Sweet FA want to go to South Africa 2010

by Onyere Kene

The World Cup finals are less than six months away and despite a John Terryshaped spanner being thrown in the works, England is expected to mount a serious challenge for the biggest prize in world sport.

But will there actually be any England fans in South Africa to witness this? That may sound like a stupid question as surely England is one of the best-supported nations in the world. Yet, the English Football Association has announced that of England’s 29,000 ticket allocation, an unprecidented 6,000 were unsold.

Surely this is the first time in recent memory that any England tickets have gone on re-sale for a major tournament. This has led the supporters’ organisation LondonEnglandFans to urge fans to get behind their team and travel to South Africa. “This should now be the opportunity to sell the World Cup all over again,” said group spokesman Mark Perryman.

“We want those stands supporting England to be full. We want to ensure any England fan with the means to get there doesn’t miss out.” Perryman will meet with World Cup officials, representatives from the Foreign Office, the Football Association and Harpreet Grewal, the head of Englandfans – the official England supporters' club – to help boost ticket sales.

Expensive Hobby

However, Perryman gives possible reasons why fans are not so optimistic to travel. He states: “One of the main reasons why tickets have not been sold out is the expense which travelling to the World Cup would incur. I would not try to encourage an impoverished student to go and see the World Cup in South Africa, knowing they cannot afford it, all in the name of going to support England.”

There are, however, more worrying reasons why English fans are unwilling to travel over to South Africa. Immediately after England’s passage to South Africa was secured, some British newspapers dedicated pages to numerous articles on the safety of the team and their supporters during the tournament.

Steve Bloomfield, author of Africa United and a correspondent for The Independent said: “Within minutes of the World Cup draw, Sky News reporters were commenting on how fortunate England were not to be playing in crime-ridden Johannesburg. The Times took up the same theme , warning that British tour operators would offer armed guards for fans travelling to World Cup matches.

A German security firm has already advised their national team to wear flak jackets whenever they step outside their hotel.” This supports the point made recently by Fifa’s secretary general, Jerome Valcke, who also believes that the British press is one of the two main culprits responsible for undermining this summer's World Cup by relentlessly criticising the host nation.

"We should stop seeing articles with someone saying the World Cup is the biggest mistake in the world organised here in South Africa. It's unfair, it's really bad and it's sad." He claims that England, as well as Germany, are trying to make things difficult for the South African World Cup organising committee, raising issues of transportation, accommodation and security.

He believes that the two footballing powerhouses are so influential that the footballing world tends to listen to whatever they say. No one is denying that safety and security are issues. The South African government recognises this as well and has recommended that 40,000 of the country’s 200,000 police force be dedicated to the World Cup alone in the summer.

Special security personnel

There are also going to be 200 special security personnel armed with military-like ammunitions on standby to curb any situation that gets dangerous. It is no news to anyone who has seen or heard of South African troubles that the main crime to watch out for is carjacking–where car owners are robbed at gunpoint and told to surrender their vehicles which will driven off leaving the victim stranded – and also kidnapping.

This has led a lot of VIP visitors to the event to seek protection for themselves from these unlawful scenarios. “If you want to hire an armoured vehicle to get around South Africa at next year’s World Cup, you are probably too late. I’d be surprised if they weren’t all booked,” said Charlie Taylor of the Longmoor Group, a niche security firm based in the UK.

There are of course other problems aside from safety concerns. Travel problems, accommodation, and transportation around the country are all worries to any visiting fan. The head of the organising committee in South Africa, Danny Jordaan, has confirmed this and admitted that some host cities in the country cannot accommodate fans who would want to rent hotels close to where their teams are lodged.

However, the solution could be to accommodate such fans in other cities and take them to and from the match venues to see their team play. Ultimately there are many differing views held by the sporting world concerning the World Cup being held in South Africa. Positive ones are coming from the African continent itself –not surprisingly, as it is the first time the great tournament will grace African soil.

Although doubts have further been heightened following the terrorist attack on the Togolese team bus in Angola at the African Cup of Nations last month. However, no sporting tournament in history can boast a 100 per cent success record without problems in terms of planning and preparation.

There will undoubtedly be one or two obstacles that South Africa must try to overcome if they are to stage a successful World Cup, but so have every other nation who has played host to the World Cup.

Let’s hope that, come the Final on July 11, the eyes of the world will be on South Africa and the biggest talking point is the football – and preferably an England victory.