Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele has launched a multi-faceted strategy to ready the province for the 2010 Soccer World Cup by lifting up provincial soccer teams and identifying and developing local talent.

The strategic objective of this programme, headed by the former Amazulu FC goalkeeper Vuma Mfeka, is to put KwaZulu-Natal players and teams on the South African soccer map in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Briefing the provincial sporting fraternity at a two-day workshop yesterday, Mr Mfeka said this soccer strategy would include coaching programmes, foreign language education, school premier competitions and financial assistance for professional teams in the province.

Mr Mfeka, who is the 2010 World Cup Strategic Coordinator in the Premier's Office, said a core group of soccer veterans and ex-professionals would identify talent in the rural areas and work closely with municipalities and South African Football Association structures in the province.

"The best 65 players will then be given further training and development in a school of football which will be at Umbumbulu College of Education," he said.

Mr Mfeka also said a pilot project where about 200 learners from previously disadvantaged schools with a good matric pass rate would learn to write and speak foreign languages such as French, Spanish and German had also been planned.

"These learners would be used as tour guides and interpreters during the World Cup and beyond because there will be international conferences in the province even after the world cup 2010," he said.

The plan also includes a Premier's School Cup, a soccer tournament which would include schools that previously did not take part in such competitions.

Mr Mfeka said educators and school principals and senior education managers would be part of the strategy.

"The soccer tournament for 2006 will be a knockout competition but we envisage having school leagues in all the regions after 2006. The soccer veterans will also work closely with schools to identify talent.

"One of the motives is to develop talent and reduce the exodus of our players to other provinces. The premier has an agreement in Nance, France, one of the best soccer development schools of excellence for international exposure and competitions," he said.

The professional soccer teams in KZN would also be getting a financial injection from the premier's office, Mr Mfeka said.

He said most club owners were complaining about lack of sponsorship and the premier's office would assist the teams to get sponsorship at a political level.

"This intervention strategy is aimed at increasing soccer teams by 2010 and beyond from this province. The strategy is also aimed at preventing the selling of other teams to other provinces. If the premier's office did not have this strategy, Nathi Lions would have been in another province," he said.

Mr Mfeka also said a delegation had just returned from Germany where it visited various stadiums and identified new trends and needs for players to set up a base camp in a particular area.

He said a number of issues would need to be addressed in order to attract international teams to set up base camps in the province and to attract tourists and generate income.

"Countries will send delegates to our country to choose base camps for their teams and they would look at things like training facilities, distances from the airports to training grounds and other issues such as entertainment and other sports activities for the players, especially the teams who will proceed far in the competition," he said.

Addressing the same workshop MEC for Sports and Recreation, Amichand Rajbansi, said that physical education needed to be restored in schools and that there would be an emphasis on filling the vacuum of school soccer.

He said students would be encouraged to become affiliated with club sports to ensure that young players did not "fade away" and added that tertiary institutions were "not very helpful" in ensuring this.

Mr Rajbansi also said money had been set aside to assist the 11 new SAFA structures in the province to "get off to a smooth start" and said corporations should work closely with the association to "lift off" soccer in the province.

Urgent assistance required by SAFA representatives in these districts included the establishment or upgrade of facilities and sports grounds, infrastructure development, financial aid, equipment, training for administrators and lack of office space.

The Department of Sports and Recreation said it would be injecting R35 million over the next three years into sporting facilities.