Pretoria - The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup volunteers will be the "face of South Africa" during the Champions of Champions tournament.
"You are the backbone and the face of the country and the African continent at large. Without your participation nothing is possible, your contribution is central in making this event a reality," said Danny Jordaan, the 2010 Local Organising Committee Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
"Cherish your contribution because you will be a playing a pivotal role to make sure that South Africa host a best FIFA Confederations Cup ever.
"The country and the whole African continent will rely on your hospitality therefore you are expected to demonstrate our true values of Ubuntu to visitors," he said, adding that the first and the last experience of the events will be shared by volunteers.
Dr Jordaan therefore urged the volunteers to work hand-in-hand with the LOC to ensure the event was a memorable episode.
He was addressing over 1000 volunteers from the area who will be taken through their first session of training in preparation for the FIFA Confederations Cup in June.
A total of 37 408 South Africans applied to volunteer for the tournament, but only 4 000 candidates were successful.
They will be required in the four Confederation Cup host cities to assist in operational areas such as accreditation, administration, information technology, language support, logistics, transport, information services, media and marketing during the tournament.
Speaking to BuaNews, a University of Pretoria student Conrad de Jager, who will form part of Spectator Services, said he was expecting to learn more about organising sport related events so that he could apply his skills to his sport studies.
The 20-year-old said he always wanted to be part of the world sport event.
Zanele Nchabeleng, 24, said it has been every South African's dream to have this event at home and now she will take it as her responsibility to make sure that the country hosts it successfully well.
She said as a woman and soccer enthusiast, she would not mind to work irregular hours as long as her sacrifices benefit the country.
Sharing his excitement with BuaNews, Information Technology Technician, Imran Mohamed said there were only 68 days left before the event kicks off.
He was optimistic that the country would host a successful event given the positive atmosphere among the volunteers who were keen to deliver a best of the best services during the tournament.
