About Africa

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African News

Ghana to take on Guinea in Africa Cup of Nations

22 October 2007 - The draw for the 2008 MTN African Cup of Nations football tournament has placed hosts Ghana at the head of Group A alongside Namibia, Guinea and Morocco.

Namibia, SA assess potential 2010 benefits

12 October 2007 - An agreement has been reached between South Africa and Namibia to establish how best the neighbouring country can benefit from the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup™, writes Sholain Govender.

18 September 2007 - The Zambian government has signed a contract with the Chinese government for the construction of a 40 000-capacity stadium in Ndola, the capital of Copperbelt Province.

FIFA updates on African 2010 qualifiers

15 September 2007 - Sao Tome and Principe and the Central African Republic will not be taking part in the African qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

CAF honours President Mbeki

10 September 2007 - Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Issa Hayatou on Sunday honoured State President Thabo Mbeki with the Order of Merit Award in Cape Town.

Cross border crimes in the spotlight ahead of 2010

30 August 2007 -Police in Southern Africa have redoubled their efforts in dealing with cross-border crimes with specific focus on crimes that may impact negatively on preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Stofile: Sport an instrument to promote unity, solidarity and peace

16 August 2007 - Staging the FIFA World Cup in 2010 could leave behind a legacy of undoing the historical marginalisation of Africa from the mainstream of world football and of the economic spin-offs that flow from it.

2010 will unite Africa

16 August 2007 - Yvonne Johnston, CEO of the International Marketing Council of South Africa (IMC) candidly confessed that what keeps her awake at night is concern about the next World Cup hosts. "They'll find it very hard to beat the standard that we are going to set."

2010 TV, radio to give Africa unprecedented audience

16 August 2007 - The huge number of spectators set to experience the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ on television and radio, will give Africa an unprecedented audience.

2010 TV, radio to give Africa unprecedented audience

16 August 2007 - The huge number of spectators set to experience the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ on television and radio, will give Africa an unprecedented audience.

Angola to have 40 new hotels by 2010

10 August 2007 - Forty new hotels with modern equipments and of four or five star standards will be built in various provinces of Angola by 2010, says Hotel and Tourism Minister Eduardo Jonatao Tchingunji.

'Africa's time has come' – 2010 National Communication Partnership Annual Conference

03 August 2007 - On 15 August 2007 the 2010 National Communication Partnership (NCP) will be holding its second annual conference where communicators from the African continent have been invited to discuss how best to take advantage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ to positively project Africa to the world.

SADC tourism ministers discuss 2010 strategy

30 July 2007 - Tourism ministers of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) met in Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), to discuss the region's strategy for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Africa Highlights 2010

