Press Release

2010 : South Africans are confident in their nation’s readiness

BRYANSTON – African Response’s 2010 Barometer has seen a record high in the nation’s confidence ahead of 2010. Since March 2004, there have been vacillations in the public opinion but with the tournament only over a year away, the majority of South Africans have shown support for those that have been slaving away to make sure that we are prepared – 78% believe that we will indeed be ready.

African Response’s 2010 Barometer measures the nation’s awareness and opinions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, reflecting the views of 1,200 South Africans representative of the nation in terms of race, gender and region. The first reading was taken in March 2006 and since then the full results have been released every three months. Overall confidence has increased 2% from the last reading (January 2009). Confidence levels vary across the country. Durban’s support of the event preparation is highest at 86% as with Johannesburg (84%), while Cape Town demonstrates little faith at only 68%.

Will you be watching?

85% of respondents state that they will catch the games on television. Most enthusiastic are respondents from Johannesburg (89%) and Durban (90%) as well as those in the 16 – 34 year old category. There has been a slight decrease in the percentage of the respondents who intend to go to one of the live matches. Compared to a score of 56% in the last reading, 53% now intend to sit in the stadium for at least one of the games. This is perhaps due to the fact that phase one of ticketing is now complete and for some, the opportunity to secure a ticket has passed by.

Infrastructure

Much has been done to restore and rejuvenate the country before hoards of tourists descend for the tournament and African Response has been tracking perceptions of readiness on many of the aspects.

Construction on our roads has been a highly visible affair and while this has caused a degree of frustration for drivers, 64% believe that they will be ready. In Pretoria only 50% have this confidence. While it is encouraging to see people working on the roads, it is possible that this could also contribute to some skeptism – in seeing only the initial stages of new roads or extensions to highways happening now, it may be difficult to imagine how these will be complete by the time 2010 rolls around. Confidence in public transport being ready decreased slightly from the last reading (now at 70% from 72% last reading). This is possibly due to the public negotiations around the Bus Rapid Transport system from government, which could imply a delay in its implementation.

With load shedding and electricity cuts firmly in the past, the public are showing more optimism (60%, up from 55% in the last reading) that electricity will meet requirements during the World Cup. Joburgers (72%) show the highest levels of confidence while those in Cape Town (53%) and Pretoria (46%) are less convinced.

There has been some major restructuring at the Oliver Tambo airport, leading to 89% of Johannesburg respondents believing that our airports will be ready when World Cup fans enter our country. Cape Town shows a more cautious outlook with a comparatively low 72% agreeing that the airports will be sufficiently equipped. The difference here is possibly due to the fact that the Joburg airport has been built while the Cape Town airport is still going through construction. Nationally, this figure stands at 80%.

Confidence in policing and security does not enjoy as much confidence as some of the other attributes. Pretoria residents are particularly dubious about security issues – only 53% showing trust compared to 76% of Johannesburg respondents.

Accommodation and Restaurants have typically enjoyed high confidence levels and this reading is no different – 87% and 82% of respondents respectively stating that these will be ready.

Confidence in our stadiums, perhaps one of the most significant aspects for this event, has suffered a slight decrease this wave. Last reading 78% of respondents were convinced that these would be done compared to the lower 75% seen in this wave.

Bafana Bafana: Belief in our local soccer stars has increased this wave, 54% now confident that the team will be ready for the event.

Significance of the event

Since the inception of our survey, a large proportion of South Africans have believed that the event will benefit our country, however this wave has seen a record high (89%) in those believing that the event is good for our country.

In terms of personal importance, Joburgers as well as those aged between 25 and 34 are most convinced of the significance of the event, with 88% and 83% respectively agreeing that it is personally important for them. Those in Cape Town do not see as much importance – only 65% agreeing with the statement. 85% of respondents from Durban see the significance of the event to them personally.

Will the following components of South Africa’s infrastructure be ready to cope with the demands of the 2010 FIFA world cup?
Respondents who agree or strongly agree	Jan 09 n = 1200	April 09 n = 1200
Restaurants across the country will be ready?	89%	87%
The Telecommunications infrastructure will be ready?	77%	73%
The Information Technology infrastructure will be ready?	75%	74%
Airports will be ready for the influx visitors?	81%	80%
South Africa’s roads will be ready?	69%	65%
Public transport across the country will be ready?	72%	70%
Electricity will meet demands?	55%	60%
The new stadia which are being built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be ready in time?	78%	75%
Will Policing and Security be ready?	65%	66%
Accommodation across the country will be ready?	83%	83%
©African Response 2009

BRYANSTON – Half of the South African population support the draft bylaw which would prevent guesthouses, pubs, clubs and theatres in Cape Town residential areas from selling alcohol past 9pm. This is according to African Response’s 2010 Barometer.

The bylaw has caused a significant amount of debate ahead of the 2010 World Cup because one of the implications is that the European tourist for example, will not be able to go for dinner outside of the city after 9pm. A large chunk of South Africans (41%) do not think that passing this law is a good idea.

When asked whether this should be applied to the rest of South Africa, respondents demonstrated the same trend – 51% agreeing that it should, whilst 42% thought that this was a bad idea.

With 436 days left to kickoff, 80% of South Africans are confident that with all our preparation, our country will be ready for the 2010 World Cup.

African Response’s 2010 Barometer is a monthly poll which was established to track public perceptions on the progress of South Africa’s preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. March’s results represent the views of 400 respondents interviewed in Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town in February this year.

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About the African Response 2010 Barometer:

African Response has been tracking confidence in world cup preparations since March 2006. The January 2009 results represent the views of 1200 respondents interviewed in major metropolitan areas (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban) during October to December 2008. Respondents are representative of the South African population in terms of race, gender and region.

Previous African Response 2010 Barometers were conducted in March 2006, June 2006, October 2006, July 2007, November 2007, January 2008, April 2008, July 2008, November 2008 and January 2009. These reports can be found at www.africanresponse.co.za.

About African Response

African Response is the most empowered, black owned, black managed research agency in South Africa. Established in an equity relationship with Synovate we offer a full complement of research skills.

African Response prides itself upon an exceptional ability to understand and interpret the needs of the South African black urban and rural consumer. We offer clients customized qualitative and quantitative research, innovative ideas and practical solutions. African Response’s vision is to significantly improve clients’ business performance and to achieve excellence through utilization of the wide knowledge and experience of our partners.

 

More information can be found at www.africanresponse.co.za