FIFA have named England and Germany as two of the many culprits that continue to portray South Africa in a negative light ahead of the World Cup.

Organisation’s general secretary Jerome Valcke said: “It’s sad that every morning you wake up and every morning there are articles from the world’s football family saying that people should not fly to South Africa, that this is a dangerous country, that this is not good, that there is no way this person should fly to South Africa because it is a crazy country, that FIFA and (Sepp) Blatter made the wrong decision to host the World Cup in South Africa.

Ok, here is my opinion on the matter. Yes you need to keep your wits about you when you come to our country, people should not be blind to the fact that South Africa has crime issues, the same crime that is becoming more prevalent in most first world countries.

But there is keeping your wits about you and there is going overboard, for example, ‘certain’ companies in ‘certain’ countries insisting that all visitors to South Africa should invest in a bullet proof jacket! Now come on, the international media is painting a picture of extreme violence where people are being randomly gunned down in the streets, where nobody is safe. That is certainly not the case. We have a beautiful country with many amazing features, which people never really get to hear about because of all the negative press.

FIFA did not make a mistake in selecting South Africa for the World Cup, in fact this event is going to show just how friendly and welcoming the people of South Africa can be. There is no doubt that each and every visitor will return home a couple of Kilograms heavier (due to world class beer and food), a spring in their step and the memory of a unique African experience they will never forget.

By:Kerry

Reference: Sport24.co.za