Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

Fewer than 2 % of the World Cup tickets have been sold to African countries other than South Africa, reports the Cape Times.   FIFA’s goal of making the World Cup an “African World Cup” has not been met to date.

Of the total of 2 million tickets sold to date, only 11 500 have been sold to other African countries.   This is viewed as a “dismal” performance by Tembi Tichaawa, a researcher at the Walter Sisulu University.   He blames the complicated FIFA World Cup ticket purchasing procedure for the poor sales. “Technology has failed Africans” he is reported to have said.  

The highest sales to African countries have been to soccer fans in Mocambique, Botswana and Kenya, at about 1 500 tickets sold in each of these countries.   Poor internet connections and lack of credit card ownership are said to stand in the way of ticket purchases from Africa, and Ticaawa reacted as follows: “The high technology method of selling tickets needs to be urgently looked at by Fifa.  The emphasis should have been on African fans.  For us here we go to a ticket box, but that is not the case with the World Cup”.

South African  soccer fans lead ticket sales, at 790 000, followed by the USA (116 765), the United Kingdom (68 213) and Germany (30 974).

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup are not going as hoped, and increasingly international criticism is being expressed about the costs of attending this premier world sporting event, in respect of ticket prices, the costs of flying to and within South Africa, and the accommodation costs.

German soccer hero and ex-trainer, and FIFA Exco Member Franz Beckenbauer has spoken out about the high ticket prices for the 2010 World Cup, reports the Cape Argus.   Beckenbauer says that few soccer fans can afford the high ticket prices, he allegedly told SkyNews. Of the 21 000 tickets available to follow the German team in playing Australia, Serbia and Ghana in Group D, only 6 700 have been sold, he said.   Travel costs are also deemed to be very expensive.

The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) in the United Kingdom reported this week with a headline ”World Cup scramble for Africa fizzles out”, and reflected that fewer German and Dutch tickets have been sold relative to supply.   However, England fans are expected to take up the full allocation of tickets.  To date, 22 479 tickets have been sold to English fans. The article states:”…predictions from the South African organising committee and tourist chiefs that between 40 000 and 50 000 England fans would descend on South Africa as part of a contingent of 450 000 tourists now look over-optimistic. 

Kevin Miles, from the England Football Supporters’ Federation, says it bluntly: “It’s a calculation about the World Cup experience you can get for your restricted funds and a combination of expensive flights, rip-off hotel rates, difficult internal transport, uncertainty about safety and the fact that it is winter.  They all combine to make it a much less attractive proposition”.   The base rate of a tour package from the UK is R 42 000, the Guardian article says.

The Sunday Times yesterday reported that a base package for an England fan flying to and from South Africa, 14 nights accommodation at a 3-star establishment, a ticket for a match each in Rustenburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, and travel between soccer match venues will cost R 60 000 as sold by MATCH-accredited tour operators.   A Brazil fan will pay R 90 000 for a return flight, transfers locally, 12 nights’ accommodation and tickets for the first 3 Brazil matches, while a Mexico fan will pay R 105 000 for a 15-day trip, including the return flight, internal transfers, accommodation, and a ticket for the first three Mexico matches.  International soccer fans say that they will not come to South Africa for the World Cup to be ripped off!

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on the FIFA Local Organising Committee to lower the price of tickets.   The Local Organising Committee has countered this request by stating that South Africans are eligible to buy special low-price Category 4 tickets, at R 140 each.   In 2006 the cheapest tickets in Germany were priced at about R 600 each.   FIFA set the dollar/Rand exchange rate at R 7, to avoid price fluctuations - the Rand is not trading far from this level at the moment.

The Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, and the FIFA Local Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan, have cautioned the industry against overpricing.  Yet they have not reprimanded MATCH for its excessive rates for accommodation, transport, and ticket prices, in taking a 30 % commission on top of the already high accommodation costs, as well as commission on all other parts of the packages.  The fact that FIFA CEO Sepp Blatter’s nephew is a shareholder in MATCH clearly compromises them!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

When leaving the cinema after seeing ‘Invictus’, I could not come to a conclusion about my feelings about the movie.   While it has a star cast of international actors (Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon) and a star director in Clint Eastwood, and is set in Cape Town and Johannesburg, which bodes well for the country’s awareness and visibility, there was a nagging question as to which movie-goers around the world would be interested in a movie about South Africa’s transformation into a democracy almost 20 years ago, and more particularly, the country winning the Rugby World Cup in 1995 against all odds.   

