Will The 2010 World Cup Soccer Inflate The Value Property In SA?

The 2010 Soccer Tournament is definitely not comparable with the 1995 Rugby World Cup. In 1995 only 25 000 tourists visited South Africa. FIFA expects some 350 000 foreign tourists in 2010. The prediction is that the soccer fans will spend R10bn on meals, accommodation, transport and merchandise, he said.

?The influx of foreign capital is great, however, insignificant in comparison to the huge spin-offs the publicity will have for South Africa?, says Lodewyk Joubert, CEO of Syndation. ?Over a billion people are expected to follow the month-long tournament between the world?s top 32 soccer playing nations?.

Andrew Golding, CE of the Pam Golding Property Group confirms that the potential spin-offs are far-reaching. As soccer enjoys a large following, countries that have not been exposed to South Africa before will be in 2010.

?Just imagine what will be promoted on TV during this period?, Joubert says. ?Images of our natural beauty ? of Table Mountain, the Kruger National Park and the bushveld, the Southern Cape coastline, the Kalahari and a few other places will be brought to billions of households around the globe.

If we do this correctly, it will be an advertising campaign for luxury lifestyle ownership in South Africa on a scale that has never been seen before!?

Jose Ventura, MD of Pam Golding VIP, made the connection recently that the future of luxury lifestyle ownership lies in stress-free fractional ownership.

"There are clear and distinct differences between property syndications and high-end fractional ownership. The two should not be confused?, says Stephen Rademeyer, of Syndation. ?High-end fractional ownership is a fully managed service with international and local exchange options ? the difference is the hassle-free component which is generally not found with normal property syndication.?

A lot can be learnt from previous World Cups and other tournaments of that magnitude such as the Olympic Games. Greece did not promote the property market to the extent that Barcelona and Sydney did. The latter capitalised on the publicity and promoted Spain and Australia as great places to tour and to own a second home.

Similarly the property prices in Paris escalated by between 60-100% within the first year after the 2002 World Cup in France.

Butana Komphela, chairperson of parliament's sport and recreation committee warned that the experience of the Soccer World Cup in Japan and South Korea showed the job creation forecasts were hugely overestimated. However, even Mbembe agrees the World Cup will boost investment and tourism in the longer term - as long as South Africa can utlise the promotional value the world cup would render.

Lourens van Wyk (Industrial Psychologist)

Soccer Rules-Fouls- Spitting

At a soccer match, most acts become fouls only by degree. The player?s actions during the run of play are, in large measure, harmless in themselves, and will become fouls only when done in an unfair manner. Players often bump into each other while running, or push past each while each is trying to avoid a collision. They tussle over the ball, or leap to head a long pass and collide another player who is trying to do the same thing. They may kick at the ball and narrowly miss kicking their opponent?s shin. These actions are all considered to be an ordinary part of the typical soccer game, where most bodily contact is incidental to the players? efforts to win the ball.

A few acts, however, are deemed fouls whenever they take place?regardless of how or why they occur. One kind of worst of these acts is the foul and misconduct of spitting.

Spitting
Though it has probably been with us ever since Adam and Eve first left the Garden of Eden, spitting is particularly frowned upon away from the athletic field, where it is considered the act of a barbarian. But though always vulgar, spitting is regarded in some cultures as a particularly vile and offensive insult. For this reason, spitting at anyone during the course of a soccer match is a red-card offense; and spitting at an opponent during play is a foul as well as a misconduct, punished by a direct kick as well as a send-off.

Referees are, however, careful to punish the misconduct, and not simply the vulgar. Like many athletes, soccer players have an unfortunate tendency to spit quite innocently, occasionally on indoor carpets as well as natural grass. But despite what their mothers might have to say about the matter, on a soccer field only spitting at another person is a misconduct.

Jeffrey Caminsky, a veteran public prosecutor in Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. Both his science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the first volume in the Guardians of Peace (tm) science fiction adventure series, and The Referee?s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating, are published by New Alexandria Press, http://www.newalexandriapress.com.