August 30, 2006 at 11:34 am

Football legends Ronaldo and Zidane are piling the pressure on South Africa to make the 2010 World Cup even greener than this year’s tournament in Germany.

In a slightly more diplomatic manner than his unceremonious exit from this year’s World Cup, former France captain Zinedine Zidane has joined forces with Brazil and Real Madrid striker Ronaldo, to raise awareness of environmental issues regarding the 2010 competition.

The two top players, both United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors, are throwing their weight behind the Global Environment Facility initiative to ensure that transport and waste management at the championships are environmentally friendly.

In a joint statement made yesterday (29th August), the footballers said: “We hope the project being studied under the Global Environment Facility will play its part in making the next FIFA World Cup a healthier, more enjoyable and more inclusive event while acting as a catalyst for the development of 21st century public transport across Africa and the developing world.”

With no reliable national rail network, South Africa’s public transport relies heavily on minibus taxis and buses. This is one of the major challenges in planning for 2010, especially with regard to the between-game travel needs of the expected 350,000 visitors.

Monique Barbut, head of the Global Environment Facility, said the World Bank-funded and UN backed organisation was willing to give the South African government a grant of around US$11 million (£5.8 million) towards making the necessary improvements.

The South African government has already set aside 3.7 billion rands (£274 million) to improve transportation ahead of the World Cup, according to its deputy director-general of transport, Martin Mokonyama.

As previously reported by Global Cool, the estimated 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted by the Germany hosted 2006 World Cup was offset to the tune of €1.2 million (£810,000). Money that was invested in sustainable development projects in India and South Africa.

Click here for Global Environment Facility website

Click here for Germany 2006 related story