What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
New host city names approved
Following engagement and consultation with the cities, the board of directors of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) and FIFA last week agreed that the name changes proposed by various host cities may be used within South Africa, while outside of the country a combination of both the old and new names will be used.
The Organising Committee Board, inclusive of a delegation led by FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke held their third meeting of the 2007 Calendar Year last Tuesday, 7 August 2007 at SAFA House.
The board welcomed Mr Valcke, who expressed satisfaction with the progress being made by the OC. “Our goal is to ensure that we deliver a successful tournament in 2010 and I will do everything in my power to support the Organising Committee and South Africa in ensuring that this happens,” he said.
Both old and new names will also appear on tickets issued for the tournament in 2010. The cities affected are Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and Tshwane. This step is intended to allow for the effective global promotion of the host cities, while at the same time providing an opportunity to engage visitors to the country on transformation within the country.
Among other key matters discussed during the meeting included:
Preliminary draw
The preliminary draw, to be held in Durban on 25 November 2007, will be the first major event relating to the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held on South African soil. This will be an opportunity to present all that is unique and wonderful about South Africa and the African continent as a whole, and also will be an ideal platform for the announcement of the official 2010 slogan. Preparations are reportedly moving swiftly ahead, including the appointment of Wisdom Keys Group as the event management company for the project.
Stadium construction
The OC Technical Team reported that good progress is being made on all venues and the projects are on track. Once again both FIFA and the OC agreed that it is important to continue monitoring progress to ensure that the important deadline of 31 October 2009 for the completion of construction is met.
Accommodation
Agreements with hotels are being finalised. The process of contracting and grading rooms is ongoing and thus far more than 1000 non-hotel rooms have been contracted. In total, approximately 28 thousand rooms have been contracted by Match Events Services, which may be contacted on .
Those who wish to be involved in the accommodation solution for the 2010 FIFA World Cup may obtain more information about the process from the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa on + 27 (0)11 895 3108 or the Tourism Enterprise Programme on + 27 (0)11 804 5750.
For the latest updates and information, go to www.fifa.com.
