Foreigners check out facilities
By Tabisa Mntengwana
30 October 2009
TWO international delegations have visited Buffalo City in the run up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.
The visitors, from Australia and Slovakia, were in town to inspect the city and its facilities.
Last Friday, 23 October, the Aussies’ tour started at the Blue Lagoon Hotel in Beacon Bay and continued with a site visit of the Buffalo City Stadium, in East London, ending with a trip to the Cascades Hotel and Conference Centre on the Esplanade.
The municipality, together with the provincial department of sport, recreation, arts and culture, would like to house one of the qualifying countries during the tournament next year. “We are hoping that when one of these teams choose us as their base camp, we offer them beautiful accommodation and good training facilities,” said Roy Young, the municipal 2010 project manager.
Peter Budd, the Australian deputy high commissioner, confirmed that some of the areas he had seen had proved to be capable of accommodating international teams. “Our relationship will not only boost you [Buffalo City] as a potential team base camp but also in the business and tourism sectors.”
Accompanying Budd on the tour was the City’s director of executive support services, Vuyo Zambodla; Young; the 2010 provincial representative, Gogo Manqoyi; a South African Rugby Football Union representative, Zola Theo; and Bafundi Makhubalo, representing the provincial department of sport, recreation, arts and culture.
Budd said his tour of the city included an evaluation of it as a potential base camp and holiday destination for Australian supporters.
The Slovakian visitors landed in Buffalo City on Monday, 26 October; they were also in town to survey the city as a potential base camp and training venue for the recently qualified Slovakian football team.
Slovakian ambassador, Ladislav Straka, together with a group of Slovak investors, took a tour of the city and “they were impressed with the facilities and other resources the city has to offer”, said Young.
“The only thing that Buffalo City can do at this stage is to market [itself] to these teams; we can never force them to come here - it’s their decision.”
The municipality was excited about these visits, he said. “We can’t wait for other countries to come. These two visits are an indication that Buffalo City is on the international map.”
Young said that both groups had promised to air the City’s views to their football associations.
As part of Buffalo City’s World Cup plans, its 2010 unit has set up a youth volunteer programme to focus on training youngsters in tourism, customer care and city services awareness.
The training will be held from 3 to 5 November. “The venue has not yet been confirmed,” said Young.
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