• 25 October 2007 - Lesotho has started with the construction of R5,6-million artificial turf at Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, as part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup preparations. The construction will take two months.
• 11 September 2007 -The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was appointed by the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) to head the marketing strategy and quality distribution of the 2010 World Cup. The AUB and the SABC signed a memorandum of understanding for financial guarantees covering broadcast rights for the World Cup.
• 11 September 2007 -A delegation from Botswana will be part of host city Rustenburg’s celebrations to mark the 1 000 days countdown to the 2010 World Cup. The celebrations will take place at Olympia Park on 15 September 2007.
• 30 August 2007 - Akida Golowa is one of many African artists capitalising on the 2010 World Cup. He is doing a thriving trade with his canvas stadium scenes selling for R400 at flea markets in South Africa. "I am trying to capture the excitement and colour that the World Cup will bring to Africa", says Golowa. Other artists from neighbouring Southern African Development Community countries are working on these unique images for tourists who will be coming to the 2010 World Cup.
• 30 August 2007 - The Swaziland Government will soon apply minimum standards for all accommodation establishments in the country. This would apply for all sizes of establishments, as a way ensuring unforgettable experiences for visitors and enhancing competitiveness with the approach of the World Cup in South Africa. The levy collected from establishments in the process would also help government in developing the sector
• 27 August 2007 - The first African qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup™ will take place in October and will see 10 teams meet on 13 October 2007 in the first leg of the home-and-away knock-out matches. The fixtures are: Seychelles vs Djibouti, Sierra Leone vs Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic vs São Tomé and Principe, Somalia vs Swaziland and Madagascar vs Comoros. The return legs will take place on 17 November 2007. As host, South Africa qualifies for the 32-team tournament.
• 20 August 2007 - According to weekend reports, Tich Mataz, a Zimbabwean and former 5fm DJ, has been appointed as a 2010 World Cup strategy consultant to Swaziland’s King Mswati III. He will advise the king and produce programmes for radio and TV which will be aimed at marketing Swaziland.
• 17 August 2007 - As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Mozambique has decided to invest $600 million in its tourist infrastructure. Maputo Nature Reserve is to receive $150 million in investment and another $50 million is going to Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique. By the end of 2008, Maputo's airport will have new passenger and cargo terminals as well as a modern control tower facility. The tower will cost $70 million and the airport will be ready to handle up to 900,000 passengers a year.
• 15 August 2007 - The 2010 World Cup may contribute to the acceleration of integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which is intended to boost growth and development in the region. Ministers met in preparation for the SADC summit and examined issues related to the acceleration of regional integration, including launching of the free market in January 2008 and the implementation of customs union by 2010.
• 10 August 2007 - The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority approved 20 projects in tourism development zones in an effort to improve tourism infrastructure ahead of the 2010 World Cup. These include construction of hotels and lodges and expansion of some existing projects. All the projects are expected to be completed before the 2010 World Cup.
• 10 August 2007 - As Africa prepares for its first World Cup in 2010, Nigeria's coach Berti Vogts believes that an African team can reach the semi-finals for the first time. "I believe that there is a possibility that we will see one or two African teams in the semi-finals at the World Cup in South Africa," he said.
• 18 July 2007 - Namibian authorities said that the country was experiencing a tourism boom. ‘We've had an amazing start to the year and we expect to break the records,' said Benita Herma from the Namibia Tourist Board in Windhoek. It has been reported that part of the growth is a result of the increased co-operation with South Africa. The new 'Cape Namibia Route' was one of the projects designed to raise awareness of western South Africa and southern Namibia. The country is also expecting to benefit from the 2010 World Cup.
• 18 July 2007 - Kenya successfully hosted the second Kenya e-Tourism conference held in Mombasa recently. The conference was attended by more than 140 delegates spending two days learning about developments in global trade that will impact on tourism business. The highlight of the conference was the announcement from executive chairperson of the New Partnership for Africa's Development's e-Africa Commission, Dr Henry Chasia, that Kenya would be the first country in Africa to test and launch the 2010 payment and booking gateway for the 2010 World Cup. This will present vast opportunities for tourism and co-operation among destinations.
• 9 July 2007 - The World Bank will give Mozambique $100 million in credit to help upgrade its road network. The improved roads will play a part in bringing visitors during the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Mozambique's capital, Maputo, is a few hours' drive from Nelspruit, which is one of the host cities for the tournament.
• 6 July 2007 - Southern African Development Community tourism stakeholders have agreed to come up with an intraregional tourism package to promote tourism in southern Africa ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. These resolutions were made at a recent 2010 World Cup tourism workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe.
• 5 July 2007 - Mozambique plans to capitalise on the tourist boom expected during the 2010 World Cup by spending $600 million on new hotels, casinos and other leisure facilities. Maputo, Mozambique's capital city, is a few hours' drive from Nelspruit, one of the host cities, and six hours from Johannesburg where the opening and final games will be played.
• 6 June 2007 - Mozambique's Airports Company, ADM, plans to revamp all the country's 19 airports in anticipation of growing traffic - especially when South Africa hosts the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Bigger terminals and other infrastructure at Mozambique's airports are expected to be in place before the World Cup and will be built at a cost of over $300-million. In April ADM announced the expansion and modernisation of Maputo International Airport at a cost of $75-million. Other airports to be refurbished include Pemba, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado and Vilankulos in the south, as well as airports in the central region.
• 5 June 2007 - Ghana is preparing to host what promises to be one of the most exciting CAF African Cup of Nations finals in January 2008, and with South Africa gearing up to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the two countries are sharing ideas, expertise and resources. A Ghana government delegation, led by the country's Minister for National Security Francis Poku, was in South Africa. Minister Poku expressed the government of Ghana's determination to support South Africa in the 2010 process and is also looking to South Africa to support Ghana in 2008. "I am quite impressed with the 2010 preparations taking place and that the stakeholders; government, private sector and various communities are all involved and are co-ordinating with their counterparts in Africa," said Minister Poku.