The World Cup of Soccer is one of the most heavily watched, heavily betted, talked about sporting events every four years. It gets more publicity and generates more advertising dollars than any single sport at the Olympics, but it is run just as often. The atmosphere at the World Cup is always absolutely electric! Unfortunately, though, soccer is not known for the calmness and rationality of certain segments of the fan base. This year the host nation is South Africa, and while the FIFA World Cup committee is certainly hoping the violence-troubled nation can overcome its reputation for a fun, non-controversial World Cup, there are no guarantees. If you are travelling to South Africa for the FIFA World Cup, we look over some of the issues you'll face and the recommended level of travel insurance cover for the event.

All About the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The World Cup will be held in South Africa this year, from June 11 to July 11. The qualifying rounds are still in progress, so there is little indication of what nations will be in the final game - but whatever country it ends up being, the fans will be very emotional!

Potential Security Issues

The media has been reporting the possibility that the games will be used to draw attention to social issues like AIDS and prostitution in South Africa. It is also a given that the international profile of the World Cup might make it a terrorist or anarchist target. There seem to be several different interest groups wanting to piggyback off the World Cup to draw attention to their particular cause, meaning that the games are not likely to be completely without incident. Travel insurance should be considered a necessity, as much as a plane ticket if you're planning to attend.

Potential Logistical Issues

While you don't require a visa to enter South Africa for less than 90 days if you have an Australian passport, the expiration date of your passport can be no less than 30 days later than the expected end date of your stay. Check up on your passport expiration - your travel insurance won't cover this sort of logistical problem.

There will also be enormous demand on accommodation in the nine cities hosting World Cup games - Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Port Elizabeth, Polokwanr and Nelspruit. Book your accommodation early - but make sure your travel insurance covers you for accommodation problems beyond your control. The high demand could make issues costly.

Recommended Level of Travel Insurance

South Africa is one of the most troubled countries in the world in terms of crime. When thinking about the level of holiday insurance you need, we'd recommend that:

You get full medical travel insurance cover. South Africa is not a fully developed nation, and has several diseases that are very rare in Australia
Logistical travel insurance cover is recommended, because of the potential difficulty in securing accommodation at a reasonable price of there is a problem with your existing booking.
We also recommend the highest level of travel insurance cover, which includes hijack benefit, mugging benefit, catastrophe cover and search and rescue benefit. Unfortunately hijackings and mugging occur frequently in South Africa.

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