2010 Fifa World Cup

2009: call for 5 000 volunteers

2 July 2008

South Africa's 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) has launched its campaign to recruit 5 000 local volunteers for the 2009 Confederations Cup.

Billed as the "festival of champions", the Confederations Cup will feature the champions of the six Fifa confederations, defending world champions Italy and 2010 host South Africa.

It takes place in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth from 14 to 28 June 2009.

From now until 31 August, South Africans wishing to apply as volunteers can do so via the Confederations Cup website.

Those without internet access will be able to apply at dedicated venues at various host cities. More information is available through the volunteer call centre - 0800 52 52 52.

Volunteers are needed in areas such as accreditation, administration, information technology, language support, logistics, transport, information services, media and marketing.

They will work at areas such as stadiums, airports, information centres, protocol areas and media centres.

First point of contact

Addressing the media in Johannesburg this week, LOC chief executive Danny Jordaan said this was the first step toward the recruitment of some 15 000 volunteers for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, for which applications would open in July 2009.

"Thousands of hours have to date been spent on tournament preparations and to deliver world-class stadiums and infrastructure," Jordaan said.

"It is, however, the warm hospitality and friendly reception we give the hundreds of thousands of supporters who will descend on our country that will make us deliver on our promise of making 2010 the best Fifa World Cup ever."

As the first point of contact with visitors, Jordaan said, the volunteers would be essential in determining how the Confederations Cup and World Cup were perceived. "They [will] determine the mood and atmosphere of the event," he said.

Skills development and training

Once selected, volunteers will be given comprehensive training to ensure they are able to service the thousands of guests who will descend on the country for the tournament. This will include event training, as well as venue- and job-specific training.

The Umsobomvu Youth Fund has developed the education curriculum for the volunteer programme - as well as the volunteer call centre and 30 call centre agencies to support the programme.

The Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority (Theta) will train the volunteers in customer service, while Adidas will supply the volunteers with clothing.

SAinfo reporter