SAfrica ready to welcome England football fans

September 18, 2009

A World Cup 2010 draw that places England’s team on the pitch at Loftus Versfeld stadium will get top marks from Pretoria restaurant and bar manager Andre Malan.

“That’s would be our first prize — I think everyone says they would definitely want them at their stadium. They’ve got the largest following of supporters,” the manager of the sport haunt Eastwoods Tavern told AFP.

Malan speaks from experience. His establishment, a stone’s throw from Loftus, fed and watered 6,000 rugby fans on match day when the touring British and Irish Lions tour took on the Springboks in June.

“It’s important to have teams like England and Holland to be part of this spectacular because they’ve the largest following of football supporters in the world. You want the big teams playing,” he said.

England’s walloping of Croatia 5-1 — putting Fabio Capello’s team in the running to relive a sole 1966 championship glory at Africa’s first World Cup — saw immediate media reports of a rush for flights to South Africa.

Failure to qualify would have been a dent to the event, said Mark Williams, South African tourism director for the United Kingdom and United States, whose fans have snapped the most match tickets after local sales.

“When the Lions tour came to South Africa, there were close to 40,000 Brits or English that came out to South Africa and spent a billion rand (135 million dollars, 92 million euros),” he told AFP.

“So from a football perspective, hopefully it will be a bit more and hopefully they will spend a bit more.”

The World Cup is expected to boost the South African economy by 55.7 billion rands, generate 415,400 jobs and draw 19.3 billion rand into the government’s tax coffers, research house Grant Thornton predicts.

And more than 480,000 football tourists are tipped to spend R8.5 billion during the month-long championship in June.

The recession is unlikely to stop fans from making the long-haul flight, Williams said. “I don’t think it will have too much of an impact. The World Cup comes along once in four years and people will follow.”

The English players will also arrive to an adoring audience. The English Premiership is the most-televised foreign league in South Africa with fans lapping up regular visits by top teams, such as Manchester City this year.

“Probably, they will bring more supporters than any other country from abroad. We want them there because they bring the fans,” said former England goalkeeper Gary Bailey.

“Also, a lot of South Africans follow English football and enjoy the English footballers. It has an aura about it. It has just become over a period of time, the most exciting football to watch.”

While England’s fans have a reputation for unruliness, FIFA’s local organising committee has warned that well-known hooligans will be barred with the help of Interpol.

Rowdy fans have also been cautioned. South Africa will have 41,000 police officers dedicated to the 10 World Cup host cities with 700 officers stationed at each stadium.

“We are ready for them — anybody who misbehaves will be locked up,” said spokesman Rich Mkhondo.

Some 80,000 English fans travelled to Germany for the 2006 World Cup, but Mkhondo hopes for more, saying there is enough accommodation available.

“England is a powerhouse. The fact that they are coming makes the World Cup even more attractive,” he said about the team. “We’re looking forward to welcoming them.”

For Malan at his Pretoria pub, which enjoyed brisk Confederations Cup trade in June, the World Cup will be a huge event no matter how the draw places teams. But he hopes that England will play on his doorstep.

“It’s a fantastic atmosphere. These guys when they come out, they come in large numbers,” he told AFP. “Obviously beer is high on the priority list for them. They eat a lot and drink a lot.”

JOHANNESBURG (AFP)

Tags: brits, coffers, fabio capello, football supporters, Grant Thornton, irish lions, lions tour, local sales, malan, match day, million dollars, recession, rugby fans, south african economy, south african tourism, springboks, tourism director, world cup 2010

SAfrica´s WC2010 readiness praised, challenges remain

June 30, 2009

PRETORIA (AFP) – South Africa’s 2010 readiness got a thumbs up on Monday after a successful Confederations Cup, with organisers confident that hitches will be ironed out ahead of the continent’s first World Cup.

Security passed with no major incident, a critical concern with crime levels in South Africa among the world’s worst, while the football curtainraiser was also praised for unifying South Africans 15 years after democracy.

“The rehearsal, as this tournament has become known, has been very satisfactory. We are happy with the level of commitment shown by the organising committee and the government,” FIFA boss Sepp Blatter told journalists.

The world football body gave organisers a 7.5 out of ten for the Confeds Cup, saying it hoped the score will rise to 10 by next year for the world’s football extravaganza.

Blatter identified transport – hit by reports of bottlenecks at public park-and-ride facilities – and accommodation as areas that needed improvement before 450,000 fans descend on the country.

“One item in question beforehand was security but the organising committee headed by Danny Jordaan have done a very good job – the hospitality and reception by the (local) population has been really remarkable,” said Blatter.

“So I am satisfied with the way the competition went but there are still challenges which will have to be dealt with in terms of transport and accommodation.”

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valke said problems will be discussed at a debriefing on Tuesday.

“There aren’t any problems that won’t be resolved before the draw in December” he added.

Valke expressed confidence in the country’s ability to provide security for the World Cup, saying “South Africa has exceeded expectations during the Confederations tournament”.

Despite a widely-reported theft at the hotel of the Egytian team, police logged 39 criminal cases that consisted mainly incidents of petty theft reported around the stadium vicinity and at two hotels hosting delegations.

During the World Cup, the number of police will be increased to 30,000, according to the organising committee.

Deputy police chief, Andre Pruis said the event’s joint security team was “satisfied that years of planning and preparations resulted in a tournament during which no major security breach occured”.

“We will build on lessons learned and expand on best practices to assist FIFA and the LOC in presenting the best World Cup ever in 2010,” said Pruis.

The World Cup will be played for the first time on African soil with benefits expected to spill over into neighbouring countries.

The event is expected to rack up billions for South Africa, with researchers on Saturday saying that the global crunch was unlikely to affect a 55.7 billion rand (7.1 billion dollars) boost for Africa’s largest economy.

Consulting firm Grant Thornton estimates that 483,257 foreign tourists – including fans, teams, and media – will spend 8.5 billion rand during the month-long tournament to be played in nine host cities.

The Confederations Cup was also lauded for filling stands with fans of different races, with football traditionally supported by black South Africans.

“The tournament drew the most diverse spectators this country has ever seen, that is a huge achievement for us as a nation,” said local organising committee chief Danny Jordaan.

Amid gushing praise, South Africa’s press cautioned that the country had a year to iron out challenges.

“But even the most cynical among the foreign visitors have slowly come to accept that SA will host a world-class Soccer World Cup next year after successfully staging the Confederations Cup.”