“South Africa can’t wait to welcome the rest of the continent back for another remarkable soccer tournament in 2014” Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism.
SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM congratulates each of the 16 giants of African soccer that qualified for the African National Championship 2014(CHAN) and looks forward to welcoming the teams and their fans back to South Africa next year.
“The passion and energy of AFCON 2013 – as Africa came together in South Africa and celebrated the game of soccer as one – was incredible. CHAN moves to three new host cities in South Africa and they are eagerly preparing for the tournament next year. We invite all soccer enthusiasts to come to South Africa to support their teams and to enjoy the diverse leisure and lifestyle activities here in South Africa,” says South African Tourism Chief Executive Officer, Thulani Nzima.
The cities: Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Polokwane were announced by the Local Organising Committee (LOC). The three cities offer soccer fans limitless choices for adventure, culture and heritage, shopping, dining, nightlife, wine tasting and scenic beauty… and opportunities aplenty to make new friends.
“African tourists are the backbone and lifeblood of South Africa’s tourism industry, and they are highly valued by the destination. African markets are critical markets, and South Africa invests heavily in growing its share of visitors from the rest of the continent. In 2012 tourist arrivals from regional Africa grew by 8.5%. The individual markets performed really well: Nigeria grew by 13.8%t, Ghana grew by 23.8 %, Uganda grew by 7.4%, Kenya grew by 9 %, Angola grew by 21.7 % and Tanzania grew by 25.4 %.
“CHAN gives South Africa an important platform to follow up on the awareness and visibility that AFCON afforded us earlier this year as we continue to entrench South Africa’s status as a welcoming, exciting, alluring, capable and accessible destination. We want to build on that momentum, push it forward and keep African tourist arrivals to South Africa growing strongly,” concludes Nzima.
The 16 teams that will compete are: South Africa, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.