Pretoria - Members of the public who want to be part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup by being a volunteer have only a few hours left to register.
Registrations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup volunteer programme will close at midnight tonight.
Since the launch of the programme on 20 July, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) has received a record-breaking 63 662 registrations from nearly 170 different countries.
South Africa has beaten the number of volunteer applications received for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, which was 48 167.
The LOC will have the grueling task of sifting through the tens of thousands of registrations to find the best volunteers.
Only 15 000 volunteers will be selected, with 10 percent being from Africa, 10 percent will be international volunteers and the rest will be selected from South Africa.
The interview process will begin in December. Volunteers in the 10 host cities will be interviewed simultaneously while international volunteers will be interviewed via teleconference.
Selected South African-based volunteers will receive training in May 2010.
Volunteers are needed in areas such as transport, media, logistics, accreditation, spectator services, language support, administration and hospitality at the tournament's ten stadiums and nine host cities.
LOC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Danny Jordaan, said the tremendous response to the volunteer application process was indicative of the excitement which surrounded the tournament.
"People are starting to become excited about the World Cup and about travelling to South Africa next year. We are very happy about the number of applications that have poured in from all four corners of the world."
Volunteers can apply at www.fifa.com/volunteers2010 or contact the toll-free volunteer hotline on 0800 52 52 52.The programme is open to those who will be over the age of 18 on or before 1 March next year.
