SSR Vol5 FIFA- WC-SA

Page 47 9. Netherlands 2-1 come from behind win over Brazil on Wesley Sneijder’s brace in Port Elizabeth. 10.Mandela appearance at the World Cup final in Soccer City where Spain prevailed in overtime. ssrmagazine.com SSR 10 Benchmarks of 2010 World Cup South Africa 1. That South Africa is just like anywhere else in the world. Don’t always believe negative hype. 2. Opening Ceremony and the Bafana opening goal by Siphiwe Tshabalala 3. Spain 1-0 loss to Switzerland on Gelson Fernandes goal in the 52nd minute at Duban 4. Cameroon as the first team to be eliminated at the World Cup after 2-1 loss to Denmark. 5. Slovakia 3-2 defeat of Italy at Ellis Park to eliminate the defending champion at the group stage. 6. Serbia surprise 1-0 shutout win over the unstoppable German offense 7. Asamoah Gyan missed penalty at the end of overtime in Ghana’s 4-2 PK-loss against Uruguay. 8. Germany run away 4-0 victory over Argentina at the quarter final stage in Cape Town “These findings highlight what we felt all along, that hosting the event in South Africa would prove to be a huge success. I am pleased to see that our confidence is clearly reflected in public opinion, as expressed in these surveys,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. Anyone interested in more information on the surveys’ findings, can send an email request to marketingcomm@fifa.org With 98 per cent of those questioned commenting positively on the atmosphere in South Africa, it is clear that visitors returned home with fond memories of their time in the country, which included the sound of the Vuvuzelas at the games. The Vuvuzelas were very much a part of the atmosphere at World Cup South Africa. So, Believe the Hype, that World Cup South Africa may also be the most memorable tournament, based on only good things coming out of the projected bad expectations. So much so, that 84 per cent of international guests, rated the host nation in an even more positive light post -event. The number of South Africans who felt that crime would have been an issue for visitors to the tournament dropped from 66 per cent pre-tournament to 27 per cent post. FIFA WORLD CUP SURVEY, SOUTH AFRICA T he FIFA commissioned six-wave study group report of South African residents, were highlighted in three words, Success , Pride , and Unity. This is despite all the rumors surrounding South Africa’s ability to host a successful World Cup tournament. In order to dispel any rumors we thought we should share parts of the Commissioned findings, on both the locals and International opinions on this matter. On the local side the survey showed that South Africa took pride in a tournament, which was considered not only a huge success in its own right, but also an important event in terms of promoting national unity. Here at SSR Magazine, we would like to add that World Cup South Africa, was also one of the most colorful tournaments we have covered based on the unprecedented six African teams which participated. The FIFA Commission also revealed that 75 per cent of those canvassed prior to the tournament, believed that there was a possibility that the World Cup could have unified the country. The post-event findings suggest that 91 per cent of South Africans, claimed that their country is now more united. On the International survey, almost three-quarters of those polled said that they were visiting South Africa for the first time, while approximately 83 per cent expressed their intention to return, and 94 per cent said they would be willing to recommend South Africa to their friends and family as a place to visit. An area of great concern to FIFA, based on the unwarranted claims by distracters was the readiness of the stadiums. Of those International visitors surveyed, 99 per cent rated South Africa’s preparations of its stadiums favorably. This is amazing because FIFA reported that all of South Africa’s stadiums were either newly built or renovated for the FIFA World Cup. With concerns raised about the sound of the Vuvuzelas at the stadiums, it was very interesting to find out the result of the opinion of the International visitors, on the atmosphere at the tournament.