Brazilian dream team for Bafana?
Craig Urquhart
22 August 2008
When an interviewer recently asked Springbok ace Francois Steyn what the most frightening experience of his life was, he said it was the moment he was signed by the Sharks, knowing he would have to move to Durban and learn to speak English.
Bafana coach Joel Santana could be forgiven for feeling the same way, but at least he has a permanent interpretor at his side. His difficulty in grasping the English language has no doubt made an incredibly demanding job that much harder.
The Brazilian's match record, following Tuesday night's 2-2 draw against Australia, reads: one win, two draws and two losses.
These results are not exactly dismal, but the reality is they are simply not good enough for a country whose performance on the field in just 22 months is crucial to the success of the first World Cup tournament on African soil.
Enter Carlos Parreira. There was a great deal of fanfare about the World Cup winning coach, and he was touted as the one person who could get wayward Bafana back on track.
Parreira settled in quickly and asserted his authority from the start. He brushed aside criticisms about his R1.8-million a month salary ("I would get the same money in Brazil. I didn't come here for the money, I came to work"); how he saw his role ("I am not going to let Safa tell me how to coach Bafana"); and how he planned to turn the team's fortunes ("through planning, organising and team building").
The new-look squad oozed potential - but then an emotional Parreira threw in the towel to return to his wife, who was suffering from cancer. It was a bitter blow for everyone who suspected that an extraordinary revival was on the cards.
SA Football Association (Safa) CEO Raymond Hack might be denying that Parreira fits into Bafana's future plans, but it's no secret that he is in regular contact with the Brazilian.
So, what's stopping Parreira from picking up where he left off? The revered coach has reportedly agreed to return early next year to assist Santana after revealing that his wife had undergone successful surgery.
It's unfair to knock Santana – he is an extraordinary coach (at club level). The Bafana side which contained Australia under his stewardship showed flashes of brilliance (and it was great to see Benni McCarthy behaving on – and off – the park).
But the reality is that Santana desperately needs some assistance, and who better to provide it than the man who recommended him in the first place?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wine
Training 2 010 wine waiters for 2010
29 August 2008
Wines of South Africa (Wosa), the not-for-profit organisation that promotes South African wines worldwide, has launched its Fundi premium red wine brand, along with a novel job creation and skills development initiative that will see profits from all sales of this wine going toward training 2 010 wine stewards ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Fundi, a top-calibre red wine created expressly for this purpose, went on sale locally and abroad in August, and will also be showcased at the biennial wine industry exhibition Cape Wine 2008, to be held in Cape Town in September and attended by the international wine trade.
A total of 17 500 6-bottle cases of Fundi - the isiZulu word for learner - were released into the market, with a view to raising around R4.5-million for the training programme.
Each bottle carries a beaded neck tag produced by informal roadside beaders, and the wine was produced by six wineries, each individually identified on the back labels of the bottles.
"We invited the industry to submit wines for consideration in an open tender," says Wosa CEO Su Birch. "Submissions were chosen in a blind tasting by members of the Cape Winemakers' Guild according to the same exacting standards applied when choosing wines for its annual auction."
Birch says the initiative aims to ensure that South Africa's World Cup visitors enjoy a positive experience when ordering wine, while building awareness among a new and potentially influential group of "wine ambassadors" who can contribute to increased wine sales in the domestic market.
"The project aims to do more than transfer basic wine knowledge," says Birch. "Trainees will be equipped to serve wine with greater competence and confidence. However, we also hope they will make wine their alcoholic beverage of choice and reach a broader base of South Africans and introduce them to wine appreciation."
Birch says the plan is to recruit candidates for training from both the hospitality industry as well as among the unemployed, adding that it has the full backing of hospitality industry body Fedhasa.
"The training module, designed by specialists already successfully training in the hospitality industry across southern Africa, will give candidates a basic understanding of wine that is relevant to their own life experience," Wosa says in a statement.
"It will allow them to communicate with a fair degree of knowledge about the wines they will be selling in the restaurants, hotels and lodges where they are working or will be seeking jobs, and equip them to articulate to customers what makes South African wines so special.
"Our dream is that among this group there will also be some sufficiently inspired to advance their training still further and become sommeliers either by studying through the Cape Wine Academy or by gaining experience or training abroad."
Birch says Wosa is exploring the possibility of establishing bursaries for waiters to be trained internationally as sommeliers.
