Gary Benham

100 days to go - South Africa Celebrates

I started these blogs on Monday 3 August when there were 311 days to go.  Time has marched on to the point where one headline yesterday read, simply:

"Final Countdown"

Much has been made over the last few days of how ready South Africa is to host the tournament.  A group of international journalists toured the host cities over the weekend and their reports have been mixed.  But I’m sure that the stadia will be ready in time for the big kick off come June.  Today there are festivities planned in Durban the city that will host South Africa’s next warm up game, against Namibia, on Wednesday.

As well as looking forward to WC2010 the world also needs to look beyond it.  What will be happening in South Africa on Tuesday 19 October 2010 - 100 days after the World Cup has been won?  By then many eyes will have turned to Brazil as they prepare for both WC2014 and the Olympics of 2016.

It is impossible to predict the future but what I do know is that the British High Commission has a lasting commitment to sports development in South Africa. 

Later this week, in the margins of President Zuma’s state visit to Britain, The Sports Ministers of South Africa and the UK are expected to sign an agreement as part of a three year rolling programme of sports co-operation in which projects are: 

• Swimming South Africa/British Swimming collaboration in developing South African coaches to UKCC levels 2 and 3, assessors and moderators;
• Rowing South Africa/GB Rowing (ARA) collaboration in developing community coaches in Pietermaritzburg and Soweto;
• Positive Futures cricket programme in Western Cape Province;
• South African Rugby Union/British Rugby Union collaboration; and
• Exchange of Expertise in Various Fields of Government Sport and Recreation Administration

I expect that the activities mentioned in the arrangement will be linked at some point to the planned activity of International Inspiration (II) programme in South Africa.  II commenced in SA in 2009 and will bring together key stakeholders in Sport and Education to support the development of PE and School Sport.  II main activities:

• Policy makers exchange – forums and workshops to discuss PE and School Sport;
• Through II 30 schools in the UK will be partnered with 30 schools in SA; and
• Leadership training and capacity building for teachers, coaches and community leaders

 Of course if I could see the future I’d be able to tell you who scores England’s winning goal on 11 July!

Posted at 09:46 02 March 2010 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[1]

114 days to go - vuvuzelas - football marmite?

Whenever somebody asks what England fans should expect of WC2010 I advise that they should be ready for the loudest World Cup ever.  The source of most of the noise will be from the now infamous vuvuzela.

Vuvuzelas - you either love 'em or hate 'em!

Normally made of plastic these metre long "stadium horns" have long been a critical component of South Africa football.  But some visiting teams have called for them to be banned for the World Cup.  This week the African Earplug Company has announced plans to launch team branded vuvuzela ear plugs.  Click here to read more.

I've heard various positions on the pros and cons of vuvuzelas since I've been in South Africa.  I've had first hand experience on how loud they can be and of the atmosphere that they generate.  Earlier this summer I even heard the odd vuvuzela at Centurion during the 1st Test, although I understand that they are still banned from rugby matches. 

In a very unscientific way I've conducted a short poll (by SMS message).  I'll add the replies when received in the meantime, feel free to join the debate:

"SA footy's cultural weapon of choice which creates a bl**dy great noise and a fantastic atmosphere for the players ....."  Matthew Booth, centre half - Sundowns FC and Bafana Bafana.

“Vuvuzelas – commercially-inspired destroyers of genuine atmosphere, generating an unpleasant drone devoid of wit and spontaneity, and totally unrelated to events on the pitch. A poor substitute for real support, they’re a potential blight on an otherwise fabulous tournament”  Kevin "Air" Miles, International Director, Football Supporters Federation. 

Posted at 19:59 16 February 2010 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[2]

128 days to go - African Champions

The African Cup of Nations hosted by Angola started under a cloud with the terrible attack on the Togo side that forced them to pull out of the tournament. 

It closed in Luanda on Sunday with the Pharaohs of Egypt claiming their third consecutive African title in a close fought battle with the youngsters from Ghana.

Most commentators here believe that Egypt were worthy winners.  But others have expressed surprise that, having failed to qualify for WC2010, Egypt will not be among the African representatives for the continent’s first World Cup later this year.

Many are predicting that an African side will reach at least the quarter final of this year’s World Cup, but the UK press has suggested that most of those with the capability to do so failed to perform in Angola. 

