For months, the elephant in the living room has been USA '10 — the possibility that South Africa won't be able to organize the 2010 World Cup and that the tournament will then be moved to a country like the United States that is capable of organizing the event on short notice.

The general consensus about South Africa '10 was that it had, or would have, the stadiums but everything else — transportation, infrastructure, organization — was a mess.

''Crime is a challenge,'' FIFA secretary general Urs Linsi acknowledged at a news conference on Tuesday. ''Transport is also a challenge. The existing transport system is over-stressed.''

The growing concerns, however, are the costs of the stadium work and the lack of progress in getting the stadium projects underway. The South African government has had to allocate 8.3 billion rand ($1.06 billion) for stadium construction costs — more than three times the 2.3 billion rand estimate made in 2004 when the country was awarded the tournament. South Africa is building four new stadiums and rebuilding another stadium. Five stadiums need renovations.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has gone as far as to say he plans to travel to South Africa to ''fire up the organizing committee.''

''For the moment they have plans, money and decisions,'' he added, ''but I have yet to see the pickaxes and spades needed to start the work.''

Irvin Khoza, chairman of the South Africa 2010 organizing committee, says work on the new stadiums must begin in January 2007.

The United States, Australia and Germany have been mentioned as possible replacement hosts. On Tuesday, Franz Beckenbauer, president of Germany 2006 organizing committee, apologized for recent comments critical of South Africa, which he said was ''beset by big problems.''

    SOUTH AFRICA 2010 STADIUMS

    NEW
    * Green Point Stadium (Cape Town)
    * King Senzangakhona Stadium (Durban)
    * Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Port Elizabeth)
    * Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit)
    RENOVATED
    * Ellis Park Stadium (Johannesburg)
    * Soccer City (Johannesburg)
    * Loftus Versfeld Stadium (Pretoria)
    * Free State Stadium (Bloemfontein)
    * Royal Bafokeng Stadium (Rustenburg)
    REBUILT
    * Peter Mokaba Stadium (Polokwane)