Promoting enlightened engagement between Africa and
America through education, training and dialogue.

Mar 06, 2007

AAI hosts meeting with Africa Travel Association on Africa, Sport and Tourism: 2010 World Cup South Africa

Participants at Meeting on Africa, Sport and Tourism
Participants at Meeting on Africa, Sport and Tourism

AAI and the Africa Travel Association (ATA) hosted a meeting on “South Africa, Sport and Tourism” that focused on the huge opportunities and challenges that South Africa is facing as it prepares to host the 2010 World Cup, the largest sporting event in the world. The 2010 football World Cup is set to be the most commercially successful since the first tournament 76 years ago. The meeting was held at AAI’s New York Headquarters and attended by H.E. Gert Oosthuizen, the Deputy Minister of Sport in South Africa, Ilana Kloss, former world-class tennis player and Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner of the World Team Tennis and other members of the South African sports and tourism community.

From Left: Mora McLean, President & CEO, AAI and H.E. Gert Oosthuizen, the Deputy Minister of Sport in South Africa
Mora McLean, President & CEO, AAI and H.E. Gert Oosthuizen, the Deputy Minister of Sport in South Africa
The main themes of discussion during the meeting revolved around challenges and opportunities presented for South Africa and Africa’s tourism industry, including the education and workforce skills as well as the physical infrastructure, such as roadways, public railways and electricity, needed to host such an event. Participants discussed how South Africa can leverage the opportunities presented by the 2010 World Cup to create long-term sustainable growth for the country, ultimately concluding that creating a better equipped, trained and skilled populace will promote and ensure economic vitality in South Africa’s future. Skills development programs should reach beyond sports to also develop talent in areas that will be of lasting value to South Africa, including program management, engineering, tourism, security, marketing, management and business leadership.

Participants in attendance:

  • Eddie Bergman, Executive Director, Africa Travel Association
  • Simon Chin Yee, Project Consultant, Youth, Sport, and Physical Education Programme, UNESCO
  • Fiona Dunne, Senior Director, Corporate and External Affairs, The Africa-America Institute
  • Ilana Kloss, CEO, World Team Tennis Women’s Sport Institute
  • Professor Dawie Malan, High Performance Institute at NWU, South Africa
  • Mora McLean, President and CEO, The Africa-America Institute
  • Gert Oosthuizen, Deputy Minister of Sport, Republic of South Africa
  • Nico Du Plessis, Super Pro Managing Partner, Goal 4 Africa
  • Maurice Robertson, Manager, Academy of Sport in South Africa
  • René Taylor, Independent Consultant

To read more about the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, visit
Project 2010.