The government yesterday slammed the World Cup’s local organising committee, and host cities, for not doing enough to market the 2010 Fifa World Cup and the Confederations Cup to South Africans, saying “extra measures” would have to be taken.
With just over 100 days left until the Confederations Cup starts on June 14, most of the tickets have been sold to overseas soccer fans.
The local organising committee’s spokesman, Rich Mkhondo, said that of 640000 tickets for the Confederations Cup, 170 000 had been sold.
“Of the number sold, 70 percent have gone to overseas buyers and 30percent to locals. The same split applies to tickets for the World Cup.
“Though this is an achievement, we can do better. Ticket sales are a cause for concern among South Africans,” Mkhondo said.
Government spokesman Themba Maseko said yesterday that “the inter-ministerial committee” needed to interact with the local organising committee in the next two weeks to review all communications and marketing plans .
“My own sense is that not enough money has been set aside by the local organising committee to market these two tournaments to South Africans, and the host cities themselves are not doing enough to do this marketing,” Maseko said.
“We need campaigns to market the tournaments to South Africans.”
On Tuesday, Fifa’s general secretary, Jerome Valcke, said he was disappointed by the lack of marketing in South Africa.
He told a press conference in Johannesburg: “I was astounded when I arrived in the country yesterday [Monday] and did not see a single poster promoting the Confederations Cup.”
The head of the local organising committee, Danny Jordaan, said a company was employed this week to deal with this issue.
“[Valcke] was not talking about the promotion of the event because we have print and TV ads. He was referring to event signage and branding.
“With this company we have employed, there will be more signage,” Jordaan said.
Brand expert Doug de Villiers, group chief executive officer of Interbrand Sampson, said he was of the view that the events had been marketed poorly in South Africa.
He said that though local companies have climbed on board, the local organising committee has failed to promote the event to ordinary soccer fans.
“I am yet to see anything such as a promotion.
“It should have been marketed to invite people to attend the games.
“God forbid that we watch the games on TV and see empty stadiums. That would be a serious embarrassment,” he said.
De Villiers said marketing should have been done to inform locals about ticket availability and costs, but it was not too late to start.
De Villiers said many people who wanted to attend games were under the impression that tickets were available only to tourists.
He said the local organising committee should focus on trying to instil a sense of pride that the two major events are to be hosted here.
“There might also be sceptics who think they won’t support the events because they don’t believe in our national team.
“They should realise it is not about Bafana Bafana winning, but about hosting the biggest event on our continent.”
Jordaan echoed these sentiments: “If South African’s wake up only next year to buy tickets, it is going to be too late.
“Overseas fans need to have their ticket in hand before they book accommodation and apply for visas and so on, so they are snapping up tickets.”
For the 2010 soccer World Cup, category 1 tickets, for seats alongside the pitch will cost R3100 for the opening match and R6300 for the final.
Category 2 tickets, for seats next to the pitch in the corners, cost between R840 and R4200.
Fans will fork out between R560 and R2800 for category 3 tickets, which will seat them in the corners or behind the goals.
Category 4 tickets, for seats behind the goals, will be sold only to South Africans for between R140 for group matches and R1050 for the final.
Tickets for the Confederations Cup are cheaper, with category one seats selling for between R1 400 and R700, while category three tickets are selling for between R420 and R210 each.
(Source: Thetimes.co.za)
