World Cup 2010

Everything you need to know about the shebang in South Africa

Nick Moore

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FFT in SA: Intro

Wednesday 09 June 2010 17:10

South Africa has never seen a sporting event on the scale of the World Cup before, and they’re very, very excited about it. Equally, the World Cup has never witnessed anything quite like South Africa. This will be a uniquely thrilling venue for the greatest tournament on earth.

But with a new continent comes uncertainty. What’s it really like out there? Is it the all-singing carnival that the shiny adverts portray, or are the doom-mongers right about the country’s crime problems? Is it going to be a nightmare to get about? What’s the accommodation situation really like? How are the stadiums looking?

There was only one way to find out. FourFourTwo travelled to the three cities that England will be playing at this summer – Rustenburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth – on a hectic five-day fact-finding mission. Notebook in hand, we’ve been to the stadiums. Inside the dressing rooms. And, indeed, inside the dressing room toilets.

We’ve ventured into the townships. We’ve got drunk in a shebeen. We’ve fed elephants, been savaged by insects, tried our luck in the casinos of Sun City, toured the wine country of Stellenbosch, had a braai with the locals and made sure that no stone of the bushveld was left unturned.

So if you’re going out to follow England, read these blogs for our exclusive insider guide to the best of everything South Africa has to offer. If it’s anything like our trip, you’re in for a hell of a ride.

Getting there
We fly in via Cape Town on the first leg of our adventure, although most visitors will pass through Johannesburg. While those watching at home will particularly enjoy this World Cup because of the time difference (South Africa is just one hour ahead), it’s also a real boon for travellers. There’s no bewildering jet-lag to deal with, and provided you can get some overnight kip on the plane, you can wake up fresh on the other side of the globe 12 hours later – particularly if you have your own pillow, eh Wayne?

Fly direct to Jo’burg and Cape Town with British Airways, South African Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Swiss, Virgin, Emirates or Etihad.

FFT's hosts were Sun International, Southern Africa’s leading hotel group.

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About Nick Moore

Nick Moore started his journalistic career working for his boyhood heroes, Liverpool FC, on their programme from 1999 and 2001. It's been mainly downhill for both Nick and Liverpool since – he briefly edited a pamphlet about youth hosteling – but he occasionally manages to contribute to Q, Army and various newspapers.
He's a regular feature writer for FourFourTwo and has been doing Ask A Silly Question for four years, once making national news when Peter Crouch confessed that he regularly dreamt about being a dwarf.
He combines journalism with drumming for cult psychedelic Welsh rock heroes Howl Griff.