Johannesburg  - Joseph Blatter, president of the world football body FIFA, said Monday he was "very impressed" with progress on Cape Town's 2010 World Cup stadium, which he visited on the second of a four-day visit.

Blatter and FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke visited the stadium site with Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, premier of Western Cape province Lynne Brown and the nation's former president Frederick de Klerk, among others.

The 68,000-seat Green Point stadium, which is framed by Table Mountain, will host a semi-final match and other games. Delays in the start of construction last year had sparked concern it might not be ready on time, but Blatter said Sunday he was confident all ten stadia being built or upgraded would be ready.

The football boss is in South Africa mainly to take the political temperature ahead of next year's general elections, slated for April.

Tensions are running high between the leadership of the ruling African National Congress led by Jacob Zuma and the government led by President Thabo Mbeki. Zuma is the ANC's candidate to replace Mbeki as president after the election but some of his supporters want Mbeki to step aside before then.

On Sunday, Blatter sought to ease concerns about South Africa's ability to host a successful World Cup, saying after a meeting with Mbeki in Pretoria that organizers had his "100-per-cent" confidence.

Addressing the sceptics, Blatter said: "They have to admit the stadia will be ready, people will be well received and so on."

What was needed, instead, was a little more enthusiasm in South Africa, he said: "For the whole country to say ... yes, let's go, let's do it."

On Tuesday, Blatter continues his tour in Johannesburg, where he will meet with former president Nelson Mandela, who was instrumental in getting the tournament to South Africa - the first African country to host it.

He will also visit the 94,000-seat Soccer City stadium in Soweto outside Johannesburg that will host the opening and closing matches. (dpa)