German duo sure of 2010 success
Themba Gadebe
12 June 2007Mike de Vries, head of the organisation responsible for successfully branding Germany during the 2006 Fifa World Cup, is impressed with the progress being made in South Africa in preparation to host the event in 2010.
Through the "Germany - Land of ideas" initiative, De Vries and his team managed to change the international community’s perceptions of Germany through the World Cup.
Similarly, South Africa views hosting the Fifa 2010 World Cup as an opportunity of a lifetime to provide long-lasting infrastructure through legacy projects and to change negative international perceptions about the country and continent.
"We are here to share our experiences. South Africa needs international support but I’m very impressed about the progress made so far in the last 12 months," he said this week.
De Vries and two top Bundesliga players, Piotr Trochowski and Philipp Lahm, were taking a tour of Soccer City, to the south of Johannesburg, where the final match of the 2010 World Cup will be played. The stadium is currently under construction.
He said that hosting the World Cup presented enormous opportunities for the country: "We managed to make Germans proud of their country. We also got foreigners to look differently at our country. They now see us as efficient and friendly."
"You can do the same and our visit here is to underline our confidence in your ability."
Speaking via an interpreter, German international defender Lahm also expressed his confidence in South Africa’s ability to delivery a successful World Cup.
"You can see work has started. I believe construction would be ready for the 2010 world cup, and I’m looking forward to be part of that tournament," he said.
This tour by the German group comes ahead of a highly anticipated visit by Fifa President Sepp Blatter on 18 June. He will be in Cape Town, where he will meet with officials involved with the Fifa 2010 World Cup.
Source: BuaNews
