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As the year 2009 starts drawing to a close, many of us are finding ourselves subconsciously starting to make preparations for next year's top sporting event: the FIFA world cup 2010, to be held in South Africa. Already, the nations that will be taking part in this event have been selected, through what have turned out to be truly interesting qualifiers. Indeed, it would be a valid statement to say that with the exception of the hosts South Africa, no other nation has had a truly easy run to the world cup. South Africa too, while lucky to have qualified by virtue of being the hosts, are quite a formidable soccer powerhouse in Africa; who stood just as good a chance of qualifying even if the event was being held in another country.
Now as we train our eyes to FIFA world cup 2010, and drawing on our previous experiences with past editions of the world cup - and the peculiar circumstances of South Africa - we have identified a list of ten things you should avoid.
1. The first thing to avoid, especially if you are planning on traveling to South Africa for the games, is buying unauthentic World Cup tickets; only to end up being disappointed upon landing at the games. Ensure that you only get authentic World Cup tickets from reputable vendors, online or otherwise. Closely related to this is the blunder of failing to get your match tickets in advance - assuming that you will be able to purchase them 'at the gate' as you usually do when your neighborhood side is playing at the local stadium. You could be in for a rude shock, as world tickets get sold out rather early.
2. The second mistake to avoid, when going to South Africa for the world Cup, is that of failing to make arrangements for the travel early in advance - consoling yourself with the argument that you 'will cross that bridge when you get to it.' One manifestation of this is, for instance, failing to get your flight tickets in advance (like imagining that booking a flight seven months ahead is 'paranoia') As it turns out though, all flights to South Africa for the period when the world cup will be running are already getting sold out, and it is in your best interest to get yours' early.
Closely related to this is assuming that just because you will be traveling to South Africa for the matches, you will be granted easy entry to the country (and therefore not bothering to get your travel documentation in order in good time). This could put you in a fix; for you should not expect major entry exceptions to South Africa just because you will be traveling there to attend the matches.
3. The third major mistake to avoid is that of failing to get your hotel place in advance - consoling yourself that you will surely get a place when you land in the country (as you usually do in your travels anyway). Contrary to this, do keep in mind that the world cup is just that: a world cup, drawing folks from all over the globe. You could quite easily end up in South Africa, but destitute: with either no place whatsoever to sleep, or at least no place befitting your status. Hence the need for early accommodation arrangements.
4. The fourth major mistake you should avoid is that of failing to do research on South Africa, arguing that after all you will not be going there as a 'tourist' - but as a football fan. This could put you in tricky situations, because the way things work in South Africa is likely to be quite different from the way things work where you come from - and you could get embarrassingly stranded, or even exposed to danger!
5. The fifth major mistake you should avoid is that of being out of the communication network - and particularly, not having a way of contacting the emergency services should you need them. As a minimum, get hooked to the local South African mobile telephone network (by acquiring a South African SIM card), and ensure that you know what the local emergency numbers are. You could end up in a situation where you really need to make use of these.
6. The sixth thing you should avoid, when attending world cup 2010 in South Africa is 'flashing cash' around. This makes you attractive to robbers (and it is worth noting that robbery is something South Africa has been struggling with for some time now). Indeed, then, you should not be carrying huge sums of money with you; at least not in this age of 'plastic money' - when a good MasterCard of Visa Card in your pocket could be just as good.
7. The seventh thing you should avoid, when attending World Cup 2010 in South Africa is ending up in the wrong parts of the town, where you are exposed to violent crime. Therefore resist the urge to go wandering in the 'townships' (these being the 'inner city' districts of South African urban areas). You could end up in trouble in those parts. If you must get a view of what a South African 'Ghetto' is like, at least ensure you go there as part of a 'tour group:' under the guidance of someone familiar with the situation there.
8. The eighth thing you should avoid, when attending World Cup 2010 in South Africa is ending up 'out at the wrong hour' which increases the chances of your being victim of violent crime. Therefore resist the urge to travel at night - and by all means, don't walk out at night. Take note that violent crime, although being aggressively tackled by the government, still remains a major crisis in this country.
9. The ninth thing you should avoid, when attending World Cup 2010 in South Africa is being part of unlawful gatherings - especially protests and demonstrations. These have a tendency to turn violent, and you are best advised to avoid being part of them, if your safety is something you care about. When things go ugly, the local folks, who know where to run will leave you exposed to all the heat.
10. The tenth thing you should avoid, when attending World Cup 2010 in South Africa is making careless use of ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) - which have become major targets for criminals in recent days. At the very least, avoid using isolated ATMs. And should you notice foreign objects - like cords - sticking out of a machine you were going to use, whatever its location, leave it at once and notify the authorities.
Best site to book world cup tickets for World Cup 2010 - SoccerNews
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