Johannesburg - The application process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup volunteer programme is now open.
A total of 15 000 volunteers are required and will be selected from South Africa, the continent and the rest of the world to assist in making sure the event is run smoothly.
"The volunteer programme is an excellent way to get involved in South Africa and Africa's once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of hosting the world's biggest sporting event," said LOC South Africa Chief Executive Officer, Dr Danny Jordaan.
He explained that the volunteers would be helping in various instances such as ushering people to their seats, assisting the media and foreign language speakers, welcoming people at the airport and driving guests around.
"It is the volunteers that actually make the tournament happen," explained Dr Jordaan.
Anyone who will be 18 years or older on 1 March 2010 and has a good command of the English language can apply to be a volunteer.
The application form is available on FIFA.com at www.FIFA.com/volunteers2010. For those without Internet access there will be a number of venues across the nine FIFA World Cup host cities where members of the public will be assisted to apply for the volunteer programme.
For information on these venues and for any other information on the programme visit www.FIFA.com/volunteers2010, call the volunteer hotline on 0800 52 52 52 (toll free in South Africa) or email volunteerprogramme@2010oc.com.
Applications close on 31 August 2009 when the volunteer department will conduct interviews with the pre-selected applicants in January and February 2010. For foreign pre-selected volunteers, telephonic interviews will be conducted.
In total, volunteers are required in 16 functional areas including accreditation, marketing, media, protocol services, spectator services, transportation, administration, environmental services, welcome and information services, information technology and telecommunication, language support, rights protection programme, logistic services, hospitality and ushering services and volunteer management.
