SOUTH AFRICA: EVERYTHING READY TO WELCOME ARGENTINA

Theophilus “Doctor” Khumalo, Sport Ambassador to the 2010 World Cup, stayed in Argentina for a week to give coverage to the greatest soccer championship and tell about the virtues of the host country.

The South African Embassy in Argentina organized the visit of Theophilus “Doctor” Khumalo (October 7-15), one of the five Sport Ambassadors to the 2010 World Cup. Together with Standard Bank Argentina, the diplomatic office took the opportunity to invite the media to a press conference chaired by the former South African soccer player.

“I must say I’m very proud of being South African, since our country will host the first World Cup in Africa. This tournament is very important for the whole continent and I’m very happy to be here. As an Ambassador I travel around to tell the world this is a very positive moment for us and our country is absolutely ready to host the World Cup. I’d like to reassure you that matters like security, ticketing and accommodation have all been taken care of and are well organized. The government has invested heavily to provide for everything, 29 hotels have been built, and all the stadiums will be definitely ready by the end of October,” Khumalo informed, who –it’s worth noting– played in Argentina with Ferrocarril Oeste in 1995.

Although at the time of the conference, our team had not yet qualified, the official offered best wishes: “We’ll be pleased to see Argentina take part in the World Cup; we want Argentina to be part of the legacy we leave to the youth. You can’t imagine how South African kids look up to the Argentinean soccer players. They’ve already seen the Confederations Cup and they are hoping to have the honour and the privilege to see players like Messi or a trainer like Maradona –a wonderful soccer player who’s been my idol too.”

The event was also attended by the new South African Ambassador, Tony Leon, who arrived in Argentina just a month ago: “We held the Confederations Cup a few months ago and the FIFA President Joseph Blatter, who at the beginning seemed very dubious, was later very satisfied and scored us with a 7.5 over 10. We like to say that this tournament was the general rehearsal for the World Cup, and since we did very well we hope that in 2010 the score will be perfect, 10 over 10.”

Khumalo also talked about the other side to South Africa, which all visitors could get to know: “The World Cup will give us the opportunity to turn into a shop window of our own culture. It’s time the world knew South Africa. Those who come will see how we live, our cultural values and what we are like: they are extraordinary humble people and will offer a very warm welcome to all the travellers. For those without seats for the stadiums, there will be “fan parks”, which will include events, entertainment, music and huge screens to watch the matches so that everybody can have a great experience.”

During his stay in Argentina, Theophilus Khumalo offered soccer clinics for the youth in the fields of Ferrocarril Oeste and other places, and he also attended the matches of Argentina against Peru and Uruguay.

Acknowledgement: Translated version of the article that appeared in La Agencia de Viajes tourism magazine on 15 October 2009.