FIFA Football World Cup in Africa
Competence and Strengthening of Local Cooperation and Development
In 2010, South Africa hosted the world’s greatest sports event for the first time! In 2006, Germany hosted the event under the motto “A time to make friends” with great – and not just athletic – success. From a municipal perspective, the World Cup requirements in Germany and South Africa were very similar. So why not try to bring together the Host Cities of the World Cups 2006 and 2010? Our project provided exactly this kind of cooperation and knowledge exchange between German and South African colleagues and partners. The motto: “let‘s stay friends!”Project objectives
1. The project contributes to the success of the first FIFA Football World Cup in Africa.
2. We promote a sustainable urban development in South Africa.
3. Communities bring in their experiences on an international level and deepen their knowledge about the respective partner region.
4. We strengthen the cooperation between German and South African communities and facilitate the exchange of solutions for local challenges.
Project activities
I. Cooperation and exchange with local experts in South Africa
Consultations and workshops were offered based on specific needs. German local experts from 13 cities received intercultural and language training before being sent to South Africa. Topics ranged from infra-structural planning to logistics, security and traffic issues as well as PR and tourism.
II. Information campaign and public relations work in Germany
Events held in public locations, football stadiums, at universities and other institutions promoted interest in football and the anticipation of the World Cup 2010, combined with information about South Africa‘s present and past, development potentials and problems.
InWEnt’s tasks
InWEnt implemented the project commissioned by the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and was part of the bi-national agreement between the German and South African governments. The project was closely linked to the activities of other German state agencies of development cooperation such as DED, GTZ, CIM and KfW.
In cooperation with the InWEnt regional office in Pretoria, the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) was responsible for the project. The main tasks were:
- Needs assessment and organisation of consultations and workshops in South Africa.
- Preparation of German community experts.
- Planning and realization of infotainment and academic events in Germany, in cooperation with local NGOs.
- Acquisition of sponsorships for these events.