Press Release

Will South Africa be ready in time for 2010?

BRYANSTON – According to market research company African Response, 67% of South Africans feel confident that our country will be ready in time for the 2010 FIFA World cup.

African Response has been tracking confidence in world cup preparations since March 2006. This reading has shown notable decreases in confidence across most aspects of preparation and this has been the lowest level of confidence since June 2006.

Since first being measured in March 2006, confidence in the country’s preparation peaked in November 2007, with 76% of South Africans beaming with confidence in our country’s readiness. However, since January this year, South Africans appear to be feeling less and less assured that we are going to be ready.

South Africa is investing an immense amount in preparation for 2010 at the moment and these efforts are being publicised more and more. However, this does not seem to be having the desired effect of convincing the South African public that we will be ready.

How confident is the country feeling about the various areas which are under development?

Policing and security systems have become more of a concern for South Africans in this measurement. Just under half of South Africans (49%) agree that these systems will be prepared for 2010, a drop of 6% from the last measurement.

Regionally, Durban residents are most convinced that our policing and security will be ready (64%), followed by Johannesburg (63%). Cape Town showed far less confidence (33%), dropping by 6% in this measurement. Pretoria, most negative of all the regions (31%), showed a drop of 10% between this measurement and the last.

Most aspects of South Africa’s transport infrastructure suffered a decrease in confidence. South Africans are certainly feeling less optimistic about the state of our roads, with a 6% drop from the last measure.

Johannesburg residents are less confident about our roads being ready in time for 2010 (down from 74% to 67%). Pretoria (55%) and Durban (68%) were also less optimistic, both dropping by 4%. Capetonians showed a noticeable drop in confidence of 8%, with only 35% of the region feeling assured that South Africa’s roads will be ready.

Other areas in which confidence dwindled were accommodation, electricity supply and the readiness of our stadia. However, it seems as though our restaurants, telecommunications and information technology infrastructures have made a good impression on South Africans lately. These areas all saw slight increases from the last measurement.

Will the following components of South Africa’s infrastructure be ready to cope with the demands of the 2010 FIFA world cup?
Respondents who said YES	Jan 08’ (n = 1200)	Apr 08’ (n=1200)	Jul 08’ (n = 1200)
Restaurants across the country will be ready?	87%	84%	86%
The Telecommunications infrastructure will be ready?	78%	76%	78%
The Information Technology infrastructure will be ready?	77%	76%	78%
Airports will be ready for the influx visitors?	78%	76%	73%
South Africa’s roads will be ready?	64%	62%	56%
Public transport across the country will be ready?	63%	63%	61%
Electricity will meet demands?	52%	36%	35%
The new stadia which are being built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be ready in time?	69%	70%	66%
Accommodation across the country will be ready?	82%	82%	79%
© African Response 2008

Team support

When asked if they had attended a live soccer match in the last two years, only 35% of South Africans said that they had. This is a significant drop of 13% since the last measurement. However, despite this drop, 55% still say that they are likely to attend the 2010 matches.

So why are supporters not getting out and watching games? The lack of enthusiasm could be related to Bafana Bafana’s recent poor performances.

With fears that Bafana Bafana may not even make the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it is not surprising that South Africans have expressed a notable 8% drop in confidence in our national soccer team. Forty-three percent (43%) say that Bafana Bafana will be ready to take on the world in 2010.

It certainly has been a tough few months for our country’s confidence. With recent increases in inflation, it is not surprising that South Africans are generally feeling a little disheartened.

Who is driving despondence and who keeps up the confidence?

Regionally, Cape Town is least confident in South Africa’s readiness for 2010, dropping from 59% in the last measure to 47% is this measurement. Durban dropped from 82% to 78% while Pretoria increased marginally from 74% to 76% between this measure and the last. Johannesburg residents are also more confident (73%), showing a 3% rise from the last measurement. This could possibly be due to all the construction that is underway in the region, a visible reminder of the progress.

And how do Age, Gender and Race impact on confidence?

The cost of success

Forecasts predict that South Africa is going to significantly exceed its budget for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. For this month’s topical question, African Response asked South Africans whether they feel that it would be worth exceeding the budget in order to successfully host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Forty-four percent (44%) of South Africans said “yes, it’s worth it!” Of those who did not agree, 32% said “No” and 20% remained neutral, neither agreeing nor disagreeing that it would be worth it.

About the African Response 2010 Barometer:

African Response has been tracking confidence in world cup preparations since March 2006. The July 2008 results represent the views of 1200 respondents interviewed in major metropolitan areas (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban) during April to June 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 and April 2008. 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. We are ISO 9001: 2000 certified and AAA rated by Empowerdex. 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