World soccer governing body FIFA is inviting the world’s journalists to South Africa to show them how safe the country will be when it hosts the World Cup in 2010.
FIFA spokesperson Hans Klaus told reporters in Cape Town it will take the hacks on “FIFA-sponsored tours” of the 10 host from next month. “Europe and America have a perception of South Africa,” he said. “And it’s not the right perception. The media are also over-critical. We are sending foreign journalists to show them a beautiful country.”
Klaus, who is in the country on a 10-day tour to assess how prepared the country is for the tournament, also talked about the challenges still ahead. “Security is mentioned most,” he said. “It has to be addressed. It’s especially an issue for those people who have a different opinion of this country.”
He said the problems need to be talked about and “addressed more openly. You can’t look like you’re not prepared as a country. You also need to improve your passport control at airports. It took me one and a half hours to get through the airport in Johannesburg.” That’s one way to ensure a problem is dealt with quickly — inconvenience a FIFA official!