More than 11 a side...

I have never been a great fan of the beautiful game (football) myself, preferring to engage my pupils on oval objects that require thirty sturdier gentlemen, says Adrian Clayton at PSG Fund Managers.

Lately, however, knowing that footy can make me a buck, I have taken on a whole new interest.

Now that South Africa has been pronounced the 2010 Soccer World Cup host nation, it is worth a brief exploration as to the benefits that might be forthcoming.

Just in terms of what the world cup actually involves in as far as its status as a tournament, it incorporates 30 teams with 40 members each, 64 matches will be played and it will take place over 33 days.

235000 people are expected to patronise the event, ticket sales are estimated to be R4.6bn and according to Grant Thornton, activities accompanying the actual event such as accommodation, recreation, food and beverage consumption etc, will realise turnover of R12.7bn.

Mr Manuel will be a smiler too; SARS is expected to reap R7.2bn on the event. As far as infrastructural change is concerned, Government is already planning to upgrade airports, highways and general transport infrastructure, but more to the point,nine existing stadiums will be improved andfour new mega stadiums will be built.

Grant Thornton Kessel Feinstein also believe that 159000 jobs could be created and construction and engineering firms could enjoy escalated turnover of R2.3bn.

This is going to be a huge event and placing it in context, is a comparison with the Cricket World Cup. The Cricket World Cup hosted by South Africa, attracted 18500 visitors and revenue for our country of R1bn.

Much of what this event will do for South Africa is intangible, if well hosted; it will result in major tourism spin-offs and lead to huge goodwill benefits - the touchy feely pride issues.

From an investment perspective, however, the major corporate beneficiaries will be amongst the cement suppliers, construction groups and tourism plays. More will be written about obvious target companies closer to the time.

One thing is for sure though; the Soccer World Cup held in South Africa is likely to instil interest even in the most hardy of rugby supporters.