“Requests for visas, accompanied by the World Cup tickets, will be considered within five working days from the date of application,” South African Consul General Mahdi Basadien told a meeting of travel agents and media at the Westin Jeddah.

Matches for the World Cup will be played at stadiums in South Africa from June 11 to July 11. Tickets are already available online.

During the interactive session, the consul general, who was accompanied by Deputy Consul General Dolph Ramolotsi (consul political) and Haroon Sheik Oosman, consul immigration and civic affairs, said: “We have the support of the whole of the African continent for hosting the world event. South African and other selected African teams have qualified for the World Cup and as such it has generated a lot of interest and enthusiasm among Africans.”

Providing security to the teams and also the visitors has been uppermost for the South African authorities and foolproof arrangements are being made in this respect.

“Once visitors arrive in South Africa, they have an entirely different perception. South Africa receives 11 million tourists a year and that in itself is an indication that we provide a good service in most if not all aspects,” the consul general added.

Since 1994, South Africa has successfully managed some of the biggest international tournaments including the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the Women’s World Cup of Golf in 2005 and 2006 and, in January 2006, the only street race in the inaugural A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport.

But the Football World Cup, the world’s biggest sporting event after the Olympic games — in terms of television audience, bigger than the Olympics — is in a class of its own.

For four weeks, South Africa will be the center of the world. The 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan was the most extensively covered and viewed event in television history. South Africa expects to draw even bigger audiences during the World Cup.

The June-July period in South Africa is generally a low season from the tourist travel point of view. “This period is part of the winter season and tourists usually travel to South Africa during summer — November to January,” the Consul General added.

Some of the travel agents present said there had been a number of inquiries from the local community for packages for the world event.

“Since the June-July period forms part of the Kingdom’s summer vacation season, there will be a number of Saudis and expatriates combining their World Cup visit with tourism,” said Ali Saad Al-Ahmari, acting retail manager at Elaf Travel and Tourism Company. - Arab News