South Africa 2010 travelers’ update
Do soccer fans prefer beer to sex?

Headed to South Africa next year for the World Cup? Here’s the latest news on the country’s preparations for hosting the tournament.

First, though, there’s something we’d like to tell you about. Center Line Soccer will be officially launching a new message board for South Africa 2010 travelers in the coming weeks. The idea is to provide a forum for supporters to share information on World Cup travel, restaurants, hotels and other accommodations, and all the things that go along with being a traveling fan. We’ve already invited some local experts to participate and anticipate adding more. If you’d like a sneak preview of our new forums, you can find them here. You can even register now if you want to participate. 

- Some traveling has already begun for the tournament. As iafrica.com reports, the World Cup trophy has been sprung out of lockdown in Zurich, was sent to Cairo, and is now on its way to Libya. The object of every footballer’s desire is now on a 225-day around-the-world tour that will take it through 86 countries, including every nation in Africa — a total of over 80,000 miles. The trophy is on its own private plane;  you’ll find the tour’s complete itinerary here (PDF). It’s due in the U.S. on May 4, 2010, but the exact location is to be determined. Coca-Cola, the trip’s sponsor, has also issued a press release with further details about the trip.

- Do soccer fans prefer beer to sex? That’s what Chandre Gould, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told the Independent Online. To be fair, the context of her statement is important. She wasn’t talking about sex as an expression of intimacy between two people in a relationship — she was talking about sex as an expression of commerce. “The sex industry will probably be busier than usual, but most visitors would rather spend the extra money they have on beer than on sex,” she told the paper. In a country where government estimates indicate that nearly one in three women aged 25 to 29 is infected with HIV, let’s hope she’s correct.

- Former South Africa international George Dearnaley also thinks soccer fans are beer lovers, reports the Independent Online. “Pub, bar owners and anyone who wants to sell anything should keep it as basic and simple as possible,” he said. “This is an 80 percent male-dominated event. All that the average fan would want to know when he arrives is where do I stay? Where do I watch the games? And what do I eat?”

The story continues:

Dearnaley said football fans were not after sophisticated food and fancy establishments. “All they want is to watch the game, drink ice-cold beer, eat good food and have a great night out,” he said. “If you want their attention, put up posters reading ‘cold beer here’ or ‘live games.’ Put up generic football images, flags and sell good food at affordable prices.”

Hard to argue with that — and even the “fancy establishments” with “sophisticated food” would do well to show games when they’re available.

- The same article notes that Brazil is considering Cape Town as a base for the tournament, England has their eyes on Johannesburg, and Germany are considering Pretoria. The U.S. has already announced their intention to stay in Pretoria, and Paraguay’s base camp will be in Mossel Bay.

- American fans may be interested to learn that the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and the consulates in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban were shut down for two days last week due to a “credible” threat to their security. “The Star newspaper said on Thursday the shut down was ordered after an Al-Qaeda splinter group phoned the embassy on Monday and threatened to attack US government buildings in South Africa,” reports the AFP. The facilities were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the threat; they were also closed on Thursday to observe South Africa’s Heritage Day holiday. Reuters also covered the story, noting that South Africa “is not itself seen as a target for attacks.”

- Crime in general continues to be an issue in South Africa. According to statistics released last week, the rate of both murders and violent crimes is down, but household and business robberies have surged by 27% and 41.5%, respectively.  Travelers will be pleased to hear that the rate of robberies at ATMs has dropped by 10%, however, and the Mail and Guardian reports that “figures since January this year would seem to indicate that the ATM statistic was dropping even further.” See the link for a complete breakdown of the numbers.

- Among the crimes that FIFA is worried about is scams selling fake or counterfeit tickets, and the folks at New Scotland Yard have already shut down 100 web sites on their behalf, according to IT News Africa. The place to go for tickets is FIFA.com, which also has information on the official hospitality program and authorized tour operators (PDF).

- Two Holland America cruise ships, the MS Westerdam and MS Moordam, will serve as both accommodation and transportation for travelers to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Durban. The two vessels, both offering more than 950 cabins, have been chartered by One Ocean Club and will sail between the three cities as dictated by the match schedule, say the Business Report, Business Day, The Star, and Independent Online. Business Report also notes that One Ocean Club “has extensive experience in using passenger vessels as floating hotels during sporting events such as the Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens.”

- Another 2010 Visitor Information Center has been opened, this time in Rustenburg, joining the previously launched facilities in Port Elizabeth and Polokwane.  Still to come are centers in Bloemfontein and Nelspruit.

Jay Hipps is the managing editor of Center Line Soccer. You can follow him on Twitter at jayhipps.