MOZAMBIQUE HOPING TO CASH IN ON WORLD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001236 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN EIND MZ SCUL EINV SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE HOPING TO CASH IN ON WORLD ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Less than 250 days to the FIFA Soccer World Cup in South Africa, the largest event to be held on the African continent. Mozambique's preparations for the World Cup highlight the country's progress, or lack thereof, on a number of developmental challenges, including a lack of resources to market the country, a lack of hotel and practice space, an incomplete stadium, one stop border post and international airport. The GRM is using the World Cup to prepare for the 2011 All-Africa Games to be hosted in Maputo. -------------- 2010 NATIONAL STRATEGY -------------- ¶2. (SBU) PolOff met with Isabel Maria Estevao Macie, Advisor to Ministry of Tourism on World Cup, on 30 September. The GRM, led by the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Sports, drafted and are now implementing a 2010 National Strategy for the national cabinet. The goals of the National Strategy includes enhancing the image of Mozambique as a tourist destination, upgrading sport facilities and tourism infrastructure to attract World Cup-qualified teams, provide long-term socio-economic and cultural benefits to the local population and attract foreign investment. Tourism and Sports Ministries hold regular meetings with 15 commissions to implement the National Strategy. Macie noted that each commission is carrying our action plans with varying degrees of success. Some activities require private sector action, but she said the private sector does not want to take the risk since they are unsure how many World Cup tourists will visit Mozambique. -------------- POSSIBLE WORLD CUP TOURIST DESTINATION -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Marketing Mozambique as a World Cup tourist destination has been slow and hindered by a lack of funding. A brochure published by the Ministry of Tourism called, "10 Reasons Why Mozambique Must Be Your Destination of Choice for 2010" makes an appealing case, but a lack of funds to print the brochure and distribute them in key markets, border posts, and on the country's national airline have slowed down the marketing campaign. The brochure notes the close proximity Mozambique is to three host cities; Johannesburg, Durban and Nelspruit, as well as Indian Ocean beaches, water activities and the unique blend of culture. Macie also noted that unlike South Africa, Mozambique is warm during the Southern Hemisphere's winter months of June and July when the World Cup takes place. -------------- LOBBYING FOR WORLD CUP TEAMS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The thirty-two teams that will eventually quality for the World Cup are expected to select base camps from which their teams will stay and practice, which may be inside or outside of South Africa. It is unclear if Mozambique will be able to attract World Cup teams. Poor standard of training facilities and fields detract from Mozambique. Current negotiations are with Portugal, Brazil, Spain and South Korea, but will soon focus on smaller countries once additional teams qualify later in the year. Brazil is expected to select a site in South Africa as its base and Portugal might not classify for the tournament. -------------- BUT WHERE TO STAY AND PRACTICE? -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Places for World Cup visitors to stay is reportedly one of FIFA's and South Africa's main concerns, with expected shortfalls in the availability of South African hotel rooms. Maputo only has about 2,000 mid-to-high end rooms, according to World Bank studies, but several new hotels are expected to open before the World Cup, and should increase the number of rooms if only marginally. The centerpiece of the country's preparations should be the Chinese government funded 42,000 seat National Stadium currently being constructed outside of Maputo, but delays cast doubt on the stadium's completion before the start of the World Cup in June 2010. According to the assistant director of the construction project, the stadium will now be completed five months after the World Cup is over because of cost overruns and other delays. Other project managers insist it will be completed on time, but Macie indicated doubts. The old 30,000 seat Machava Stadium reportedly does not have a playing surface up to international standards. Mozambique is also building a new municipal stadium in the Northern city of MAPUTO 00001236 002 OF 002 Pemba, a location where the National Federation of Football hopes it can attract a World Cup qualifying team to stay because of the pleasant climate and direct flights to Johannesburg. The GRM will probably lobby qualified Middle Eastern teams because of Pemba's Muslin demographic. Other options include a training camp and soccer field at Namaacha near the Swaziland border. ¶6. (SBU) Other World Cup related infrastructure include the jointly funded One Stop Border Post with South Africa and expanding Maputo International Airport. The border post is designed to significantly reduce travel time by co-locating South African and Mozambican customs and immigration agents. Macie claimed the border post would be complete by March 2010, but press reports indicate that disputes over funding halted construction. Discussions in South Africa indicate the project might be more of a priority for Mozambique. Given South African recession caused budget constraints, World Cup mandated national projects would come first. Despite being shown flashy slides of a state-of-the art international airport so far the only construction visible is a new cargo terminal being funded by the Chinese. -------------- USING WORLD CUP TO PROVIDE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL BENEFITS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The National Strategy also implemented Alliance 2010, a forum for government, local business, media, and civil society stakeholders to present and promote 2010 World Cup opportunities. Initiatives include cultural fairs, educational events for local tourism operators, and 2010 awareness campaigns for taxi drivers. It is unclear how many of these initiatives are successfully implemented. The government is also working with UNESCO to set up education and cultural programs for 2010 and beyond. -------------- BEYOND 2010: THE ALL-AFRICA Games -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Macie says much of the GRM activities and planning will be used as a test-run for the 2011 All-Africa Games to be hosted in Maputo. The All-Africa games are a regional multi-sport event held every four years where competing nations are all from the African continent. CHAPMAN