体坛英语新闻：S. Africa postpones decision to name host cities for AFCON

CAPE TOWN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The South African Football Association (SAFA) announced on Thursday that the government has postponed the decision to name host cities for the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

This was the second time the government had stalled on the decision, SAFA said in a statement.

The government was initially due to name the host cities for the games at the end of March, but postponed the decision to Friday. The second postponement sets May 3 for the new deadline.

Several cities, including Cape Town and Johannesburg, have complained about the high cost for hosting the games, slowing the preparation process, according to SAFA.

At the centre of the stalling by cities is the fact that government should give guidance on such matters and that the draft Host City Agreement (HCA) was too open-ended, exposing the cities to costs that could easily escalate to about 80 million rand (about 10 million U.S. dollars) per city.

Cape Town missed the deadline for the signing of HCA last Friday, saying the costs were too high and uncertain as the estimated 27 million rand (about 3.4 billion U.S. dollars) could balloon to 40 million rand (about five billion dollars).

Sports Minister Fikele Mbalula earlier complained about the chaotic preparations, pledging to sort out the problem with the Provincial Sports MECs (members of executive council) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC).