In the build-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, there was considerable debate about the extent to which the country was ready to host arguably the world's largest sporting event. Numerous stakeholders, particularly the international media, made little secret of their opinion that the country was ill-prepared in critical aspects to host the tournament. FIFA and local authorities repeatedly countered these concerns, insisting that South Africa was ready.

For those who watched the extravagant opening ceremony on 11 June from the comfort of pubs and living rooms around the world, concerns about readiness must have seemed grossly exaggerated as the opening match appeared to proceed flawlessly. Ostensibly, this trend has continued through all of the first round matches played thus far.

Behind the scenes, however, serious questions have emerged about South Africa's readiness. At the time of preparing this article – some five days and fifteen matches into the tournament – a number of key concerns have emerged which, although they may currently appear to be little more than minor irritations, could still pose significant risks to World Cup safety and security.

Foremost among these problems is the level of security at the stadiums themselves. Pasco witnessed first hand at the opening event at Johannesburg's Soccer City how some spectators managed to access the stadium precinct without presenting a valid ticket or accreditation. Of even greater concern to us was witnessing how some stadium security personnel simply ignored the shrill beeps of metal detectors as spectators rushed to enter the stadium in time for kick-off. Delayed kick-offs may be politically and commercially unpalatable, but the consequences of collapsing essential security measures under pressure could be infinitely less digestible. The fact that South African Police Services personnel had to be drafted in at the 11th hour to provide security at Cape Town's Green Point stadium reinforces concerns that the tournament could still be exposed to significant security risks.

Crowd behaviour has emerged as a disappointing and potentially high-risk issue. Thankfully, stampedes at a practice match and at fan parks in Cape Town and Johannesburg did not cost lives but there have been several injuries among fans. Reports of drunken brawls and assaults at fan parks similarly raise concern about the safety of visitors and raise doubts about whether South Africa has sufficient police resources to manage the multiple demands imposed by the World Cup.

We always anticipated that the transport infrastructure in Johannesburg and Cape Town would take strain on important match-days, but having assumed that the lessons of the 2009 Confederations Cup tournament and several 'dry-runs' ahead of the World Cup had been learned, we have been somewhat surprised by the level of chaos on roads in the key host cities. Heavy congestion is one thing; complete gridlock that forces motorists to abandon their vehicles on key routes is chaos that could carry with it serious risks to safety and security. While in fairness to local authorities repeated appeals for spectators to make use of remote 'park-and-ride' facilities appear to have fallen largely on deaf ears, it must also be recognized that serious failures in the park-and-ride system – not least of which is the wildcat strike by Johannesburg bus drivers that left thousands of spectators stranded at Soccer City – have done little to inspire the confidence of fans.

To ensure a balanced appraisal of the tournament thus far it must be said that there are also a number of positives that have emerged. If local and international media reports are to be believed, the vast majority of visitors have been impressed with the hospitality of South Africans and appear to be having a good (and safe) time. The much maligned Gautrain project, which critics insisted would be a white elephant, has exceeded all expectations in terms of service levels and commuter demand. National electricity supplier Eskom may not have kept to its promise of an outage-free World Cup, but power disruptions have been reasonably rare.

In the final analysis, the question of whether South Africa was ready or not is, at this stage of the tournament, probably a subjective opinion. For optimists, the glass is currently half-full and is likely to be topped up. For pessimists, it is half-empty and what is left could still spill out. As professional risk and security managers, we remain concerned about flaws that have appeared in mission-critical components and the final outcome of the World Cup, in terms of safety and security, may rest on the extent to which those flaws are rapidly remedied by the relevant authorities.