Is there still a degree of obscurity regarding the country’s readiness to host the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup?

When a survey was done on the possible economic benefits of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, the vital statistics were very impressive. In all, 487 000 foreign visitors were expected, with a possible economic boost for South Africa of R55 billion, and 415 000 additional jobs created.

But the benefits are not difficult to imagine with such a colourful history and tradition and with superstars striding onto the hallowed turf of First City, Loftus Versfeld and the Green Point Stadium.

Stars such as Pelé, Eusébio, Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona contributed to the massive international appeal of Soccer World Cups over many decades.

The Fifa Confederations Cup is a more challenging PR campaign for marketers who try to lure spectators.

The Confederations Cup to be held in South Africa from 14 to 28 June would be the eighth such tournament, and would be a dress rehearsal for the World Cup in 2010.

The problem with the Confederations Cup is that it comes from such humble beginnings. The tournament was originally organised and held in Saudi Arabia and called the King Fahd Cup. It was taken over by Fifa in 2005.

At the time of writing, only 320 000 of the 640 000 allocated tickets for the Confederations Cup had been sold. “Although we cannot predict the sales for the tournament, we are confident that as the hype around the Fifa Confederations Cup grows, more and more South Africans will get tickets,” says Rich Mkhondo, chief communications officer for the 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC).

“It is important that South Africans purchase tickets for the tournament, as it may be their one chance to witness such world-class international teams in action as there is a huge demand already for the 2010 World Cup and they may not be able to get tickets.”

He says the tournament will be a litmus test for the 2010 World Cup and it is an event that is fast gaining popularity in itself.

“The Fifa Confederations Cup is an event mainly for the local fans. We do not expect a huge international turnout for the event, as at present Fifa has reported that 95% of tickets sales have been locally [purchased].

“Although we have no concrete figures [on what economic impact the Confederations Cup will have on South Africa], we definitely envisage a boost from the tournament as both the teams and the fans will definitely spend money both during and around the matches.

“It is also important to realise that the Fifa Confederations Cup is an appetiser for 2010 and any impact it has on promoting the World Cup will contribute greatly to the South African economy,” says Mkhondo.

The Confederations Cup will attract an estimated television audience of 9 billion people from 140 countries.

But it does not come cheap. According to Fifa’s account, it spent $24.5 million on the tournament in Germany before the 2006 Soccer World Cup. The 2006 Confederations Cup attracted 600 000 people and had an average attendance of 37 000.

The World Cup is a different proposition. With an expected global television audience of 35 to 40 billion ‘cumulative viewers’, around 487 000 foreign visitors and a 19 000-strong media contingent, the World Cup presents South Africa with a marketing opportunity second to none.

But Gillian Saunders, a representative of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, explained that the Confederations Cup would have less of a following, except among the more well-
off teams. “If you’re a Brazilian fan, you’d rather spend the money to come to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup than to travel here for the Confederations Cup, she told Financial Mail.

“We expect a small group of visitors from overseas,” she told BBQ.

Generally, foreign visitors for soccer events such as these would be spending about R13 000 during their stay of between 10 and 12 days, and may invest about R18 000 in a travel-and-stay package before they left their home country, she said.

The marketing by the host cities for the Confederations Cup – Bloemfontein, Gauteng, Pretoria and Rustenburg – would be vital to ensure visibility and lure visitors to local tourism packages.

“Up until now, comparing the fantastic PR campaign for the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the marketing done for the Confederations Cup has been chalk and cheese,” said Saunders. “It seems as if the LOC does not have a huge marketing programme for the Confederations Cup”.

Mkhondo says the committee has jacked up its marketing campaign in April: “We have seen a significant impact from increased marketing.

“The ticket sales alone are evidence of this, jumping from around 170 000 to 320 000 in a short space of time. People are now far more aware of the tournament than they were before and this will definitely be a continuing trend leading up to the Fifa Confederations Cup,” he promised.

In Gauteng, organisers said they had begun the final push for the tournament, including opening public ticketing centres, training the final batch of 4 000 volunteers, and erecting 1 800 new billboards around the province.

Danny Jordan, chief of the LOC, said in response to media criticism that the tournament had so far failed to capture national excitement, that Confed fever would explode in the coming weeks as stars like Brazilian Kaká and Spanish stars Cesc Fàbregas and Fernando Torres prepared to do battle on the Highveld.

Marketing director of the LOC, Derek Carstens told the Sunday Times that the build-up had been decent, given that the Cup had been restricted by a marketing budget of R15m for eight months – compared to maybe eight times that much, for instance, for the IPL to spend in a mere six weeks.

“We are confident that we can push the ticket sales up to over 400 000, within the next six weeks,” Carstens told BBQ.

The outbreak of the highly contagious swine flu, however, has caused a degree of concern.

Mkhondo says: “Fifa Confederations Cup is more of an event for the local fans to enjoy, but we are confident that all parties involved are keeping a close eye on the situation.”

Fifa spokesperson Delia Fischer said it was too early to speculate about the danger of the swine flu, but added that Fifa was monitoring the situation and Fifa’s medical committee was in contact with the World Health Organization.

Saunders said the different host cities had made specific plans to boost their tourism and marketing for the Confederations Cup. Lesotho, for example, had contracted the Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions company to publicise different tourism hot spots and the easy accessibility
from Bloemfontein.

“Making regional tourism visible is vital to the popularity of each region to the small band of visitors who are expected for the Confederations Cup,” said Saunders.

Themba Tholo, a member of the City of Pretoria’s LOC, says the city has envisaged to promote itself as a world-class host city for the Confederations Cup 2009 and 2010 World Cup through various tourism initiatives, including SMME skills development and training, which will be of great benefit to the city during the two events and beyond.

SMMEs in the city are being trained on a number of skills development training programmes aimed at uplifting their knowledge in small business management as well as welcoming and hosting guests. These include: Bus Driver Basic Tour Guide Training; TEP Toolkit Programme Training for SMMEs; SA Host Programme Training for SMMEs; and General Building Construction Skills Development.

The government undertook baseline projections and annual monitoring of the socio-economic impact of the new and upgraded stadiums being developed for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

The findings of a survey on the consolidated impact of construction made in the host cities are that the R1.28bn actual expenditure on Soccer City yielded R2.31bn of direct, indirect and induced economic impact.

The actual expenditure of R101.5m on Mangaung Stadium in Bloemfontein from the last quarter of 2006 to the end of December 2007 yielded R183m of direct, indirect and induced economic impact. And the actual expenditure of R3.9m on Loftus Versfeld Stadium from 2007 to March 2008 yielded R7m of direct, indirect and induced economic impact.

Mkhondo said the LOC has embarked on a drive to educate fans about proper stadium conduct during the tournament.

It is important that local fans realise they need to purchase their tickets before match day and that they are required to sit in the correct seat.

“We are working closely with the PSL [Premier Soccer League] as well as other stakeholders to ensure this is the case and we will be using PSL fixtures to send out this message,” added Mkhondo.

Fanie Heyns