4 Mar 2009Fifa calls for more major tournament promotion from South Africa

Football Sponsors/ Sponsorship and Media

Fifa has today (March 4th) called on South Africa to step up its efforts to promote the two major international tournaments it is scheduled to host this year and next.

The eight-team Confederations Cup - which will feature Italy, Spain and Brazil, among others - is set to take place in the country between June 14th and 28th, while the World Cup gets underway next summer.

However, world football's governing body has expressed its concern that the two flagship events are not being marketed as effectively as they could be across the globe.

Speaking at a news conference in Johannesburg, Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke commented: "I have not seen a single promotion for the Confederations Cup and also not a single one for the World Cup.

"It is impossible to bring people to the stadium if we do not promote the Confederations Cup."

Danny Jordaan, chief executive officer of the World Cup Organising Committee, echoed Mr Valcke's comments, stating that the rate at which South Africans are buying Confederations Cup tickets is "very slow".

The last instalment of the Confederations Cup was in 2005, when then-world champions Brazil defeated Germany 4-1 in the final.

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