Specialist banking group Investec have bought 50 000 tickets for the 2009 Confederation Cup at a cost of R3,5-million. The announcement
was made at the international company’s headquarters in Sandton on Monday.
Chairperson of the local organising commitee (LOC) Irvin Khoza thanked the company for showing their spirit of ubuntu. ”We are telling the world there is unity ahead of the Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.
”Today Investec has demonstrated its investment with dexterity and foresight. This is an investment in the integration of the people of this country and I have to thank them for showing this spirit of ubuntu,” he said.
With a little more than 60 days to go to the kick-off, Khoza is confident that in two weeks time tickets to the tournament — a precursor to the World Cup — would be sold out.
”With this action Investec showed us I am confident that others [companies] will follow and I say that in two weeks time the tickets will be sold out,” he told the media.
Investec corporate affairs executive, Carol Mason, said the decision to purchase the tickets was finalised last Thursday. Investec has about 5 900 employees and tickets would be given to some of them, but it is planned to give the remaining tickets to South Africans who would not be able to attend.
”The decisions to purchase the tickets was made just before the Easter weekend and we are delighted that we’ll be giving these tickets to people who would otherwise not have gone to these matches.”
”It’s a really nice iniative but we still have to decide on who will get the tickets. Together with the LOC’s input we’ll make these decisions soon, but right now we can’t give any answers on who will get them.”
”There is so much positivity when it comes to the World Cup, and because of our contribution to the Confed Cup South Africans will be able to be a part of it and we are just as excited to be part of the build-up to the World Cup,” said Mason.
The champion of champions tournament, as the Confed Cup is known, is played from June 14 to 28.
Matches will be played in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Pretoria and Bloemfontein. – Sapa