Johannesburg, Jan 12 (DPA) South Africa’s World Cup organizing chief Tuesday dismissed security concerns for this year’s tournament following the attack on the Togo national team bus in Angola.
Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the World Cup organising committee, told reporters it was “illogical” to draw any connections between the attack in Angola ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations and security in South Africa.
South Africa should be judged by its own record, not events more than a four-hour flight away. No one in Europe would think of connecting an incident in Finland with the situation in England, he said.
Jordaan added that since 1994 South Africa had held more than 100 large sporting events without any violence, and would hold an “efficient, professional and secure” tournament in June and July.
Togo have been officially disqualified from the Africa Cup of Nations after the team flew home from Angola Sunday.
The Togolose squad returned home two days after an attack by gunmen from the separatist Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) which left three people dead.