Accompanied by an entourage which included the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee (OC), Dr Danny Jordaan, 2010 football ambassadors Philemon Masinga and Kalusha Bwalya and the Official Mascot of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Zakumi, Ms Mbete took to the Soweto streets and shopping malls to encourage South Africans to attend the Confederations Cup - which kicks off on 14 June 2009 - in large numbers.
With 61 days to go before the Confederations Cup, the road show - which filled the streets of Soweto with the familiar sound of vuvuzelas - was the perfect opportunity to rally South Africans behind the tournament, with Ms Mbete visiting popular Soweto shopping malls Baragwanath and Jabulani, before making a final stop at the Maponya Mall.
At Maponya Mall, the Deputy President was met by the mall's founder, renowned Soweto businessman Richard Maponya. She was also met at the mall by South African football legend Lucas Radebe at a branch of FNB bank, the bank at which South African residents have been able to apply for tickets for both the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and 2010 FIFA World Cup™.
While at the FNB branch, Ms Mbete was taken through the process of applying for Confederations Cup tickets by the bank's staffers, thereafter completing a mock ticket application.
The Deputy President then addressed a large gathering of shoppers and bystanders who had streamed out of the shops in the mall, in reaction to the crowds gathered and trumpeting of the vuvuzelas (a distinctive trumpet blown by South African football supporters at domestic matches). Ms Mbete told residents in Soweto that while much had been done to prepare for and promote the Confederations Cup, South Africans now needed to rise up to the occasion and get their tickets on time.
“As South Africans we have to do what we normally do. We must be hospitable, we must welcome people to our home. We are a welcoming nation and the FIFA Confederations Cup in June and next year's FIFA World Cup is our chance to share our culture with the rest of the world. As South Africans we need to get our tickets for these events early, in order to be part of it,” said Deputy President Mbete, who encouraged the crowds to apply for their FIFA Confederations Cup tickets.
“We have just gone beyond 300 000 ticket applications, which means applications for more than 50 per cent of the tickets for the Confederations Cup have now been made. But we want to make sure the stadiums are full when the likes of Torres and Kaka, and even our very own Bafana, take to the field. It is important that you apply for your tickets now,” said Dr Jordaan.
