Moyle: “South African Tourism welcomes the champions. Let the games begin”!
Not even the dreary weather can put a damper on the celebratory mood currently gripping the country. For the next two weeks the eyes of the world will be on South Africa as it plays host to the ‘litmus test’ of the 2010 FIFA World CupTM, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
“South African Tourism welcomes players and fans to South Africa. We’re excited about the tournament, not only because it offers our industry a truly incredible opportunity to showcase our destination, but also, because it gives us a chance to show off our infrastructure and to have our visitors witness the effort that we have put into preparing for this world class event,” says South African Tourism COO and acting CEO, Didi Moyle.
Moyle says the championship will finally put an end to all speculation regarding South Africa’s capability and ability to host some of the greatest tournaments in sporting history. “We are beyond ready. People now need to come and celebrate with us, this magnificent feat of being able to host these sporting events,” she says.
The opening ceremony and kick off is today, Sunday 14 June, with the first match being played between hosts South Africa and Iraq at Ellis Park, Johannesburg.
“We wish Bafana Bafana all the best in their opening match. We expect to see a sterling performance and regardless of the outcome, we have every confidence in their ability to make the most of this opportunity. We believe that come 2010, they will be a force to reckon with,” says Moyle.
The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup takes place from June 14 to 28. Host cities are Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg.
Blogger Muzi Mohale
I’m Muzi Mohale, based in Roodepoort (South Africa). Blogger with www.travelwires.com. Love Travelwires.com since I get to travel our beautiful country through blogging and get first hand tourism experience.
We in the Western Cape are so envious of Gauteng in not being able to share in the Confederations Cup buzz. We have done well this weekend with the British and Irish Lions in town and look forward to their return on 23 June.
Chris von Ulmenstein
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Would have been great if Bafana Bafana could have won the 1st game..Maybe some bad luck?
Bafana Bafana doesn’t have the killer instinct in front of goals and they don’t promise to advance any further, only hope that the coach take notes on how to better improve the team’s performance for next year.
We need to ignite South Africans before we “ignite the world”! How do we do that if the SABC 1 commentary is not all in English?! Even the Iraqi coach burst forth in Spanish when interviewed by the SABC after the match – there was no translator present to tell us what he had said, and the interviewer clearly did not understand it either! And then the Bafana Bafana coach, who was also meant to be interviewed, went into hiding! Come on South Africa, we can do better than this!
Then I was shocked to see the pathetic turnout at the Rustenberg game last night, when such a great team Spain beat the New Zealanders. Is the stadium there a white elephant?
Clearly Chris, there is quite a lot of issues to be addressed, before we get ahead of ourselves…