The final six places for the 2010 football spectacular were decided last night with matches in Europe, Africa and South America. Greece, Slovenia, Portugal, France, Uruguay and Algeria all secured their ticket to South Africa next year.

Today marked 203 days to go before kick-off and the South African Organising Committee rolled out the red carpet for the ambassadors and embassy representatives of the qualified countries. The flag raising ceremony served as a way to welcome the 32 countries that have qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The Organising Committee has now set the ball rolling in terms of marketing and creating a 2010 FIFA World Cup buzz. With three-quarters of the World Cup preparations done, it's now time for the final touches and focusing on building momentum.

The flag raising ceremony silenced many doubting Thomases and confirmed the fact that there is no plan B or C. The planning of the tournament that will be a first for Africa has been scrutinized since the day it was announced that South Africa will be hosts.

Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Irvin Khoza says the committee as well as the country has reached another milestone. Key players in sports - from former Bafana Bafana players to coaches and from government to ambassadors converged on Safa House this morning. The welcoming of the 32 countries proved once again how sport can bring people from all walks of life together. The flag raising ceremony highlighted South Africa's capabilities as hosts of this prestigious tournament.

Delighted Algeria book SA ticket

The Organising Committee had been waiting for the final qualifiers to start dressing the host cities accordingly and go full out on marketing the event. Uruguay became the last of 32 countries to qualify for the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica. Algeria who won 1-0 was the last African country to qualify in what seemed to be a very tense match against Egypt. Mourad Bencheikh the ambassador of Algeria says he could not have been more pleased when he saw his country book a place in the World Cup.

Five other teams qualified last night taking their rightful positions for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. France, who has 12 FIFA World Cup appearances behind them, secured their place with a very controversial goal that saw them play to a 1-1 draw with Ireland. South African football fans will get the opportunity to watch players like Cristiano Ronaldo ply their trade on home soil after Portugal qualified by beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0. Slovenia was another European team that qualified by beating Russia 1-0. Greece who were part of the 1994 FIFA World Cup but failed to qualify for 1998, 2002 and 2006 defeated Ukraine 1-0.

With the 32 participants now complete, the focus will once again shift back to Bafana Bafana with concerns about the national team's ability to score goals. Many supporters including former Bafana Bafana player Shaun Bartlett believe with the return of Carlos Alberto Parreira as well as Benni McCarthy, the team is heading in the right direction. The World Cup is now a reality. FIFA Fan Fests and public viewing areas still need to be finalised in all the host cities, but 650527 tickets have already been sold with South Africans purchasing half of those. The United States, United Kingdom and Germany are the top 3 countries as far as ticket purchases are concerned. The 32 qualified teams will be drawn into their groups on December 4 in Cape Town.