A range of companies has supported the project by donating goods such as glass, corks and labeling, while other service providers have reduced their costs for legal, accounting, banking, marketing and related fees.
The Winelands District Municipality has already committed R250 000 to the initiative, to be used for training candidates in the Winelands.
"Mayor Clarence Johnson's generous move allows us to begin training immediately in the heartland of the wine industry, where visitor expectations for good wine service will, understandably, be at their highest," says Birch.
SAinfo reporter
29 August 2008
Wines of South Africa (Wosa), the not-for-profit organisation that promotes South African wines worldwide, has launched its Fundi premium red wine brand, along with a novel job creation and skills development initiative that will see profits from all sales of this wine going toward training 2 010 wine stewards ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Fundi, a top-calibre red wine created expressly for this purpose, went on sale locally and abroad in August, and will also be showcased at the biennial wine industry exhibition Cape Wine 2008, to be held in Cape Town in September and attended by the international wine trade.
A total of 17 500 6-bottle cases of Fundi - the isiZulu word for learner - were released into the market, with a view to raising around R4.5-million for the training programme.
Each bottle carries a beaded neck tag produced by informal roadside beaders, and the wine was produced by six wineries, each individually identified on the back labels of the bottles.
"We invited the industry to submit wines for consideration in an open tender," says Wosa CEO Su Birch. "Submissions were chosen in a blind tasting by members of the Cape Winemakers' Guild according to the same exacting standards applied when choosing wines for its annual auction."
Birch says the initiative aims to ensure that South Africa's World Cup visitors enjoy a positive experience when ordering wine, while building awareness among a new and potentially influential group of "wine ambassadors" who can contribute to increased wine sales in the domestic market.
"The project aims to do more than transfer basic wine knowledge," says Birch. "Trainees will be equipped to serve wine with greater competence and confidence. However, we also hope they will make wine their alcoholic beverage of choice and reach a broader base of South Africans and introduce them to wine appreciation."
Birch says the plan is to recruit candidates for training from both the hospitality industry as well as among the unemployed, adding that it has the full backing of hospitality industry body Fedhasa.
"The training module, designed by specialists already successfully training in the hospitality industry across southern Africa, will give candidates a basic understanding of wine that is relevant to their own life experience," Wosa says in a statement.
"It will allow them to communicate with a fair degree of knowledge about the wines they will be selling in the restaurants, hotels and lodges where they are working or will be seeking jobs, and equip them to articulate to customers what makes South African wines so special.
"Our dream is that among this group there will also be some sufficiently inspired to advance their training still further and become sommeliers either by studying through the Cape Wine Academy or by gaining experience or training abroad."
Birch says Wosa is exploring the possibility of establishing bursaries for waiters to be trained internationally as sommeliers.
A range of companies has supported the project by donating goods such as glass, corks and labeling, while other service providers have reduced their costs for legal, accounting, banking, marketing and related fees.
The Winelands District Municipality has already committed R250 000 to the initiative, to be used for training candidates in the Winelands.
"Mayor Clarence Johnson's generous move allows us to begin training immediately in the heartland of the wine industry, where visitor expectations for good wine service will, understandably, be at their highest," says Birch.
SAinfo reporter
Bed and Breakfast
SA Bed and Breakfasts win praise ahead of 2010 World Cup
25 August 2008
by Michael Williams
MATCH, the company tasked with ensuring the provision of accommodation during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, has praised South African Bed and Breakfast establishments for their diversity and affordability. This is according to news reports issued from Beijing, where several press briefings and forums have been held over the last few days to discuss the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
"South Africa will offer five-star luxury, they will offer game parks, tours and what we call bed and breakfasts. The impression of a bed and breakfast in my youth wasn't always favourable.
"In South Africa it's a completely different option. Those particular premises are often five-star and offer you every luxury you have possibly known in 2010. So, it's the diversity of the options which make South Africa a tremendously affordable and viable competition to all the people around the world wishing to enjoy the World Cup in 2010," Ray Whelan, the Chairman of MATCH said.
Shine 2010 spoke to Tanya Baleson, co-manager of Zimbete Country House in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, about Whelan's assessment of the South African Bed and Breakfast industry. Baleson said that South African guesthouses have a good reputation with overseas travelers for their homeliness and personalised service.
"South Africans are very hospitable and friendly in that way. They are very open to inviting people into their homes, and this manifests in the way our guesthouses are run," she said.
