Soccer
SA to name AFCON committee
2012-06-20 20:05
Johannesburg - South Africa's President Jacob Zuma is to name a local organising committee for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations when he returns from the UN Earth summit in Brazil, the sports minister said on Wednesday.
The keenly anticipated announcement will come just six months to the continent's annual football championship which South Africa hosts early next year.
"The local organising committee, when the president comes back, will actually be constituted," minister Fikile Mbalula told AFP.
"We have finalised everything with the host cities now," he said, adding that a promotional campaign would be launched "in the next coming months."
The country last month unveiled a list of five cities that will host the tournament, but is yet to give details of fixtures. Mbalula said that would be done in coming months.
The cities are Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
Following poor turn-out at recent qualifier matches, Mbalula brushed aside concerns that the African Cup of Nations might face the same fate.
Stadiums were less than 20 percent full when Bafana Bafana played Gabon and Ethiopia this month.
"We are not worried. South Africa is a friendly country when it comes to sports and football is our number one sport, so people are really looking forward to the African Cup of Nations," he said.