S.Africa campaigns to boost Confed Cup

South Africa will this weekend launch a major advertising campaign to boost next year's Confederations Cup, which groups together continental football champions ahead of the 2010 World Cup, organisers said Friday.

“The underlying message that the OC (Organising Committee) wants to get across to all South Africans is a call to action to be part of the one of the most exciting events in African sporting history,” Derek Carstens, the committee's head of marketing, told journalists.

The campaign for the Confederations Cup, to be staged in South Africa from June 14 to 28 next year, will be launched on Sunday with television and newspapers advertisements, he said.

The draw for the eight-team tournament will be made on November 22.

“The Confederations Cup is a test-run for us, the meat in the sandwich. There is a lot of interest in the competition,” he said.

The tournament — which features South Africa, Italy, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Iraq, New Zealand and Egypt — will be staged in the cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Rustenburg.

The aim of the campaign is to build awareness of the competition to maximise attendance at the matches, as tickets go on sale on Sunday, Carstens said.

The Confederations Cup has traditionally been used to test a host country's state of preparedness for the World Cup.

South Africa will host the continent's first World Cup from June 11 to July 11, 2010.

Tickets for the 32-team World Cup will go on sale on January 7, 2009.