By Patrick Cull and Yolandé Stander
EASTERN Cape residents may have been told by 2010 Fifa World Cup organisers that the spectacle was a “once in a lifetime” event but Friday’s announcement that Port Elizabeth will be a host city for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations is creating almost as much buzz.
Following the announcement by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula that the city would join Durban, Rustenburg and Mbombela as host cities, soccer fans, tourism authorities and business leaders across the province erupted in celebration.
The tournament is expected to be a massive boost for the region. A total of 16 teams – four of which will be based in Port Elizabeth – will participate in the event that will run from January 19 to February 10.
Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) chief executive Sybert Liebenberg said the city being chosen as a host was “phenomenal”. He said a tournament like the African Cup of Nations gave tourists every reason to visit the region.
“These people need to stay somewhere, they need to eat and get transport, so the direct and indirect spin-offs are massive. This is also a vote of confidence in the province that it has become a world class-sport destination.”
Although the cost of meeting the city’s obligations in terms of the tournament is expected to be around R30-million, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality economic development and recreational services executive director Zolile Siswana was “confident we will get financial support from both national and provincial government”.
In a report to the local Sport, Recreation, Arts and Cultural Services Committee he said the intention was for the provincial government to foot R20-million of the estimated costs and the municipality R10-million.
A report to parliament on the Sport and Recreation Department budget k said an additional R26-million had been made available for guarantees required for staging the tournament.
– Additional reporting Sapa
This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 5, 2012.