Tournament News
SA begins SWC journey by bus
2010-02-26 16:45
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Johannesburg - The South African Football Association will take its new team bus on a six-week tour of the country as it attempts to convince local fans to get behind the host nation at the World Cup.
South Africa will celebrate the 100-day countdown to the 2010 tournament next week when it plays neighbor Namibia in a friendly in Durban, but the local organising committee has admitted to disappointing ticket sales for the host's World Cup games.
The apparent lack of interest has now spurred SAFA to take Bafana Bafana's new vehicle, which it unveiled this week, across the country.
The bus has been provided by one of the team's official sponsors and will carry the team to and from matches, beginning with the tournament opener at Soccer City in Johannesburg on June 11.
Mercedes-Benz South Africa President Hansgeorg Niefer said he hoped it would inspire the country to back its team.
"Careful consideration, commitment and passion have been put in over the last few months to come up with an innovative and interactive way to bring together South Africans in support of the national team," Niefer said at the launch on Thursday.
SAFA said fans who take part in the roadshow will also have the chance to have their photograph become part of the bus design.
Organizing committee chief Danny Jordaan said in January that the host nation's matches had not attracted enough fans.
"We are concerned about the fact that it seems in South Africa the South African team, Bafana Bafana, is not selling tickets consistent with what has become the norm for the host nation's team in World Cups," Jordaan said.
"Here in South Africa we find that in the top ten of tickets sales for teams playing in the World Cup, the host nation team is not in the top ten. It's not there. So that is one of our concerns."
FIFA announced earlier this month that 413,072 World Cup match tickets had been allocated to South Africans, but did not give details of which games they were for.
Bafana Bafana play Namibia at the new Moses Mabhida Stadium next Wednesday in their final game in South Africa ahead of the World Cup.
The team will then depart for Brazil and a pre-tournament training camp while its bus travels across the host country.