Angola on track to host African Nations Cup – CAF

July 8, 2009

LUANDA (AFP) – Angola will be ready in time for the 2010 African Nations Cup, the continent’s top footballing boss said on Tuesday, at the end of a six-day visit to the host country.

Issa Hayatou, president of the African Confederation of Football (CAF), told reporters as he was leaving Fourth de Fevereiro Airport in Angola’s Luanda that he was optimistic that everything would be ready.

“Almost everything is done, I believe that in the six months that remain, everything will be ready. We are leaving here with a good impression at all levels,” he said.

Angola is spending an estimated 1billion dollars in preparation for CAN 2010 and is building four new stadiums from scratch in Luanda, Cabinda, Lubango and Benguela, as well as creating training pitches and support sites.

The southern African nation, which spent three decades fighting a bloody civil war that only ended in 2002, is using the competition as a springboard for the country’s much-needed physical and logistical reconstruction where two thirds of people live on less than two dollars a day.

Apart from the stadiums, built by Chinese companies, a large tranche of the investment is in revamping airports to help teams and fans coming into and travelling around the country.

High costs due to a reliance on imported goods and a lack of services, such as 250 dollars for a basic hotel room, are likely to put off many visitors who will be saving their cash for South Africa’s World Cup later in the year.

And obtaining visas for the Portuguese-speaking country can also be a long and complicated process and there are regular raids by immigration police arresting people without the correct paperwork.

However, sports minister Goncalves Muandumba who met Hayatou this week, gave a public assurance there would be no problems in getting visas for January.

“We just need for people and groups to get organised and co-operate,” he said.

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To fill Confed stadiums, tickets are given away

June 26, 2009

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – The Confederations Cup has drawn near-record South African TV viewers and packed stadiums at the most popular games, but gaps in the stands has prompted organisers to give away thousands of tickets.

The tournament kicked off amid concerns about slow tickets sales, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticising the local organisers for failing to fill the stands for the opening match on June 14.

Sales were especially soft for matches played by teams not well known to local fans, with some unfolding before half empty stands — most noticeable in the Spain-New Zealand game in Rustenburg, just two hours from Johannesburg.

The solution: give away the extra tickets.

Private companies and government agencies have purchased bulk batches to give away thousands of tickets.

Tickets had been specially priced to encourage locals to attend. At Wednesday’s semi-final when the United States bested Spain 2-0, the cheapest seats were 140 rands (17 dollars).

But in a country where 43 percent of the population live on less than two dollars a day, even that price is steep.

Moses Ntsizi, a janitor who earns 1,300 rands a month, lucked out by receiving a free ticket from his employer to see Wednesday’s match in Bloemfontein.

“My dream has come true. I can see Spain playing,” he said during the match. “I can see their method. They do not panic when they have the ball.”

Ntsizi says he regularly watches the Bloemfontein Celtics, but those tickets cost only 20 rands.

Others in the crowd said they received free tickets from the city government, but many have turned to TV parks where big screens have been set up to allow the public to watch the games for free.

“I did not have the money to go to the stadium. But I enjoy the big screen,” said 18-year-old orphan Diteboho Lefeta, who despite the cold weather came to a tent set up by the city to watch the game with others from his orphanage.

FIFA’s ticketing system drew criticism ahead of the June 14-28 tournament for focusing on online sales in a country where Internet access remains a luxury.

Tickets could also be bought from a bank, but getting to the branches also posed a problem due to the lack of public transportation.

The policy was later relaxed and ticketing kiosks were rolled out in the four host cities.

Organisers say they are happy overall, and television audiences for games that South Africa played in were near record size, according to FIFA.

The Bafana Bafana match against New Zealand on June 17 attracted over six million viewers, not counting fans at the TV parks or other public spaces, according to FIFA.

That’s lower than the 10 to 12 million Germans who watched their team play on TV when they hosted the last Confed Cup. But officials point out that Germany’s population is larger and almost every home has a television. Not all South Africans even have electricity.

“The figures compare well considering difference in population,” FIFA television broadcast director, Niklas Ericson told reporters.

Rich Mkhondo, spokesman for the organising committee, said South Africa had done its best to publicise the games and make them accessible to the public.

“The organisation of the tournament cannot be judged by a couple of games which did not attract maximum crowds. Attendance has been very impressive at most of the games,” said Mkhondo.

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FIFA working to fill Confed Cup stadiums

June 16, 2009

OHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – South Africa’s football organisers are being put under pressure to generate more public enthusiasm for the Confederations Cup tournament, a spokesman for FIFA said here on Tuesday.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday criticised organisers of the Confed Cup for not doing enough to fill stadiums.

His comments came after the second match of the tournament of continental champions, featuring the world’s number one team Spain against New Zealand, which was played in front of a half-empty stadium in Rustenburg.

“We are really focused on working with our colleagues in the LOC (local organising committee) to invite people to go out and buy tickets and follow this tournament, which is a major competition in the footballing calendar,” FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot told AFP.

“For the first time in the history of the Confederations Cup, you have three teams participating which are in the top five of the FIFA rankings (Brazil, Italy and Spain): we can only urge people to go and buy tickets and support this tournament,” he added.

However, Maingot refused to confirm reports that free tickets might be distributed to fill the grounds. “Concrete measures will not be communicated at this stage,” he said.

Blatter held a meeting with organisers Monday to address the issue. FIFA had previously said it was confident it would witness sell-out stadiums at an event that is the traditional dress rehearsal for the World Cup.

There has been criticism of the lack of advertising of the Confederations Cup within the country, as well as dissatisfaction with the ticketing policy which is not suited to the pockets of South African soccer fans. The average match ticket costs 70 Rand (six euros, nine dollars) in a country where 43 percent of the population lives on two dollars a day.