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June 22 - There have been a few security breaches among international sportsmen in South Africa lately. Five Egyptian players had property stolen from their hotel rooms while they were playing Italy in Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Thursday. Four rugby fans who had recently arrived from England were mugged in South Africa as well.
FIFA spokesman Nicholas Maingot was clear that FIFA is very concerned with security and that they are certain that the South African authorities will be able to provide adequate security for both the 2010 World Cup and the Confederations Cup.
World Cup organizing committee spokesman Jermaine Craig agreed that "Security is a massively important issue for us, we've always stressed as much, and that continues to be the focus. For us, it's very important the event is safe and secure, and by and large it has been."
In addition to security, transportation is a major issue in the preparations for hosting the 2010 World Cup. 450 thousand fans are expected to visit South Africa for the tournament which lasts a whole month.
Security, however, is a central issue for South Africa, a country with a murder rate of over fifty murders per day. Local authorities plan to add more police, increase high-tech equipment and increase police training to prevent crime and terrorism at the World Cup. $138 million has been dedicated to increasing the police presence in South Africa for the security-sensitive World Cup.
South African Minister for Human Settlement Tokyo Sexwale said that during his days as a prisoner on Robben Island, football was one of the few things that prisoners could do. He said that until FIFA brought the World Cup to Africa, they were effectively discriminating against Africans, and that the World Cup in South Africa is a sign of a break in the cycle of racism.
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