FIFA's intention to spread football (soccer) around South Africaduring the Confederations Cup and upcoming World Cup is leading teamsand fans to some far-flung venues.
While Johannesburg and CapeTown may well be large, internationally recognized cities, the numberof fans arriving for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa who haveheard of Polokwane or Rustenburg is likely to be far smaller.
Butat the 2009 Confederations Cup, as will be the case at the World Cupnext year, football is being played in some remote venues as part ofFIFA's plan to spread the tournament out around all of South Africa'snine provinces.
While transport to and lodging in the morerural areas is likely to be a major headache for fans next year, theteams are saying that they enjoy the opportunity to get away from thecongestion of South Africa's urban areas, and relax in the countryside.
MichaelKammarman, the press officer for the United States team, says the movefrom urban Pretoria to rural Rustenburg for the last match of groupplay helped the team's mentality.
"To be in Rustenburg was agreat opportunity in the right moment for the team to be in the settingthat was very scenic and very peaceful," he said. "And I think afterthe two difficult games it was a great opportunity for the team torelax and refocus, and I think that played some part in the resultagainst Egypt."
In Rustenburg, the team stayed in a lodge on thePilanesburg game reserve several dozen kilometers from the RoyalBafokeng Stadium. The stadium is a bit of an anomaly, situated in thecountryside in the village of Phokeng, just outside Rustenburg, with aview of sweeping hills from the recently refurbished stands.
TheAmericans say they thoroughly enjoyed their stay on the spaciousreserve, compared to the relatively cramped quarters they had occupiedin Pretoria the previous week. After losing their first two matches,the Americans defeated Egypt convincingly in the game at RoyalBafokeng, and advanced to the semifinals.
The day after the win the team was able to forget football for a moment and enjoy the local ambience, Kammarman says.
"As a reward they were able the next day to go out on a safari and enjoy a little bit of South Africa," he said.
Rustenburg,the capital of Northwest Province, is a small town of about threehundred thousand occupants. Fans attending next year's World Cup areexpected to make use of accommodation in the nearby resort of SunCity. Whether fans will take to the unusual venues remains to be seen,but the American team members at least are clearly enjoying theirchance to see a bit of wild Africa, Kammarman says.
"You don't normally stay in a place where you are thirty feet away from elephants," he said.
The 2009 Confederation Cup concludes this week. The USA defeated Spain Wednesday to win a spot in the final.