As the football World Cup gets ever closer, huge numbers of fans will descend on South Africa from all over the World to support their country.

 

Considering Africa usually welcomes tourists on safari holidays, they’re about to receive a huge influx of travellers from all over the globe before the World Cup starts on June 11. So are the South African people and the country itself properly prepared for such a high profile tournament?

 

South Africa has faced a huge amount of scrutiny from journalists and pundits across the World; their transport links, accommodation, pricing and national security have all been called into question continually. Cape Town, where a lot of England fans will be visiting, has a higher murder rate than Belfast, London and Glasgow combined. Whilst being indicative of the way of life of some people in the contry, these kind of statistics don’t immediately mean you’re not safe to travel there?

 

As far as I can tell, the country seems very well prepared for the tournament; the stadia are incredible and will not suffer from any serious structural or safety issues, the public transport links are excellent (better than England in a lot of cases) and the people are, on the whole, warm, welcoming and excited to have such an influx of foreign nationals to their country.

 

The police genuinely are excellent too; they recognise that their job will be a difficult one but seem fully physically and mentally prepared for the challenge.

 

From where I’m sitting I don’t think England fans have anything to worry about; I’d advise not wandering off the beaten track or straying too far from the contingent of tourists where you’re staying, but to be honest I’d give similar advice to anyone travelling to any major city in the World, London included.

 

For anyone that is travelling over to the World Cup, don’t let yourself get too bogged down worrying about personal safety; South Africa takes is responsibilities very seriously and with a bit of common sense you’ll be fine. Don’t forget your own responsibility to represent the country you’re travelling to support either, we don’t want a repeat of England fan’s behaviour at previous major tournaments. Don’t forget either that while it may be summer here, it’s winter in South Africa and it will be cold, so pack accordingly if you’re heading out there!

 

This article was written by John, who works for a holiday company specialising in Kenya Holidays & Tanzania Safari‘s. He’s a big fan of football and wishes he was going back to South Africa again this year.

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