Volunteer application Great success

SA receives outstanding response to volunteer applications for the 2010 World Cup

A total of 67 999 people from 170 countries had applied to volunteer for the 2010 FIFA World Cup when the applications closed at midnight on 31 August 2009.

During the application period from 20 July 2009 to 31 August 2009, an average of 1 600 applications were received each day. The campaign has been such a success that the total applications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup exceeds that of the 48 167 volunteer applications received for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Applications were received for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Final Draw in Cape Town in December 2009 and the Football for Hope Festival in Alexandra, which will run concurrently with the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

With two World Cup stadiums, Johannesburg came in with the most applications, receiving a total of 16,280 applications for Soccer City and Ellis Park. Tshwane|Pretoria received 8 496, Nelson Mandela Bay|Port Elizabeth 7 365, Cape Town 5 998, Durban 5,148, Nelspruit 5 781, Polokwane 5 503, Mangaung|Bloemfontein 4 371, and Rustenburg 5 558.

There was a strong response from outside of South Africa, with Nigeria producing the highest number of applications outside of the host country with 750 in total.

The USA followed with 554 applications and Brazil was close behind with 489. Zimbabweans made 449 applications while Italy also managed an impressive total of 414. Other African countries that saw a good response were Cameroon 375, Democratic Republic of Congo 109, and Lesotho with 106.

Now that all the applications have been submitted, they will undergo a screening process and the interview process begins in December.

Overseas volunteers will be interviewed by teleconference while host city interviews will be conducted simultaneously at venues in each city. Once the final selections have been made, the volunteers will then be trained in their respective fields before the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off.

For more exciting news and information on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa browse our FIFA 2010 Section.

To keep up-to-date with 2010 World Cup developments subscribe to our Editor’s Picks Newsletter and follow us on Twitter @ wcsoccer2010.

Interested in seeing where the stadiums, fan parks and other interesting 2010 locations are situated? Download our innovative Google Earth 2010 map.