Press Conference by the South African Embassy in Algeria on the occasion of the qualification of the Algerian Football National Team for the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 19 November 2009.

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is an honour for me to welcome you to the South African Embassy in Algeria on this auspicious occasion. We are gathered here still recovering from the gallant, spirited and heroic performance of the Algerian Football National Team who yesterday emerged triumphant over the Pharaohs to book their ticket to South Africa for the historic FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the first in more than 100 years of FIFA’s existence to be staged on the African continent. This follows FIFA’s historic decision in 2001 to stage the 2010 World Cup on the African continent. From the beginning of the bid process, South Africa committed that the 2010 World Cup would be an African World Cup. This is an opportunity to build African solidarity and to foster a climate that contributes to African growth and development.

Given the strong bonds that exist between our two great countries South Africa is of the view that the presence of Algeria in the World Cup will add value to a tournament that promises to be the best World Cup ever! We are also mindful of the fact that it was not an uneasy journey both for the players and the Algerian nation in general but in the end it was the best team that went through.

It is in this regard that I will like to take this opportunity and congratulate His Excellency, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Government and indeed the people of Algeria on behalf of the Government and the people of South Africa for this great achievement by the Algeria national team.

As the representative of the country that will be hosting this great sporting event, it is incumbent upon the South African Embassy to convene such a Forum to inform the Algerian public about all the necessary details concerning the 2010 World Cup and South Africa state of readiness thereof. Most importantly though it is also critical that the Algerian public be informed about the consular requirements and procedures of the South African government prior to the issuance of a visa specifically for the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

Concerning South Africa’s readiness for the event I can inform you that thus far preparations are near finalisation. As the Chief Executive Officer of the FIFA 2010 Local Organising Committee, Dr Danny Jordan, put it “the preparations for the 2010 event are 80% complete”.

The South African government will also issue its first ever Event Visa for an international event in support of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The issuing of the Visa is in keeping up with the guarantee that the South African Government though its Department of Home Affairs made to FIFA when the 2010 FIFA World Cup was awarded to South Africa in 2004. The Visa will make South Africa the first country to ever issue a Visa for an international event.

The Visa will be issued free of charge to visitors to South Africa in 2010. The Event Visa was implemented during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup which took place in South Africa in June 2009.

The minimum requirements for the issuing of the Event Visa will be:

Proof of purchase of the match tickets;
Meeting of certain health requirements such as possession of a yellow certificate;
A valid return air ticket;
A valid passport.

The South African Government also assures the millions of fans who will be coming to watch the 2010 World Cup that they will be safe in South Africa.

There are a number of prongs to South Africa’s safety and security plan:

• South Africa will be working closely with international agencies to gather intelligence;

• there will be a focus on border security at ports of entry – including South Africa’s land, sea and air borders;

• route security, specifically those leading from airports into the cities, will be a priority;

• police are to divide the host cities into sections, with teams patrolling sections and focusing on FIFA headquarters, hotels, other accommodation establishments, the stadiums, fan parks, restaurants and tourist venues;

• State-of-the-art information and communication military technology will be used as well as a fleet of nearly 40 helicopters; and

• a dedicated force of 41 000 officers will be deployed. Some R665-million will be spent on procuring special equipment, including crowd-control equipment, crime scene trainers, unmanned aircraft, helicopters, 10 water cannons, 100 BMWs for highway patrol and up-to-date body armour. “

It is therefore the intention of the South African Embassy to convene numerous platforms of this nature with yourselves throughout the country so as to ensure that the Algerian public are informed about the latest developments concerning the 2010 tournament. On the same breadth, I am happy to inform you that the South African Embassy will launch its website at the end of this month which will also be a mechanism that will keep those Algerians who are interested in going to South Africa for the World Cup about the necessary requirements. The website will also give details of the Embassy officials whom the public can call in case of enquiries.

South Africa stands ready to welcome more than 450 000 football fans it expects to arrive for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Ke Nako! Now is the Time!