FIFA President Sepp Blatter, left, and South African President Thabo Mbeki, right, are seen at a press briefing in Pretoria, South Africa, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter claims he danced for joy after arriving in South Africa to check on preparations for the 2010 World Cup.

Yet, beneath the public posturing lie very real concerns about stadium construction delays, rising costs, rampant crime and lack of transportation.

Blatter was visiting Cape Town’s Green Point stadium Monday on the first full day of his four-day visit, which will also include tours of Soccer City in Johannesburg, the site of the opening and final match.

He is also set to meet South Africa’s likely next President, Jacob Zuma, and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, whose lobbying helped bring the tournament to South Africa.

"South Africa is on track," FIFA general-secretary Jerome Valcke told a local radio station Monday. "But it’s sure there is no way that South Africa can lose a single day in preparation for the (2009) Confederations Cup and the World Cup because we are already on a tight schedule."

FIFA’s decision to stage the World Cup in Africa for the first time was always guaranteed to be a gamble. And the speculation refuses to die that FIFA has a secret plan to move the tournament if organizational problems become insurmountable.