Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Robson Sharuko
6 June 2009
Johannesburg — THE 2009 Confederations Cup bursts into life here in Johannesburg next week and the city's leadership has re-iterated that this tournament - together with the 2010 World Cup - are an African sporting festival that should benefit the entire continent.
Eight countries will battle it out for the Confederations Cup, a tournament that is largely viewed as a dress rehearsal of the World Cup finals, with heavyweights Brazil and Spain heavily tipped to make a big impression.
It is the first time that both the Confederations Cup and the World Cup finals will be held on African soil.
There is optimism across Southern Africa that the two tournaments will bring a financial windfall to the region -- thanks to the huge travelling number of fans who might also take this golden opportunity to see the best tourist attractions in this part of the world.
The southern African countries, outside hosts South Africa, have been waging a big war to try and get a slice of the cake from the windfall of the sport tourism that comes with such big tournaments.
The South Africans have embraced their regional counterparts and believe that they will be hosting the Confederations and World Cup finals on behalf of the region, in particular, and the continent in general.
The Gauteng Member of Executive Committee, in charge of sport, art, culture and recreation, Nelisiwe Mbatha-Mthimukulu, believes that while Africa might be divided by borders, it was one big united country that should reap benefits from the Confederations and World Cup.
"The gold of South Africa, the iron ore and manganese of Zimbabwe, the diamonds of Angola and the mineral resources of Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique belong to all of us in Africa. Africa is for all of us to share and these (the Confederations Cup and the World Cup) are African tournaments. lt's not how perfectly we organise the World Cup, how fantastically Bafana Bafana performs, how best our facilities are and how fine our weather is that will entice our visitors to return to our country, but the treatment they receive from all of us". Johannesburg will host the opening and final match of the Confederations Cup at the refurbished Ellis Park.
The South African commercial capital will also be a major host of the 2010 World Cup finals with Ellis Park and the Soccer City Stadium getting a big share of the action. Johannesburg -- which has been unusually warm for this time of the year with sunny skies -- is urging its residents to welcome visitors with a smile so that they will get a good impression of this country. The city's residents appear ready to welcome the Confederations Cup party and there is huge police presence on the streets as they battle to control the rampant crime that is associated with this city.
For all its gold, glitz and glamour, Johannesburg is a dangerous city with one of the world's highest crime rate where murders are common. But the determination is there on this city and its law enforcement agents to ensure that its dark side will not steal the limelight from the likes of Fernando Torres and Kaka when they come to town. Fifa are also investing in a number of spheres, including the media, as they try to enhance the quality of the coverage of both the Confederations and World Cup finals.
Nine football writers from Southern Africa are currently attending a seminar, organised by the European Commission and Fifa aimed at boosting the coverage of both the Confederations and World Cup finals.
The journalists have been drawn from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa.
It is being conducted by David Legge, who covers sport for AFP, and is widely regarded as one of the finest journalists covering African football.
The course, though, has been plagued by a number of challenges leaving a number of participants disappointed at what they believe to be a raw deal that they have received from both the European Commission and Fifa.
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