England will face Algeria in the group stages of WC2010.  Algeria was, worryingly, the team that stopped Egypt from qualifying for South Africa.  It’s possible that England could face beaten finalists Ghana in the 1st knock out stage with the winner of that game going on to play either Nigeria or hosts South Africa (who did not qualify to play in Angola) in the quarter final.

Phew, it’s all getting very exciting!

Talking of exciting, if you’d like to read how Egypt’s victory was received in Cairo click here to read my colleague, Jon Davies’, blog. 

Posted at 12:44 02 February 2010 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

132 days to go - our media in their media

Posted at 07:41 29 January 2010 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

169 days to go - Drive Safely

Posted at 09:35 23 December 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[2]

175 days to go - The First Test!

South Africa is slowing down, its summer and people are leaving the cities in Gauteng Province for the beaches of Cape Town and Durban.  When people return to their desks in the New Year it will be World Cup year.

But before we can focus on football there is the small matter of a test series to be considered.  Yesterday the Proteas hosted the touring English cricket team on the first day of the first test at SuperSport Stadium, Centurion.

As 16 December is a public holiday in South Africa cricket fans packed into the stadium and tried to find some shade from the fierce summer sun.  The Barmy Army that follow the English team were there in fine voice (although Kevin I'm not sure about that costume).  Oh, and if any member of the Barmy Army has lost a white "Saints" baseball cap, drop me a line.

I managed to interview a few of the English faithful to give their "fans perspective" on watching sport in South Africa.  I'm hoping to post their thoughts on the "Be on the Ball" website.

South Africa got off to a good start yesterday but a test match, let alone a series, is not won in one day.  I wish Andrew and his team the best of luck for the rest of the series.

Posted at 12:20 17 December 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[2]

183 days to go - Coaching for Hope!

When the footballing world gathered in Cape Town last week most of the attention was on who would play who in the World Cup finals next year.  Those that watched the draw will have seen David Beckham helping Charlize Theron by pulling balls (and not a golden one among them) from a bowl on stage.

But before the glitz of the draw ceremony the nations that are bidding for the right to host the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 had a chance to make presentations to the FIFA Executive Committee.  You can find out more about the English bid by clicking here.  David Beckham is an Ambassador for England's bid and he proved to be a very popular visitor to Cape Town.

Whilst in South Africa David and Lord Triesman, the Chairman of the FA, visited Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town.  They were there to learn more about a very important FA project called "Coaching for Hope".  The FA invited the High Commissioner along so that she could learn more too. 

It came as a bit of a surprise to Dr Brewer when she was offered the chance to have her first ever football training session with a FA supported South Africa coach.  These coaches bring professional training to the children of townships like Khayelitsha where it was very clear how much enjoyment the project delivers.  The standard of football on display among the kids was impressive evidence of the professionalism of the FA's coaching staff. 

Dr Brewer during her first training session with Carlos from "Coaching for Hope"

Despite the excellent coaching skills the High Commissioner is unlikley to break into the ranks of professional footballers but she was able to express her support to the English bid for WC 2018 / 2022.

Back the Bid - Dr Brewer with David Beckham, Lord Triesman and some of the children of Khayelitsha

Posted at 09:38 09 December 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

188 days to go - The luck of the draw

Cape Town is excited, very excited.  The great and the good in the footballing world community are here to witness what FIFA are promising will be a great World Cup draw event.

Of course no one knows what surprises (or dare I say it "Groups of Death") the draw will provide but one thing is for sure.  With 20 of the top 22 FIFA ranked countries attending this is probably the strongest World Cup field ever assembled.  Whichever team lifts the trophy on 11 Jul 2010 will be worthy World Champions.

By 9pm tonight (local time) fans around the world will know where and when their teams will play in the first stage of the competition.  Visits to the FCO's dedicated World Cup website and the one launched today by the Football Supporters Federation will help English fans plan their trips for what is sure to be a great tournament.

At home I'd close by saying "fingers crossed" for a good draw, but here the expression is slightly different.  So later today I'll be "holding thumbs" that England's draw is a kind one. 

Posted at 07:55 04 December 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

191 days to go – Getting the message right

Last week the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) launched a consular communications campaign aimed at offering travelling English fans balanced and credible advice to help them prepare their trips to WC2010.

The media reports of the launch were, at best, mixed.  In the UK the “Star” newspaper warned England fans that they were heading for a World Cup in “hell”.  In South Africa there was concern that the British Government was overstating the threat of crime here. 