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and one of their adopted sons were at the premiere of the movie in Los Angeles a week ago, and one wonders what would have made them see the movie, other than respect for their fellow-actors and the producer.

The filming is mainly concentrated on the rugby field and in Madiba’s official residences and offices.  Cape Town features in the scenic shots, one being a magnificent shot of a SAA aeroplane flying in front of Table Mountain; various shots of the V&A Waterfront, including a trip to Robben Island on the ferry, and a number of rugby match celebrations at Ferrymans; and a run on Beach Road in Mouille Point, the lighthouse forming a dominant backdrop.

While most would say that Morgan Freeman was the star of the movie, playing the role of the magnificent Nelson Mandela, who sees the Rugby World Cup as a way in which to unite 42 million South Africans, it is Matt Damon who is the real star.   Matt Damon IS Francois Pienaar, and speaks with a most believable South African accent; Morgan Freeman is Morgan Freeman in voice, and is Nelson Mandela in looks only.

Nostalgically, the movie was interesting to see, in observing how much and yet how little has changed in South Africa in 20 years.    Long-forgotten brand names, such as Volkskas, Xerox and Iscor, and old logos such as those of SAA and Coca Cola, were visible around the rugby fields.

One error was that Madiba was seen to be reading the Cape Argus for breakfast!   Some characters had too pronounced an (unrealistic) South African accent, including Pienaar’s mother, and the white security men.   Pienaar’s wife Nerine, played by local actress Marguerite Wheatley, was very real in acting and speaking.  Both Freeman and Damon have been nominated for the Screen Actors’ Guild awards, as best actor and best supporting actor, respectively.

The name of the movie comes from the Invictus poem by William Ernest Henley, which Mandela had in his prison cell on Robben Island, and was the mantra by which he survived:

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Given the 2010 World Cup, and a similar scenario of only a particular section of the South African population enjoying soccer,  ’Invictus’ may hold clues as to how President Zuma and FIFA will get all South Africans behind the spirit of the world’s biggest soccer event.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Waterfront is set to become a soccer village during the 2010 World Cup, reports the Cape Argus.

Open areas in the Waterfront will become hospitality and match-viewing areas, while the Victoria Wharf shopping centre will be decorated with ‘larger-than-life’ soccer balls, interactive games and other World Cup memorabilia, according the the V & A ’s newly appointed 2010 Commercial Director, John Elliot.   Elliot comes to Cape Town from Australia, having been involved in the Sydney Olympics, the World Cup in Germany, and a number of Commonwealth Game and rugby world cup events.

Elliot is planning to make the Waterfront a “football environment with a lot of football content”.   “It must be a safe and fun experience for all visitors.  We expect a large contingent of fans, tourists and locals, and strive to make their visit to the V & A unforgettable”.   He is working with FIFA sponsors Coca Cola, Sony and Adidas on an activity plan for the soccer tournament.   Top soccer stars have been booked for promotional appearances.

The Waterfront expects 100 000 visitors per day, and even more at the time of the semi-final.   It has also planned activities to coincide with the FIFA Final Draw, taking place in Cape Town on 4 December.

One hopes that the Waterfront’s airconditioning woes will be something of the past by the time the 2010 World Cup starts.    The heat is unbearable in the connecting passages, near Melissa’s in particular, and the fashion mall and the Woolworths side of Victoria Wharf are also without airconditioning, Balducci currently being the exception.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

FIFA is planning to give away 120 000 tickets for free for the 2010 World Cup, reports Reuters.   The tickets will be allocated to ‘poor’ South Africans, ‘…..the biggest local fans of the game’, the report says.

Despite South Africans being eligible to buy tickets at reduced prices, the FIFA event organizers want to ensure that the most needy South Africans can attend the top soccer event.   The 40 000 construction workers who worked on the country’s 10 stadia will each receive a ticket, and the remaining 80 000 free tickets will be given to the six major FIFA sponsors, for their social projects.

The media report also states that 28 of the 62 matches are already sold out for the 2010 World Cup.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com   

In 2006 a German initiative, created by Kai Hill of a Berlin-based communications agency, was established to give a long-term perspective to 2010 disadvantaged children in South Africa, to coincide with the 2010 World Cup.

