Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS)
17 July 2006
A provincial delegation of DCAS, under the leadership of MEC Whitey Jacobs,
visited Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal from 3 to 13 July 2006.
The purpose of the visit was to:
* gain first-hand experience on Fan Fest Parks utilised to screen live matches
during the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany
* attend and witness the unveiling of the South African logo for the 2010 World
Cup
* seek partnerships for the development of football talent and coaching clinics
in rural and poor urban communities of the province.
Fan Parks
Fan Parks during the 2010 World Cup will play a critical role in the
province as this will provide ongoing entertainment before and after the games,
and create an atmosphere of social interaction. As witnessed in Germany, mobile
food and beverage stalls are a source of employment creation and revenue
generation for micro and small operators. We regard the establishment of Fan
Parks as an alternative to live coverage of the World Cup and will offer
marketing and premium branding for the corporate sector and a great opportunity
for alleviating poverty and creating employment for citizens of the Western
Cape.
Germany was also a practical model in integrating bus, taxi and train routes
for massive transportation of fans and tourists. The challenge for us is to
make our road infrastructure easily accessible in the vicinity of match
stadiums and facilitate interconnections with other transport nodal points.
Partnerships
The second leg of our visit took us to the Netherlands where we discussed
the establishment of partnerships for the transfer of football skills, the
twinning of communities between the Western Cape and their counterparts in
Holland, and intensive football cooperation based on multiple club tournaments.
The delegation succeeded in exploring financial and technical assistance for
football development and coaching programmes between the Netherlands and the
Western Cape. This will be coordinated by a joint project between the "Stars in
their Eyes" Foundation and the DCAS. Follow-up consultations between the
Foundation and DCAS are ongoing and we hope to reach a preliminary agreement by
the end of August this year.
It is envisaged that at least five clubs, two from the Metro and three from
the rural areas will be identified and twinned with clubs in Netherlands at the
conclusion of this agreement.
The final leg of the delegation's visit was in Portugal, where the objective
was to explore bilateral football development at club level and also visit
three stadiums with multi-purpose use. Consultations to involve Portuguese top
clubs to participate in multiple club tournaments in the Western Cape will be
continued at the end of August with a planned visit by South Africa's Honorary
Consular-General based in Portugal. In this regard we have received in
principle, agreements from two clubs to visit and play in a tournament in our
province next year. Details will be made available shortly.
For further media enquiries:
Justin De Allende:
Cell: 084 657 5008/082 567 7511
Issued by:
Mandla Yeki
Spokesperson for Ministry of
Cultural Affairs, Sport and Recreation
Tel: (021) 483 9804
Fax: (021) 483 9801
Cell: 082 553 3477
Issued by: Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Western Cape Provincial
Government
17 July 2006
