BankofAthletes - Investing in Talents

FIFA bosses Jerome Valcke (left) and Danny Jordaan (centre) look on as overjoyed football fans show-off their tickets for a match of the Confederations Cup in Johannesburg, on April 29.

With only three weeks until the kick-off of the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, organisers are stepping up a marketing blitz to popularise the event, which remains little known here.

The publicity drive started at the beginning of the year, after the world football governing FIFA scolded the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for not adequately marketing the event, a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup.

The LOC responded by saying they had a limited budget, arguing that such major events are self-promoting.

Nonetheless, marketing for the Confeds Cup has slowly picked up, with private companies and government agencies joining various football-themed campaigns.

Giant billboards bearing national flags of the eight countries taking part in the two-week football spectacle are cropping up in the four host cities.

Energy-charged radio and television adverts are flooding the airwaves, to boost ticket sales and bring excitement to the games.

The LOC is confident that the games will be played in fully packed stadiums, despite the late start of the promotion of the games, which run June 14 to 28.

"The billboards were left until later due to the national election campaign billboards and the Indian Premier League. We wanted to achieve the greatest impact," said LOC spokeswoman Janet Sebastian.

Sebastian said advertising campaigns had cost the LOC 20 million rand (2.3 million dollars, 1.7 million euros ) over the past eight months.

Ticket sales have picked up since FIFA relaxed its online-only sales system, which locals deemed as too complicated in a country where Internet access remains a privilege.

Aiming to cater to South African fans used to buying tickets at the stadium on the day of the match, FIFA last month introduced kiosks where fans can buy tickets directly.

Over 25,000 tickets have been sold over the counter since the opening of the ticketing centres, according to FIFA. In April, a local bank purchased a bulk 50,000 tickets to lift flagging ticket sales.

FIFA said Thursday that nearly 400,000 tickets, 63 percent of those available, have been sold for the Confeds Cup, with three weeks still to go. For the last Confed Cup in Germany in 2005, about 85 percent of the tickets were sold.

One marketing expert warned that the late start to the promotions could hurt the chances of filling the stadiums.

"You cannot guarantee that people will just flock to the stadiums, simply because South Africans are football fanatics," said Michael Blosch, of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth.

"To say that they did not want their campaigns to coincide with other public events is a bit of a red herring," he added.

But fans say enthusiasm is building. Mzion Mofokeng is a national icon for his elaborate costumes worn at nearly every match of South Africa's biggest club, Orlando Pirates. He believes South Africans are finally gearing up for the tournament.

"I think South Africans are now getting in the mood for the Confed, they are excited to see stars like Kaka and Ronaldino in action," said Mofokeng, referring to the Brazilian stars.

"People were frustrated about the initial ticketing process, they were not comfortable with having money debited from their accounts. The new process has made things a lot easier for them," he added.

The state-funded International Marketing Council (IMC), which is tasked with marketing the country abroad, has also pitched in to help put a spark on the games.

The company is running vibrant dance promotions on television, which it hopes will become a macarena-style global phenomenon.

"The aim is to drive excitement for a football championship that is going to be colourful, vibrant, intoxicating and alive with a fusion of cultures, dance, song and music," IMC acting chief Paul Bannister said.