SA 2010 confidence climbs
5 December 2007South Africans' confidence in the country's ability to host a successful 2010 Fifa World Cup is on the increase, with 76% of South Africans believing the country will be ready - up 6% from the last reading - according to market research company African Response.
The results of the African Response 2010 Barometer for November 2007 - the quarterly survey has been running since March 2006 - reflect the views of 1 199 respondents, representative of the South African population, who were interviewed in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban between July and September.
According to the survey, 67% of South Africans are confident that the public transport system will be ready by 2010 - up from 59% in the previous quarter - with Johannesburg residents the most confident at 78%, possibly due to visible progress with the Gautrain rapid rail link construction.
Seventy percent of South Africans feel that the country's roads will be ready for the demands of the world's biggest sporting event - a 16% increase over the previous survey - while confidence in South Africa's airports being ready for 2010 increased from 71% to 77%.
Confidence in SA's ability to meet the World Cup electricity demands increased slightly, from 52% to 57%, while confidence in policing and security for 2010 rose from 55% to 62%.
Will Bafana Bafana be ready?
According to the survey, South Africans' confidence in their national soccer team's readiness for the tournament increased by 4% to 56% in the third quarter - with Johannesburg residents again leading the way at 69%, and Capetonians the most sceptical at 46%.
At the same time, African Response reported increases in the number of South Africans who:
- Have attended a sports event over the last two years - 46% (+1%)
- Are likely to attend a 2010 World Cup match - 57% (+4%)
- Are likely to watch some 2010 matches on television - 86% (+0.5%)
Are border formalities a concern?
In its latest survey, African Response asked South Africans to express their opinion on the relaxation of border formalities in preparation for World Cup.
This derived from the news that Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique are hoping to play a role in 2010 by offering "border free" tourism packages to World Cup visitors.
Fifty-one percent of South Africans disagreed that border formalities should be relaxed to ensure that the passage of travellers through border posts would be swift and trouble-free, while 37% believed that border formalities should be relaxed.
SAinfo reporter
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