2010 confidence on a high
23 November 2007
As Durban gears up for the preliminary draw, the first official event of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, research shows that South Africans are overwhelmingly confident that the country will stage an excellent football World Cup in 2010.
South Africans' views on the country's hosting of the 2010 World Cup were tracked by Kuper Research, in a National Perception Audit conducted for the International Marketing Council of SA (IMC), the custodians of Brand South Africa.
The research, made public in October, "shows that there is an overwhelming sense of optimism and pride in South Africa, which will serve us well as we count down the days to the 2010 Fifa World Cup," said IMC CEO Yvonne Johnston.
Kuper Research's survey over 2 500 adults nationally shows that 90% of South Africans believe the country will stage a World Cup event which will put the country on the world's map, while a slightly lower percentage (87%) feel it will have a positive impact on international perceptions of South Africa.
Eighty-five percent of respondents said they thought the country's hosting of football's showpiece event would have benefits beyond 2010, while 82% said they thought it would improve the lives of many people in the country.
2010 barometer
The survey backs up the findings of an earlier study by market research company African Response, which found that overall public confidence in South Africa's readiness to host the World Cup had improved slightly since 2006, with 70% of South Africans believing the country would be ready.
For African Response's 2010 barometer, 1 200 respondents from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria were interviewed over April, May and June this year.
"A heart-warming result from the 2010 African Response barometer is that the majority of respondents (85%) believe that South Africa will benefit from the 2010 World Cup," said African Response director Anina Maree.
"In addition, almost four out of five respondents believe that the World Cup is important to them personally."
Seventy percent of those interviewed believed that South African airports would handle the increase in traffic, while 59% had faith that SA's public transport will be sufficient to carry soccer fans around the country during the tournament.
An overwhelming 85% also believed that South Africa's many restaurants would be ready to cope with the increased demands of hosting the World Cup.
SAinfo reporter
|
