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The South African Police Service successfully and confidently provided close security details to all teams playing in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and will continue to do so during the FIFA 2010 World Cup.
During the FIFA Confederations Cup the teams and officials in this country were escorted by SAPS members safely and no security incident involving any team or team member occurred. In fact the teams were extremely satisfied with the protection provided by the SAPS. One incident of theft was reported from the hotel of a certain team, but to date no evidence has materialised which could support the allegations and lead to an arrest.
During the period leading up to and on the day of the FIFA 2010 World Cup final draw the South African Police Service, together with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and other law enforcement officers, again successfully policed and secured the event and parallel activities, such as the Long Street Festival.
The SAPS has assigned team security liaison officers and close protectors to each team which has qualified to play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The team security liaison officers held a seminar with the teams' representatives last weekend and will continue to liaise with each team on security matters for the duration of the world cup. Again, all teams seemed satisfied with the security arrangements and no negative comments or opinions were reported.
An article in today's media with the headline "Teams hire war zone guards from Iraq" can only be described as absurd. It must be noted that not one person quoted in the article as having misgivings about the security provided for the teams has been identified in the article, all are "sources".
The security forces of South Africa have proved over and over again that we are fully prepared to secure major events. Those who plan on making easy money out of the security industry during the 2010 FIFA World Cup by misrepresenting the facts are unpatriotic and doing their country a great disservice.