Overall public confidence in South Africa's readiness to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup has improved slightly since 2006, with a study by market research company African Response finding that 70% of South Africans believe the country will be ready then.
African Response director Anina Maree says this is an encouraging sign, explaining that their 2010 barometer was designed to track public perceptions, and to allow organisers and other stakeholders to address public concerns.
"A heart-warming result from the 2010 African Response barometer is that the majority of respondents (85%) believe that South Africa will benefit from the 2010 World Cup," African Response says in a statement this week.
"In addition, almost four out of five respondents believe that the World Cup is important to them personally."
The survey interviewed 1 200 respondents from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria over April, May and June this year.
The survey shows that the residents of Johannesburg as being significantly more optimistic in the country's ability to host the World Cup, with a 76% confidence level, as opposed to residents of Cape Town, with only 60%.
Seventy percent of those interviewed believe that South African airports will be while 59% have faith that public transport will be sufficient to carry soccer fans around the country during the tournament.
An overwhelming 85% also believed that South Africa's many restaurants would be ready to cope with the increased demands of hosting the World Cup.
"Bafana Bafana have apparently made a good impression on the South African public in the last three months, as confidence in our local team has risen from 44% in 2006 to 52% in 2007," African Response adds.
The survey also points to more South Africans preferring to watch World Cup matches on television, with only 54% wanting to watch matches live, down from 61% in 2006.
"Although overall levels of confidence are high, some areas for improvement have been highlighted from the survey," African Response says.
The survey shows that there has been a notable decline in the confidence that South Africa will be able to meet electricity demands during the World Cup, with confidence being lowest in Cape Town, which has had many power disruptions.
Confidence is South Africa's security and policing has declined from 62% in 2006 to 55% currently, while residents' optimism on sufficient accommodation being available during the tournament also dropped to 77% from 84% in 2006.
The survey also finds that over half of the respondents feel that they are not receiving enough information on the progress made on World Cup preparations.
"While overall confidence is up, there are obvious areas which South Africans believe could be improved on," says Maree.
"However, as 2010 nears, and developments become visible to the public these scores are sure to rise as excitement builds."
SouthAfrica.info reporter
Source: SouthAfrica.infoThe all-in-one official guide
and web portal to South Africa.
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