Sports/Olympics / Soccer
2010 World Cup to get financial boost from S. Africa
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-13 09:40
Six major South African businesses will officially back the 2010 Soccer
World Cup in South Africa, the organizing committee announced on
Wednesday.
First National Bank (FNB), one of four major South African commercial
banks, has already announced that it will sponsor the soccer extravaganza
to the tune of 30 million U.S. dollars.
A second company was expected to announce its sponsorship on Thursday,
committee chief executive officer Danny Jordaan revealed after a meeting
between President Thabo Mbeki and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) in
Pretoria, the capital city.
He would not disclose the name of the company ahead of its announcement,
but a South African Press Association (SAPA) report said it is believed
to be cellphone service provider MTN.
Jordaan said the value of the six companies' sponsorships would not be
the same, with different distributions of cash and in-kind components.
He said sponsorship program of FIFA, the world soccer governing body,
consisted of five tiers, with the highest being for six global
corporations including Coca-Cola, Adidas and Visa.
The next tier was for 2010 World Cup sponsors including major
multinationals such as McDonalds and Budweiser.
The third tier was for national support and would consist of only South
African companies.
FNB's sponsorship showed its confidence in the country and its ability to
host the World Cup, spokesman Modise Moatlhodi said after its
announcement on July 6.
The deal would give it a package of advertising, promotions and marketing
rights. It would also be the "official bank" for the games, handling
FIFA's finances and providing on- and off-site ATMs.
Jordaan said small enterprises and the second economy would have an
opportunity to participate in the fourth and fifth tiers which concerned
licensed products including caps, T-shirts and memorabilia.
Jordaan also said the issue behind a negative perception of South
Africa's ability to hold the event was the "unreasonable" comparison of
Germany in 2006 with South Africa in 2006, when it should more
appropriately be compared with Germany in 2002.
While admitting that South Africa has challenges such as construction of
stadiums and public transport system, he said South Africa will "deal
with all of those challenges."
"Fundamentally, we are still determined to deliver an African World Cup
that will be world class. There is no contradiction between being African
and being world class," he said.
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