South African Airways (SAA) has closed a deal with Match, the official provider of tickets, accommodation and logistics for next year's 2010 Soccer World Cup. 

In a statement released yesterday, SAA said that according to the agreement reached between it and Match, SAA will be providing 89 000 sectors on its own fleet of aircraft to be used by Match customers. 

It further said: "The sectors will be operated by SAA aircraft on the Golden triangle, which include flights between Johannesburg to Cape Town, and to Durban as well as between Durban and Cape Town." 

SAA is also working on other transport solutions with Match to find ways of transporting its customers to smaller venues such as Nelspruit, Bloemfontein and Polokwane where matches will take place. 

The airline's Chief Executive Officer Chris Smyth said: "SAA is the first airline on the African continent to be concluding a deal with Match, FIFA's preferred partner for the forthcoming major football event. We eagerly await next year's event and the opportunity to welcome fans from across the globe to our beautiful country." - Sapa