The heads of FIFA, the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the UNWTO ST-EP Foundation (Sustainable Tourism - Eliminating Poverty) are preparing a partnership to assist African countries within the framework of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The partnership's aims include helping to eliminate poverty and supporting sustainable tourism in Africa by using soccer as a driving force.
"The World Cup constitutes an opportunity that the countries of the region can seize in order to obtain the maximum socio-economic, promotional and cultural benefits," UNWTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said Tuesday.
"It should also contribute to strengthening the image of Africa."
The UNWTO is also linking tourism with the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and its own Global Code of Ethics.
The MDGs are a set of globally-agreed targets, set to be realized by 2015, aimed at eliminating a host of social ills. They include securing universal primary education, providing adequate sanitation and goals for the welfare of vulnerable women and children.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup, through the assistance provided by UNWTO and with travel and tourism as its main thrust, represents an opportunity to promote the whole of Africa to international markets.
It also hopes to reinforce the image of the continent as a safe and significant tourism destination and to help people develop closer relations, the agency said.
Earlier this year, the African Union (AU), South Africa and Ethiopia nominated 2007 as the International Year of African Football, an initiative that was welcomed by the UN as part of its global drive of linking sport with development.
Through the implementation of Legacy Projects, the South African government itself hopes to derive long term benefits from its opportunity to host the greatest soccer tournament in the world.
By improving infrastructure to cater for the games, the country hopes to lay the foundation for improved facilities and services for years after the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.