A visit to the FCO’s dedicated World Cup web page will show that neither view is represented in the core campaign messages.  At the launch event FCO Minister, Chris Bryant stated that he expected English fans to get a very warm welcome in South Africa a view shared by British High Commissioner Dr Nicola Brewer. 

The key campaign message is for fans to plan their visits in advance to ensure they maximise their enjoyment of this wonderful country.

Posted at 07:02 01 December 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

198 days to go - Be on the Ball

The Consular Directorate of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has launched their advisory campaign for WC2010.  With the snappy title of "Be on the Ball" the campaign aims to help England fans travelling to South Africa next year to have a safe and enjoyable trip. 

We're delighted that Spurs and England legend Gary Mabbutt agreed to be the "brand Ambassador" for "Be on the Ball" and be at the official campaign launch event earlier today.  Gary is also an Ambassador for South Africa's World Cup bid which means that he is extremely well placed to offer his insights on this amazing country.  At the launch Gary said:

"I have been lucky enough to travel around South Africa a great deal and I truly believe it will be an amazing experience for any fan travelling to watch their team play.  As with any country though, there are unique laws to be aware of and areas to be avoid so we're really urging fans to take the necessary precautions before travelling".

Foreign Office Minister, Chris Bryant MP  stressed that "  ..it is crucial that those planning to travel to the region are aware of what measures they should take to stay safe."

The South African media picked up on the UK press release, broadly welcoming the sensible messages that the campaign contains.  Talk Radio station 702 found it a little ironic that English fans were being informed about the cold weather that will great them (it'll be winter here).  Meanwhile the more "humorous" Jacaranda FM station went with a line that the British Government was warning English fans to be wary of lions, suggesting that it might be better to warn the lions to be wary of English fans!

Click here to find out more about "Be on the Ball" by visiting the dedicated page on the FCO's website.

Posted at 12:39 24 November 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

202 days to go - and the winner is ..........(a prize competition)

In the very small hours of Thursday morning Uruguay became 32nd and last country to qualify for WC2010, completing one of the strongest line-ups in the tournament's history.  Overnight the last six places that were up for grabs were decided.  There simply isn't time or space to go into the French "goal" that knocked out a plucky Ireland (Adrien not sure you can get away with "le main de dieu")

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa wasted no time in welcoming the countries to Africa's first FIFA World Cup by hosting a symbolic flag-raising ceremony at its SAFA House headquarters in Johannesburg yesterday, at which the flags of all 32 participating teams were raised in celebration and to mark a major moment in African sporting history.

British High Commissioner, Dr Nicola Brewer, raises the English flag watched by Dr Danny Jordaan and Dr Irvin Khoza of the WC2010 Organising Committee

The British High Commissioner joined other Ambassadors and embassy representatives of the 32 countries to raise the St George's Cross outside SAFA House, metres from the Soccer City stadium at which the tournament's opening match and final will be played on 11 June 2010 and 11 July 2010 next year.

"We congratulate all the teams that have now qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. For us this is a very emotional day. After all the years of hard work that have gone into preparing for this momentous event, it is now a tangible reality. The finalisation of the 32 participating countries is a major milestone and we would like to warmly welcome all of them to Africa's first World Cup. Our country and our continent cannot wait to receive the players and their multitudes of fans who will descend on South Africa next year for what is sure to be an unforgettable event," said Dr Danny Jordaan, the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC).

Dr Jordaan was ecstatic at the calibre of teams that have qualified for South Africa 2010, which is set to showcase the world's best footballers in state of the art, modern stadiums.

"All the major countries in world football have qualified for the tournament, as well as a number of countries that are very capable of causing major upsets. We're particularly delighted that the giants of African football, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Algeria, join hosts South Africa in what is a formidable line-up of African participants. Now it is no longer a case of asking whether the stadiums will be ready. They are and they will be beautiful cathedrals which will host the best footballers in the world. Now, it is about preparing to celebrate the coming together of six continents, 32 teams and billions of people around the world in a celebration of football in South Africa next year. Today marks the day where we begin that celebration," Dr Jordaan added.

So the final line-up is:

Nigeria, Cameroon, New Zealand, Japan, Netherlands, Korea Republic, Korea DPR, Australia, USA, Brazil, Ghana, England, Paraguay, Spain, Denmark, Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Serbia, Switzerland, Argentina, Honduras, Slovakia, Algeria, Portugal, France (tbc?), Slovenia, Greece, Uruguay and hosts South Africa.

