All nine Fifa World Cup 2010 host cities in South Africa are to have fan embassies to assist in the translation of foreign languages as the country expects an influx of soccer fans for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Organising Committee Chief Executive Officer, Dr Danny Jordaan, said on Thursday at the unveiling of the Gauteng 2010 strategy.

"We want to be able to help any fan coming for the world cup and the language should not be a barrier," he said.

Dr Jordaan said there will be a need for people with language skills to come and assist, especially the youth.

The issue of language skills is also highlighted in the province's 2010 strategy.

The strategy mentions that hosting the 2010 World Cup provides a unique opportunity for young people in the province to gain skills and work experience in a wider range of areas.

These areas include foreign language interpretation, call centre operation, tour guiding, marshalling and ushering, amongst others. Launched by Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, the strategy shows work in progress, and work already done to ensure a successful world cup spectacle in 2010.

The strategy also cements the province's readiness to provide necessary infrastructure such as the one in the 2010 Transport Action Plan.

"The province's transport services plan will be aligned to the 2010 Transport Action Plan developed by the National Department of Transport," Gauteng sports, recreation and culture MEC Barbara Creecy said.

Key elements are accessibility, non-motorised transport, travel demand management, airport-city links, spectator access to 2010 soccer stadiums ; align transport elements with security elements; signage; transport information booklets, traffic management, and safety and security amongst others.

Regarding safety and security, Mr Jordaan said the country had hosted a number of international events which didn't face any big crime problem.

"I mean if a stadium has a capacity of 46 000 and is used for a rugby world cup, when the same stadium is used for the soccer world cup, it will still accommodate and keep safe the 46 000 spectators, what is the difference?" he asked.

Dr Jordaan explained that South Africa was involved in the security of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

The Premier also shared Mr Jordaan's sentiments, saying the concern about crime threatening the world cup merely came from a few elites who were not supporters of football.

He also said this strategy would help in delivering the people's expectations to provide a world class tournament.

"It will also help us to deal with our priorities such as accelerated economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation, stadia, road and transport infrastructure, and safety and security," he said.

More importantly, Dr Jordaan said fan parks for the world cup would not only be limited in the country but in the continent and around the 32 participating nations.

"We only have 3 million tickets. So South Africans should be aware that it will be impossible to have them all in the stadiums," he said.

Fan Parks will be spread from outside the stadium, the townships, continent to the participating nations.

Also, the number of fans coming will be determined by the teams qualifying for the world cup. If teams with a larger fan base qualified, even larger numbers were expected.

Source: Themba Gadebe, BuaNews


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