MTN SOCCER VIEWING SITES A STUNNING SUCCESS

While the back patting in South Africa is almost reaching the decibels of a vuvuzela in full blow, 2010 FIFA World Cup™ sponsor MTN is stunned silent as it tally’s the numbers. Some 3.3 million soccer fans attended the public viewing sites, throughout the duration of the soccer spectacular, where the cellular giant was either the key promoter or sponsor.

“Triumphant Spain has reason to be proud, as has each and every South African as we scored 9 out of 10 – a cum laude as FIFA president Sepp Blatter puts it - for hosting of this World Cup,” says Anthony Garstang, MTN General Manager for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. “We at MTN are ecstatic – we achieved our goal of ensuring that football fans from all walks of life got to watch the action on the pitch even if they didn’t have tickets to the stadiums.”

Billed as the next best place to be if not sitting in a stadium, the MTN sponsored soccer viewing sites lived up to expectations – so much so that the MTN Fan Zones at Montecasino in Johannesburg and V&A Waterfront in Cape Town begun implementing a ticket redistribution system to accommodate more fans. The place of those who left early was made immediately available to fans waiting at the door. Tickets to the MTN Fan Zone at Montecasino were sold out for 19 of the 25 days that it was open, whilst only one day was not sold out at the MTN Fan Zone at the V&A Waterfront.

“Eventually we had to stop advertising on radio because we sold out so often,” says Garstang. He attributed the two MTN Fan Zones’ success to their value for money (R50 entrance at Montecasino and R20 entrance at the V&A Waterfront which included a free beverage and a hotdog); a safe environment for children and families; non-stop entertainment; accessible parking and, last but not least, a festive atmosphere rivalling that of a live stadium match.

“At times there was more action in the MTN Fan Zones than there was on the pitch,” he quips.

Besides the two MTN Fan Zones, MTN also sponsored 20 MTN Ekasi TV sites in townships throughout the country. Here fans flocked to watch matches on 4x3 m big screens under the big open sky free of charge. Long before any whistle blew, school children and their younger siblings gathered at these sites, as many don’t have TV sets at home. According to Garstang, MTN Ekasi TV helped keep thousands of kids off the streets during the World Cup. Attendance at MTN Ekasi sites reached 635,424 in total for the 11 June – 11 July period.

The 10 official FIFA Fan Fests™ located at the nine host cities (Johannesburg had two Fan Fests – in Sandton and in Soweto respectively) also proved popular with locals and foreigners alike. Having been a huge drawcard in Germany in 2006, overseas visitors were familiar with the FIFA Fan Fest™ concept and didn’t waste any time in joining our local crowds. A total of 2,634,018 fans attended the 10 MTN sponsored FIFA Fan Fests™.

MTN went one step further in taking the World Cup action to every soccer fan – through its Last Minute Tickets promotion it gave away double tickets to stadium matches to fans present at its public viewing sites. Fifty-two year-old Lois Watson of Johannesburg was the final winner who was whisked away by helicopter to attend the final game and closing ceremony at Soccer City, compliments of MTN.

In the stadiums, MTN provided entertainment for football fans awaiting kick-off at 47 of the 64 world cup matches. The MTN “K'yoze Kuyovalwa” Entertainment Rig helped fans while the hours away with music, live performers and competitions. A total of 65,329 fans visited MTN’s Entertainment rig over the course of the tournament.

“The attendance figures at our viewing sites prove that we made a difference,” says Garstang “However, seeing foreign visitors blowing vuvuzelas and shouting Ayoba with as much abandon as local supporters remains a most moving memory and proof that we at MTN did good.”

He adds that it’s also ‘job well done’ to the Organising Committee for hosting a phenomenal World Cup saying, “we can commend South Africa, but the Organising Committee was ultimately in charge of delivery on behalf of SA.”

Later this month, MTN will be handing over the monies collected at the Montecasino and V&A Waterfront Fan Zones to selected charities.

Side Box: Attendance at a glance

• Total fans attended MTN Fan Zones –  45,069
• Best attended MTN Fan Zone – Montecasino
• Total fans attended FIFA Fan Fests – 2,634,018
• Best attended FIFA Fan Fest – Durban
• Total fans attended MTN Ekasi TV Sites – 635,424
• Best attended MTN Ekasi TV Site – Mtubatuba (KZN)
• Total fans experienced Entertainment Rig – 65,329
• Best attended activation – Royal Bafokeng Stadium