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Cameroon: 2010 World Cup - African Countries Mobilise
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Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
27 November 2007
Posted to the web 27 November 2007
Eldickson Agbortogo
Most of them especially those around South Africa are either up-dating their infrastructure, touristic sites or hotels.
Three years after South Africa's dream of hosting the FIFA World Cup was made public (15 May 2004), the African continent has been waxing strong to make the World's football showpiece a memorable event. After the political, physical and moral support expressed during and after the bid, the different African countries especially the host country's neighbours are living no stone unturned in trying to improve on their services with the hope of reaping some of the fallouts which usually accompany the soccer jamboree.
In Zambia the government and Football Association have embarked on the rehabilitation of the Independence stadium in Lusaka. After the rehabilitation work and Fifa's approval, it will first of all serve as a venue for the national side's 2010 World Cup qualifiers and then play host to several countries for training and acclimatisation. In tourism, the government and the private sector are preparing for the expected tourism boom with the creation of a web site "Visit Zambia". The site will sell Zambian products that are mainly related to the tourism industry such as crafts. To ease financial transactions, all major debit and credit cards including Master Card, Visa, and American Express, Solo, Switch and Visa Electron facilities will be put in place.
In Mozambique, the foreign ministry is looking into the whole question of tourist visas. Closer to kick-off, the government will also launch a major advertising blitz to showcase the country's white sandy beaches and vast nature reserves. Its trump card could well turn out to be its official language, Portuguese. The country is hoping fellow Lusafone countries such as Brazil and Portugal might be base in Maputo during the tournament. As part of that strategy, a 42 000-seat stadium is planned for possible warm-up games.
Situated 150 km from the South African town of Rustenburg, is Botswana where the government is also working on what the tourism ministry has described as a "very aggressive" strategy to attract some of the 450, 000 foreigners who are expected in the region during the competition. The aggressive strategy entails among others, construction of more sports facilities and upgrading of the current stadiums.
Even Zimbabwe, currently grappling with the effects of the world's highest rate of inflation, is planning to splash the cash in order to draw in visitors. According to a government document obtained by AFP, Zimbabwe is to spend around CFA 10.4 billion on sprucing up hotels in a state of neglect following the dive in tourist numbers since 2002. A cabinet committee has also recommended the construction of new stadiums, including one in the resort town of Victoria Falls, in the hope of generating some $50m in tourism revenue. Other neighboring countries of the area such as Swaziland and Lesotho also are eyeing a rare money-spinning opportunity.
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With regards to other countries in the continent, cultural exhibition through dance, songs and sketches will be top on the agenda when the month-long tournament kicks off on June 11, 2010 at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
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| Copyright © 2007 Cameroon Tribune. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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