The power FIFA will have over South Africa and its citizens in the next few months has been documented in an article by the Weekend Argus, with the headline “FIFA RULES”!    The by-laws that host cities have had to pass and implement are draconian, and will affect every South African, and soccer fans too.

The article is introduced with the views of constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos, who described FIFA as follows: “When South African won the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup many danced in the streets (in a manner of speaking).   We did not realise that Fifa was a rather shadowy body with authoritarian tendencies.   We did not realise then that Fifa fat-cat executives cared little about South Africa and its people and very much about making obscene profits while placing impossible demands on the host country”.   Hard-hitting words, but a warning received from a credible source.

South Africans will be subject to almost draconian rules and regulations, and businesses and even the government will have to dance to the world football body’s tune.   The biggest soccer event may be happening in Africa, but it is Fifa’s show.    The regulations include the following:

1.   Prohibition amongst others of begging, smoking, swearing, swimming, washing pets, drinking alcoholic beverages in glass containers, advertising, parking a motor vehicle, and selling one’s wares without a permit in ‘controlled-access sites’ and public open spaces.

2.   Only World Cup sponsor Budweiser’s beer may be sold inside the World Cup stadiums, but S A Breweries’ beer may be sold at fan parks (in unbranded cans, it has been reported elsewhere).

3.   Any broadcast of the World Cup soccer matches, with the exception of in a private home, is regarded as a “public viewing event”, and would be subject to a R 50 000 special liquor licence fee plus a 2 % turnover “donation” to the National Liquor Authority for programmes against alcohol abuse, and a further 2 % turnover “donation” to the provincial Liquor Board to implement such a programme.   The regulation in this regard seems contradictory, in that it was originally reported that only if one accepts an entrance fee for public viewing does an establishment require the licence, in addition to a standard liquor licence.

4.   Ambush marketing is not allowed, and FIFA’s attorneys will be seeking to protect the rights of their sponsors, and prevent any non-sponsors from associating their brands with the World Cup, as kulula.com has just discovered, having had a recent ad campaign banned.   The new Col’Cacchio Pizzeria Celebrity Chef Autumn campaign may also be seen to be ambush marketing, in linking itself to the event by linking a chef and a designer pizza to a soccer country.

5.  The World Cup logo and branding, as well as that of previous World Cups, and words that relate to the World Cup, 2010, and South Africa, stand alone and in any combination, are all trade mark registered by FIFA, and cannot be used for commercial use.

6.   Clothing may not contain visuals or logos linked to the World Cup, nor allude to it visually.

Penalties and fines are stiff, and the kulula.com case study is a first example of FIFA’s power.  The clever amendment of the advertising campaign to counter FIFA was a headline: “Not next year, not last year, but somewhere in between”.  In a cheeky move, the airline has registered the word ‘sky’, taking a leaf out of the FIFA book!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com