Chantelle Benjamin

Chief Reporter

A NEW survey suggests that concern over a lack of support for Bafana Bafana by South Africans during the 2010 Soccer World Cup — raised since the recent visit by Manchester United — might not be unfounded.

The study found that confidence in SA’s ability to host a successful World Cup was at a record low.

It also found that less than half of the 1200 South Africans interviewed in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban said they believed coach Joel Santana’s boys stood a chance of making it to the second round of the tournament.

The number of people who said they had attended a live soccer match in the past two years was also down 13% to 35%, but 55% still say that they are likely to attend some 2010 matches.

Only 44% of South Africans felt an estimated R3bn increase to the R9,8bn budget for stadiums and surrounding precincts was worthwhile to ensure a successful tournament.

Research company African Response said confidence in the World Cup peaked in November 2007, with 76% of South Africans believing the country would be ready for the tournament. It is down to 67% in June, despite increased publicity.

Support for the World Cup was highest among the 24 to 49 age groups, tapering off in the over 50 age group. Ironically the 50 plus group was the only one whose confidence rose in the three months from April to June.

Support was equal across the sexes, with male and female responses almost identical.

The report said since “January this year, South Africans appear to be feeling less and less assured that we are going to be ready”.

Confidence had dwindled in SA’s ability to provide the required accommodation and electricity, and to have stadiums ready.

But South Africans are confident about restaurants, telecommunications and IT infrastructure.

Confidence in policing and security is down 6% since April with just less than 49% agreeing that these systems will be up and running. Of the cities, Pretoria was least convinced, with only 31% giving it the thumbs up.

Most aspects of transport infrastructure suffered a decrease in confidence, with optimism about the state of roads down 6% in the past three months. Only 35% of South Africans thought the roads would be ready.

Johannesburg residents who were generally optimistic about readiness were the least confident about roads, with 67% saying they would cope with the increased traffic, down from 74%.

The report suggested that the lack of enthusiasm for Bafana Bafana could be related to the team’s recent poor performance, but could also be attributed to rising inflation which has led to South Africans feeling a “little disheartened”.

Cape Town is the city least confident in SA’s readiness, dropping from 59% to 47% between April and June, while Durban dropped from 82% to 78%.

Pretoria and Johannesburg showed marginal increases in support, with 73% of Johannesburg respondents and 76% of the respondents in Pretoria expressing their confidence.

Analysts said that this could be due to higher visibility of construction in this region, “a visible reminder of the progress”.

Source: Business Day