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Plan to get fans back to stadiums

The Gauteng provincial government plans to embark on a campaign to woo South Africans back to the soccer fields in support of their clubs.

The Gauteng provincial government plans to embark on a campaign to woo South Africans back to the soccer fields in support of their clubs.

Ivor Hoff, chief director of the department of sports, arts, culture and recreation in the province, said it was disappointing to see some of the games played in virtually empty stadiums.

Hoff was speaking during the launch of the Ekurhuleni Municipality's 2010 World Cup business plan at Germiston Lake last Saturday.

"It is a fact that people do not attend football games anymore. We know in the past that our venues used to be filled to capacity," he said.

"We are working on plans on how to get families back into football. We need to support our clubs by going to the stadiums in big numbers."

Hoff also announced that they had formed a partnership with the South African Football Association to develop the sport in Gauteng.

"On the issue of football development, we are also strengthening the Safa structures within Gauteng by training administrators and technical officials."

He also announced that top US training expert Jeff Thompson has been roped in to train volunteers in Gauteng for the World Cup.

Thompson is in the country to attend the launch of the 2008 Soccerex at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg tomorrow.

Also present at the launch will be Barbara Creecy, Gauteng MEC for sports, arts, culture and recreation and former Bafana Bafana captain Lucas Radebe.

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