city as the gateway to Kruger Park. At present, the airport's daily traffic involves the arrival and departure of four 30-seat planes. Because airport traffic is counted only one way, Polokwane airport is used at most, therefore, by 120 people. The daily average is 100.

During the World Cup, however, this could increase a hundred-fold. At its peak, on match days, in Polokwane a procession of 20 Boeing 737s will come and go. At a minimum, 7,500 people will disembark every day; at most it will be 12,500.

The airport authorities have also been informed that, on arrival, they are expected to shift their punters from plane to bus in ten minutes. “You can plan for it, but how do you deal with it?” Sipho Mthombeni, the airport chief executive, said. “It will be a big challenge. Sometimes I lose sleep about it.” The ten-minute transfer? “I don't think it is possible,” he said.

He is charged with training 50 temporary staff and using a neighbouring plane hangar as a make-do arrivals lounge. “We have never experienced anything like this,” he said. “It is probable that it will not go as smoothly as we would like.”