By Nangamso Mabindla
17 January 2007

WITH the Fifa 2010 World Cup only three years away, Buffalo City is not wasting any time in staking its claim in the biggest soccer showpiece.

The city will play host to Premier Soccer League outfit Bloemfontein Celtics when it takes on Swedish first division side Gefle IF at the Absa Stadium on Wednesday, 7 February.

The match aims to market Buffalo City and its facilities as a base city during the 2010 showpiece.

Before tackling the Free State outfit, Gefle IF will play two other friendly games – against a Buffalo City invitation team on 31 January at the Absa Stadium and the Mdantsane-based Vodacom league team Tornado FC on 5 February at the Jan Smuts Stadium.

Talking about the visit, which forms part of the Buffalo City-Gavle twinning partnership, the city's chairman of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, City councillor Mhleli Matika said it strengthened the existing partnership between the city and its Swedish counterpart.

The twinning partnership offered the city and the entire Eastern Cape a unique opportunity to prove itself as the venue of choice for the Swedish team and its followers, Matika said

"Sweden is currently amongst the strongest soccer countries in Europe with an extensive World Cup tradition. Therefore, the aim of this soccer pilot project is to link the European winter training camp initiative with our preparations to become a Fifa 2010 base camp. There is a very strong possibility they will qualify for the World Cup in 2010," he said.

This visit was also significant because Sweden supported the fight against apartheid and continues to be a major investor in development projects in the Eastern Cape, he added.

Matika said that as a Fifa 2010 camp, Buffalo City would have the opportunity to host World Cup teams before and during the tournament, provide training facilities, and facilities for warm up games.

Eastern Cape 2010 strategic manager Gogo Manqoyi said that the visit by the Swedish top division side is important for the city and the province's preparations for the World Cup. "This partnership between Gavle and Buffalo City is very good for the province. Sweden stands a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup, and might see Buffalo City and the province as a base," she said.

For the city to make a good impression, it needs to "manage and provide this team with whatever we have, facility-wise. This will be a step forward in our efforts to market our province towards 2010".