Signing a MATCH contract requires that your accommodation establishment is first graded by the Tourism Grading Council. Once this is done and a contract with MATCH is signed the establishment has access to a range of benefits, such as being profiled on FIFA's website (one of the busiest websites in the world).
Find out here how to have your accommodation offering graded by the Tourism Grading Council and accredited by MATCH.
25 August 2008
by Michael Williams
MATCH, the company tasked with ensuring the provision of accommodation during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, has praised South African Bed and Breakfast establishments for their diversity and affordability. This is according to news reports issued from Beijing, where several press briefings and forums have been held over the last few days to discuss the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
"South Africa will offer five-star luxury, they will offer game parks, tours and what we call bed and breakfasts. The impression of a bed and breakfast in my youth wasn't always favourable.
"In South Africa it's a completely different option. Those particular premises are often five-star and offer you every luxury you have possibly known in 2010. So, it's the diversity of the options which make South Africa a tremendously affordable and viable competition to all the people around the world wishing to enjoy the World Cup in 2010," Ray Whelan, the Chairman of MATCH said.
Shine 2010 spoke to Tanya Baleson, co-manager of Zimbete Country House in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, about Whelan's assessment of the South African Bed and Breakfast industry. Baleson said that South African guesthouses have a good reputation with overseas travelers for their homeliness and personalised service.
"South Africans are very hospitable and friendly in that way. They are very open to inviting people into their homes, and this manifests in the way our guesthouses are run," she said.
Signing a MATCH contract requires that your accommodation establishment is first graded by the Tourism Grading Council. Once this is done and a contract with MATCH is signed the establishment has access to a range of benefits, such as being profiled on FIFA's website (one of the busiest websites in the world).
Find out here how to have your accommodation offering graded by the Tourism Grading Council and accredited by MATCH.
Greenpoint Stadium
Greenpoint Stadium for all to see
27 August 2008
by Michael Williams
The Greenpoint Stadium Visitor Centre has been open to the public since the beginning of this year but many people have still not heard of it. The visitor centre gives residents and visitors to Cape Town the opportunity to view the stadium construction site and progress, as well exhibitions and performances related to Greenpoint Stadium and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Greenpoint Stadium is to host eight matches, including a semi-final, in the World Cup, but its construction has been met with some resistance from local residents. The purpose of the visitor centre is largely to answer questions from sceptical residents, but also to add value to the area as a tourist attraction and point of interest. Among the visitor centre’s features is a collection of South African soccer memorabilia, a guided tour of the stadium and lecture series run by stadium contractors Murray and Roberts and WBHO, documentary screenings, and a one-man theatre show about the history of the area.
The visitor centre also runs a free schools programme, which gives children information on careers in engineering, architecture and construction and takes them on tours of the surrounding area. At the opening of the centre, Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town Helen Zille, said that she hoped that the impressive structural work on the stadium would encourage young visitors to study engineering and related fields – where skills are in short supply in South Africa.
The visitor’s centre is situated behind the Old Greenpoint Stadium in Vlei Road, Greenpoint.
27 August 2008
by Michael Williams
The Greenpoint Stadium Visitor Centre has been open to the public since the beginning of this year but many people have still not heard of it. The visitor centre gives residents and visitors to Cape Town the opportunity to view the stadium construction site and progress, as well exhibitions and performances related to Greenpoint Stadium and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Greenpoint Stadium is to host eight matches, including a semi-final, in the World Cup, but its construction has been met with some resistance from local residents. The purpose of the visitor centre is largely to answer questions from sceptical residents, but also to add value to the area as a tourist attraction and point of interest. Among the visitor centre’s features is a collection of South African soccer memorabilia, a guided tour of the stadium and lecture series run by stadium contractors Murray and Roberts and WBHO, documentary screenings, and a one-man theatre show about the history of the area.
The visitor centre also runs a free schools programme, which gives children information on careers in engineering, architecture and construction and takes them on tours of the surrounding area. At the opening of the centre, Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town Helen Zille, said that she hoped that the impressive structural work on the stadium would encourage young visitors to study engineering and related fields – where skills are in short supply in South Africa.
The visitor’s centre is situated behind the Old Greenpoint Stadium in Vlei Road, Greenpoint.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Favorite to win the soccer world cup in 2010
Germany, England, Spain, Brazilia, South Africa, Nigeria; etc. Who is the favourite for 2010? Why did I include SA? Anything is possible for the host nation of any big event.
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