SA football Association boss Kirsten Nematandani has assured World Cup tourists that South Africans “don’t live in a jungle” and that the country is “safe”.
This after weekend newspaper reports that a British company was cashing in on a stab-proof vest for visitors who fear being mugged and injured.
The jackets cost about R510. The company’s marketing pitch includes official crime statistics for 2008-2009, City Press reported.
Mr. Nematandani told The Times yesterday that it was “unfortunate” that some foreign businesses had a negative outlook on South Africa and the safety and security of travelling fans.
“These people are out of order and should be condemned by their own country’s officials. We’ve never heard of such measures being taken before and there surely is no need for it,” he said.
“We are a safe [country], and foreign visitors should know that we don’t live in a jungle, our security is in place,” Mr. Nematandani said.
Matt Arnold, a football reporter for ITV in the UK, told The Times that his brother, who owns a sports travel business, was in South Africa for last year’s British and Irish Lions tour and had taken “extraordinary measures” to protect the hundreds of visitors he had brought with him.
“He got local police to provide an escort for the eight buses the fans came in after one was mugged at knifepoint in the city.”
Source: www.timeslive.co.za, 20100118
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