Would anyone like to pick their winner now?  First correct prediction will win a prize ...........

Posted at 09:23 20 November 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[3]

205 days to go - how much?

Much has been made about businesses cashing in on the World Cup coming to South Africa.  Nothing new there then, we heard the same stories before Germany 2006. 

The local Sunday Times carried a front page piece this weekend on the amount that internal airfares will rise during next year's tournament.  Some fares have not been announced yet as airlines claim they are waiting for the draw to decide on prices.  Why would that be do we think?

Reports suggest that a return ticket between JoBurg and Cape Town in Jun / Jul 2010 will cost just R500 (£42) less than an economy return between JoBurg and London in the same period.  Having said that I've seen reports today that European airlines are suggesting that they are already at capacity for flights to South Africa for next year's football festival.

Africa's first World Cup will not be cheap for visiting fans who probably expect there to be some price increases.  But if they feel that they are being seen off these fans are unlikely to rush back to South Africa.  Is a short term hike in prices sound business when compared to the benefits that longer term increased tourist numbers might offer? 

I've heard that Germany has seen a marked increase in tourism (particularly from the UK) since they hosted the WC in 2006.  Lets hope South Africa can say the same after WC2010.

Posted at 17:50 17 November 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

206 days to go - A National Disgrace?

This weekend more teams booked their places at WC2010, well played New Zealand, Cameroon and Nigeria.  The last remaining places are up for grabs on Weds night.

The weekend also saw South Africa take on France at rugby.  It was an exciting game and whilst the result (a 20 - 13 win for the French) did not go down so well here, the thing that has dominated the sports pages and radio airwaves since Friday evening was the rendition of the South African national anthem before the match. 

Durban based reggae artist, Ras Dumisani, provided the vocals that have caused such offence here.  Listen for yourselves.  The French claim that the version had been cleared by the South African Embassy in Paris.  Whatever the case the simple fact remains that national anthems are an important element of international sporting events, get them wrong or "dis" them and its likley to cause a problem. 

Posted at 18:13 16 November 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

208 days to go - (non) Criminal Elements?

Much has been made of the crime stats in South Africa.  There is, undoubtedly, a high level of crime and violent crimes in particular.  But the statistics suggest that these tend to be focused in the domestic communities with little impact on visitors.  I don’t mean to trivialise the seriousness of the situation but this weekend we thought we had our first personal experience of crime.

My wife thought that she had had her mobile phone stolen during a short shopping trip to a local Mall.  Before reporting the theft she decided to retrace her steps to see if she’d dropped the handset only for it to be found by a stranger and handed in – optimistic you might think.

Well here’s the thing.  The phone had been found, under the table that we’d had coffee at, by a young woman who had held on to it knowing that sooner or later the owner would call.  In order to do just that my wife asked another, non criminal, stranger to borrow their phone.  To cut a lengthy, but happy, story short my wife and her phone were reunited about two hours after she discovered its loss.

The morale of this story – there are statistics and there are statistics.  There are security concerns here but there are also some very nice and friendly citizens, we’ve met loads.

Posted at 18:45 14 November 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

212 days to go - Combat Barbie

Ever since feminists attacked Bob Hope with flour bombs at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970 the Miss World pageant has been surrounded by controversy and has divided public opinion. The competition has been seen as old-fashioned and rather "un PC" in its native Britain.

The 2009 pageant will be held in Jo'Burg in December with some reports suggesting that the city has paid R45 million (£3.75m) for the right to host the pageant.

South Africa will be represented by Tatum Keshwar, a 24-year-old psychology graduate from University of KwaZulu-Natal. Last week Tatum visited a Soweto primary school where she was keen to express the importance of education for all as she signed up to the 1GOAL campaign.

In an interesting twist the local Sunday Times carried a front-page picture of Miss England, Katrina Hodge this weekend. Katrina (or perhaps more appropriately, Lance Corporal) Hodge is a serving member of the British Army (although she has taken leave to participate in the competition).  This suggests that there is much more to these pageants than beauty alone. It also highlights the fact that the British Armed Forces are keen to provide the support to its personnel to pursue their personal ambitions. It is all about work / life balance - when personnel are not employed on operations, our Armed Forces will attempt to provide quality of life and support to our personnel in their vast array of pursuits.

I wish Tatum and Katrina the very best of luck in December

Posted at 11:29 10 November 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[1]