SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Police say they are ready for World Cup after increasing security

Record ID: 453325

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Police say they are ready for World Cup after increasing security
  • Date: 6th June 2010
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF LITTLE GIRL BLOWING ON A VUVUZELA
  • Embargoed: 21st June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Police,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA31VN88SIAJ1GHAUV7ONOBRGNE
  • Story Text: As World Cup fever spreads throughout South Africa, local authorities say they will ensure the safety of all foreign visitors and teams participating in the finals.
    "In terms of the readiness of the police, we are ready. We have been ready all along and we are more than confident that we will do as expected. The Interpol will also be bringing their own people who will have access to their system, so the external patch of it is also in place," said the spokesperson for the South African Police Department, Colonel Hangwani Mulaudzi.
    Security and crime have been one of the biggest issues ahead of the World Cup because of South Africa's high rate of violent crimes -- it has 50 murders a day, almost the same rate as the United States with six times the population.
    Officials have recited a well-rehearsed mantra that South Africa has a long history of successfully hosting almost 150 international events and will create a cocoon for the fans with a $174-million security plan including 44,000 specially deployed police.
    Most experts believe this is likely to work, unless fans stray from well-guarded areas into some of the frighteningly dangerous quarters of Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria. They also believe terrorism is unlikely, although it cannot entirely be discounted.
    Some high-profile teams, including the United States, have worked with local authorities and their own security experts to ensure the safety of their players.
    "We do have your high risk and low risk teams and in terms of giving more security to those higher risks, it is important. That was discussed with FIFA, and we are making sure that those teams that we have categorised as high risk, we give them more security," said Mulaudzi.
    At a U.S. training session on Friday (June 04), members of the media were body searched and their equipment checked by bomb sniffing dogs before they were allowed into the stadium, security was also very visible around the pitch.
    "We take care of all the logistics to ensure the team's safety so the players can simply concentrate on the reason they are here and that's to play games," said the spokesperson for Team USA, Neil Buethe.
    More than 350,000 people are expected to visit South Africa for the World Cup, but crime is among the factors blamed for the lower-than-expected foreign bookings.
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