By David Gold
April 23 – The 2010 World Cup Legacy Trust has been put into operation following its inaugural board meeting at South Africa Football Association (SAFA) House in Johannesburg.
FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke (pictured fourth on left) has announced that FIFA will transfer R450 million (£35 million/$57 million/€44 million) from South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup, and will support a range of initiatives in education, health and humanitarian work.
Another R250 million (£20 million/$32 million/€24 million) has already been received by SAFA, in part for football development projects and a fleet of buses and cars for the organisation’s regional federations.
Any submissions for projects will be considered by an expert panel, with the first approved ideas to be confirmed by the end of 2012, and Ernst and Young will administer the Trust accounts.
It marks a key point in delivering a legacy from the first ever World Cup to take place in Africa.
“We are very pleased that the Trust is now fully operational,” said Valcke.
“It is the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup that such a trust has been established and it required a complex administrative process, which is why it took us some time to set it up.
“I’m glad that we are now entering a phase that will focus on implementing the vision to ensure that the legacy can benefit the host country.”
SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani (pictured) said: “From today, we can look forward to the fruits of 2010 being enjoyed at grassroots level and within communities across South Africa.
“South Africa invested its time and resources in infrastructure development to benefit sport and recreation.”
SAFA vice-president Danny Jordaan, the man who worked tirelessly to bring the World Cup to South Africa and then ensure the 2010 tournament was a success, has been confirmed as the chairman of the Trust Board.
As well as Valcke and Jordaan, the other trustees will be Nematandani and another SAFA official, Eric Mtshatsha, FIFA’s director of member associations and development, Thierry Regenass, and head of corporate social responsibility Federico Addiechi.
The South African Government’s director general of the department of sport, Alec Moemi, and its business representative Michael Katz are also to become trustees.
South Africa is hosting next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, for which they hope to make use of some of the stadiums used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The announcement that the Trust is now in operation is a boost for SAFA in a week when they were forced to announce that the decision on announcing host cities for the African Nations Cup was being delayed for a second time, now to May 3.
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