South Africa going all out for AFCON

CAPE TOWN - Host cities for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) are rolling up sleeves for the event next year, organizers said on Thursday.

A marketing campaign will be launched in the coming weeks and more funding will be poured in for the tournament, the Ministry of Sports revealed.

Host cities would spend an excess of 132 million rand ($15 million) to ensure the success of the event, with Durban spending 28 million rand ($3.3 million), Rustenburg 25 million ($2.9 million), Nelson Mandela Bay 27 million ($3 million), Johannesburg 18.5 million ($2.2 million) and Bombela 33.8 million ($3.9 million), according to Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula.

The government has set aside 205 million rand ($24 million) for the event.

Mbalula said the government was ready to addreass whatever shortall that might incur.

He said an anti-xenophobia campaign would be rolled out in collaboration with the Confederation of African Football following the stoning of a bus transporting the Zambian soccer team in South Africa last week.

"The stoning of the bus by two small boys: that is a naughty act. With regard to security, we are not leaving anything to chance with regard to AFCON," he said.