African Cup of Nations CEO, Mvuzo Mbebe, has lambasted the South African public for not showing enough excitement towards the hosting of Africa’s biggest soccer spectacle in January next year. Speaking on SAfm’s AM Live Forum programme this morning, Mbebe says people from other African countries seemed to be more excited about the tournament that is set for SA shores in less than two months. “We’ve done actually very little in the continent, compared to what we are doing in South Africa (in terms of marketing the event). But you will be amazed at the number of queries and the number of travel agencies asking for tickets in their various countries. This is the point I’m raising that it’s not necessarily about the issue of advertising and marketing. There’s an element here about commitment.” We have not done enough in so far as marketing is concerned for various reasons Despite Mbebe insisting ticket sales were going well and that the target to reach the 50 000 mark in sales by end of November was within reach, he says the level of enthusiasm towards the sales could still be better.
Mbebe says foreign countries are making better efforts to be part of the soccer showpiece
Mbebe admitted that there is more that the LOC still needs to do to market the event. He however, has shot down accusations that the LOC is to blame for the lack of excitement among the South African public. “We played Ethiopia in Rustenburg the other time and we had 11 000 Ethiopians in Rustenburg. Where did those Ethiopians get the information? What we have seen many a time is that the opposition teams that come to this country … their supporters get the same information, but get excited. We get the same information but we don’t get excited.” Mbebe says foreign countries are making better efforts to be part of the soccer showpiece. “I can tell you now, I am sitting with a query from Zambia asking for 20 000 tickets per game. I have not, as the LOC, made one single advert in Zambia yet. I have a delegation from Kenya asking for 5 000 tickets. I have not advertised in Kenya, but those people know that there’s Afcon in SA and they want to buy the tickets. We have not done enough in so far as marketing is concerned for various reasons, but I’m saying if I get the excitement from other countries without having made a lot information there … just press releases … there’s quite a lot of excitement there.” SABC Sports’ Football analyst and FIFA marketing & communication instructor, Chris Bongo, concurred with Mbebe, falling short of saying South Africans were not taking football seriously.
“The way South Africans look at football and the way the continent looks at football is totally different. Football in the continent is life; it is not a game, it is not entertainment and it is not something you do and you just forget.” Mbebe has appealed to South Africans to treat the tournament as their own and take ownership of the tournament. On a positive note, the former SABC Group Executive for Content Enterprises has revealed that more than 17 000 tickets have already been sold for the Opening Ceremony while 10 000 have been bought for the Closing Ceremony. “I think I’ll remain optimistic. I believe that at the end of the day South Africans are going to pull together. We did it in the World Cup. We did it in the Confederations Cup. We do that many times when our national pride is at stake. I am very optimistic.”
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