THE Gauteng provincial government is taking it upon itself to ensure there is visibility for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals that will be hosted by the country - a campaign that has been lacking despite concerns by many South Africans.
As part of the initiative, the department of sport, arts, culture and recreation will launch the Magnificent Friday campaign where residents of the province and South Africans in general will be encouraged to show their support for the tournament by wearing sports jerseys on Fridays.
Other events marking 100 days until the tournament were held in all five host cities yesterday, including Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Durban and Rustenburg.
"We are planning a number of activation campaigns aimed at encouraging Gauteng communities to rally behind the showpiece," said MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation Lebogang Maile yesterday to mark the 100 days countdown to the kickoff on January 19.
Gauteng will host the opening and closing ceremonies after Maile went out of his way to convince the Local Organising Committee that his province will be central for thousands of people expected to come to the country for the tournament.
The Afcon will be the second major soccer tournament whose opening and final matches will be played at Soccer City. This follows on the heels of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which South Africa also hosted.
"The activation campaigns that we are going to launch include Magnificent Fridays, public viewing of the screening of the Afcon draw (in Durban on October 24) and all the Bafana Bafana matches, including the build-up ones," said Maile.
"We are pulling out all the stops to ensure the tournament becomes a resounding success. We are very proud to once again be hosting the opening and closing ceremonies of major sporting events in the country.
"As we join millions of South Africans in celebrating this milestone, I would like to urge all the people of Gauteng to get ready for the tournament, buy tickets and rally behind the tournament to ensure that the showpiece becomes a success.
"From now on we would like to see everyone wearing their green and gold on Fridays and flying the South African flag high. We also need to rally behind Bafana Bafana - coach Gordon Igesund has made it clear he wants to see the team doing well.
"The last time South Africa hosted this tournament was in 1996, after which the title remained here. We are confident the current team of Bafana Bafana is determined to emulate the Class of 1996 by winning it again as hosts," said Maile.
Gauteng lights fuse under Afcon
THE Gauteng provincial government is taking it upon itself to ensure there is visibility for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals that will be hosted by the country - a campaign that has been lacking despite concerns by many South Africans.
As part of the initiative, the department of sport, arts, culture and recreation will launch the Magnificent Friday campaign where residents of the province and South Africans in general will be encouraged to show their support for the tournament by wearing sports jerseys on Fridays.
Other events marking 100 days until the tournament were held in all five host cities yesterday, including Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Durban and Rustenburg.
"We are planning a number of activation campaigns aimed at encouraging Gauteng communities to rally behind the showpiece," said MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation Lebogang Maile yesterday to mark the 100 days countdown to the kickoff on January 19.
Gauteng will host the opening and closing ceremonies after Maile went out of his way to convince the Local Organising Committee that his province will be central for thousands of people expected to come to the country for the tournament.
The Afcon will be the second major soccer tournament whose opening and final matches will be played at Soccer City. This follows on the heels of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which South Africa also hosted.
"The activation campaigns that we are going to launch include Magnificent Fridays, public viewing of the screening of the Afcon draw (in Durban on October 24) and all the Bafana Bafana matches, including the build-up ones," said Maile.
"We are pulling out all the stops to ensure the tournament becomes a resounding success. We are very proud to once again be hosting the opening and closing ceremonies of major sporting events in the country.
"As we join millions of South Africans in celebrating this milestone, I would like to urge all the people of Gauteng to get ready for the tournament, buy tickets and rally behind the tournament to ensure that the showpiece becomes a success.
"From now on we would like to see everyone wearing their green and gold on Fridays and flying the South African flag high. We also need to rally behind Bafana Bafana - coach Gordon Igesund has made it clear he wants to see the team doing well.
"The last time South Africa hosted this tournament was in 1996, after which the title remained here. We are confident the current team of Bafana Bafana is determined to emulate the Class of 1996 by winning it again as hosts," said Maile.
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