Hill is using the young South Africans’ love for soccer to give them a joy for life, and has involved a number of German companies and charity organisations to support his initiatives.   His focus is on children affected by AIDS, and those that are orphans or street children.

“KickAIDS” offers soccer training combined with health training, to enhance the knowledge of young people about AIDS, and to reduce its stigma.   A training facility has been built in Soshanguve, close to Pretoria, to allow 2010 children to be educated.   An agreement was signed with the University of Stellenbosch recently, to allow its sports facilities to be used for the soccer training of disadvantaged children.

The project is receiving good coverage in the German media, including Bunte, Hamburger Abendblatt, Bild, and Der Spiegel, which is good publicity for South Africa.

For more information, see www.stars-of-tomorrow.org

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A 2010 World Cup soccer team is tipped to take over the Twelve Apostles Hotel outside Camps Bay next year, and the sportfield at Camps Bay High School will be the training ground for that team, reports People’s Post.

Team representatives from Spain, Denmark, Brazil, Argentina, France and Japan have paid site visits to the school.   The final announcement about the team that is to stay in Camps Bay will only be made after the final draw takes place in Cape Town in December.

The school’s sportfield will be upgraded to be as close as possible to the quality at the Green Point stadium.

Whale Cottage Portfolio www.whalecottage.com

FIFA’s Secretary General Jerome Valcke has rated South Africa as 8/10 on its readiness to stage the 2010 World Cup from 11 June to 11 July next year, reports the Cape Times.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter downsized the score to 75 % at the conclusion of the Confederations Cup.

The FIFA rating is based on the country’s current organisation and hosting of the Confederations Cup, for which the final was played on Sunday evening.   “The organisation from the LOC has been really top class.  What is more pleasing is the players are returning to their countries with a good opinion of South Africa, the people, fans, stadiums, hotels, and training facilities.  That is the best advert we could hope for”, Valcke said.

Blatter added that the Confederations Cup had been well run and that FIFA is looking forward to a “hugely successful 2010 World Cup”, reports the Cape Times.

Incidents such as a strike by volunteers at Ellis Park, and the alleged theft of cash from the Egyptian team players’ rooms have been effectively dealt with.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that crime could happen in any country:   “Players being robbed  is sad, but it can happen anywhere in the world - even in the United States.   We take as many precautions as possible, but I am satisfied fans, teams, and the public will be safe during the 2010 World Cup.”   At the media briefing at the conclusion of the Confederations Cup, Blatter did not refer to crime as one of the issues that need to be addressed for the 2010 World Cup.

Blatter said that he hoped to give South Africa a score of 10/10 in 2010.

Further problems which the Confederations Cup highlighted is a shortage of 15 000 beds in Bloemfontein, and problems with the park-and-ride system in Johannesburg.   FIFA has also highlighted that it does not wish the new soccer stadia to become “white elephants” after 2010.

Valcke said the the teams, the players and the officials who are part of the Confederations Cup will be South Africa’s best ambassadors for 2010.

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Wines of South Africa (WOSA) is planning to bring wine journalists to South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, to enjoy the soccer and wine feast the country has to offer next year, reports Cape Business News.

Su Birch, CEO of WOSA, said that many wine producers are planning to bring European importers to the country for the top soccer event, and have designed incentive programs.   “Our intention is to ensure visiting foreign trade and media are exposed to our producers and activities in the winelands while they are here.   We’ll give them a taste of true South African hospitality for which we have become famous.   They’ll experience the spontaneous African warmth and excitement surrounding the games and get to taste our wines in a new context” she said.

Given the 2010 World Cup focus, WOSA will not be putting on Cape Wine in 2010, and will next host it in 2012.

Birch recently received the honour of being named “Woman of the Year” by The Drinks Business, a British journal, “for her role in the enormous advances made by the South African wine industry on international markets over the past decade.”  South African wine exports have grown three-fold in the past ten years.

South Africa is the ninth largest producer of wines, and represents 3 % of total world wine production.  Currently just over 400 million liters are exported from South Africa, a growth of 17 % compared to the year before.  Sales have grown by 27 % to the UK, by 12 % to Germany, and by 26 % to Sweden, the top three South African export markets.