South Africa football officials have labelled a stab-vest designed by a London-based company for fans visiting the country during the World Cup, as “unnecessary.”
Protektorvest, which sells the stab-vests online, is hoping English fans and football fans around the world travelling to South Africa in June, would buy the vests to protect themselves from knife and gun crime.
The company says there is a high demand for the protective gear while maintaining the stab-vests, estimated at £43 each, are the “No 1 personal protection for the World Cup 2010.”
It also says fans can print their national flag on the vest, or slogans such as “Free hugs” or “Ole.”
But the South Africa Football Association boss, Kirsten Nematandani and the national police have said the company is causing “unnecessary fear.”
Nematandani has assured visitors and football fans that there is no need for the ‘unnecessary fear’ caused by the company which it says is looking for ways to make profits out of visitors.
Since the attack on the Togo national team few weeks ago, during the ongoing African Nations Cup, fears have heightened over the security arrangements in the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.
Last week, a premier League manager, Phil Brown, called for the scrapping of the Nations Cup and the world cup altogether with some media sportsmen also worried about the success.
But Danny Jordan, the man in-charge of the World Cup, was quick to blast Phil Brown and the media, describing them as “ill-informed” people without the proper knowledge of African Sovereignty.
“If there is a war in Kosovo and a World Cup in Germany, no-one asks if the World Cup can go on in Germany, everyone understands the war in Kosovo is a war in Kosovo. The world must be balanced and must not apply different standards when it comes to the African continent.
“Our World Cup is secure and we are confident because we have employed a lot of resources to safeguard the event in our country.” Jordan said earlier.
The stab-vests company however denied it is implying South Africa was unsafe. Sascha Cutura, owner of Protektorvest says: “We fulfil a need from a security-conscious people.”
The president of South Africa Football Association, Kirsten Nematandani insists however that, “This company should be condemned by their own country officials. These people are out of order….we’ve never heard of such measures being taken before and there surely is no need for it.”
