With the World Cup in South Africa bearing down on us, security is going to become tighter and more controlled in South Africa than ever, especially when there are possible surrounding risks.

A Saudi Army Officer was arrested at the weekend by Iraq police officers with a possible connection to terrorists planning to attack South Africa at the time of the World Cup.  Colonel Azzam al-Qahtani was arrested on suspicion of becoming involved with some attacks on religious sites in the cities of Karbala and Najaf.  Inquiries are being made to identify whether or not the allegations are true, but arrests have been made.

With South Africa on high alert due to an increase in tourists and possible dangers of further violence, these matters need to be taken under control.  South Africa can be a dangerous place for tourists, but is still a hot spot around the world for people from across the globe.

The South African army have been keen to show off their dominance in security in preparation for the World Cup by parading their strength around Johannesburg’s Sandton business and hotel district.  It is important for people to feel safe and that they are in no direct danger.

The hotels in South Africa have also taken security levels to a new high, in order to keep customers and the hoteliers themselves safe.  With fans from all over the world entering South Africa in less than a month, it is important to be vigilant.  Violence is unfortunately a regular occurrence at the time of the World Cup, so preparing for some nasty eventualities is the sensible thing to do.

South Africa has a very high murder rate and tourists are being advised to be careful around the time of the World Cup.  Countries need to make sure that there fans are responsible and don’t spark off any unnecessary violence, unfortunately something that they cannot fully control!

The World Cup 2010 is upon us, and teams are preparing for the fight of their lives to be crowned number one of the world.  Every team is going to expect hiccups along the way and the possible star player to get injured, but could it really be all that bad?

Let’s take England as the prime example.  Probably the best known football player in the world, maybe even the most popular sportsman in the world; David Beckham has fallen injured.  In a match with AC Milan his current team David Beckham tore one of his Achilles tendons in his leg.  This is a relatively serious injury and can take up to a year to completely heal.

One question that regularly is coming up in the British Papers is how the English will be able to cope without this star player.  Now I like to consider myself a little knowledgeable about some of the football players in the world and how the game works.  So I have some issue with these questions, mainly because of the player we are talking about.  Beckham is far from the best player in the world, no offence to him, but I think everyone will agree with me on this.  He does have some truly natural abilities like starting from set pieces that you could argue were unmatched by any other player around, but lets face it, he isn’t getting any younger now, and his football isn’t all that great.  I respect Beckham as a footballer and the role model he has become, at least he hasn’t turned out like other English stars (normally I wouldn’t mention names but – Ashley Cole, John Terry, and Wayne Bridge is a plank).

Back to the question at hand, will England miss Mr Beckham at the World Cup?  In a short answer “No they wont” at least they shouldn’t.  There are other players scrambling for this spot, and those that are just as good footballers if not better.  Although he had the set pieces down to a tee, Gerrard can take over from this, and the England team can place in Aaron Lennon, and after that Mr Walcott can step in.

• 1 in 3 workers expected to take time off
• Ways to target problem

The World Cup is expected to cause a spike in absenteeism resulting in a hefty R750m price tag for South African employers – but there are things that can be done to combat workers skiving off.

Toska Kouskos, Head of Health Management Solutions at Alexander Forbes Health that offers an absenteeism management programme, said that one of the inconspicuous costs of the World Cup is the high numbers of people skipping work to watch football.

“What we have seen from other World Cups is that typically one in three workers take a day off during the event.
“If you add that up, it comes to an estimated loss for the economy of R750m in a four week period over the World Cup.”

The total cost of absenteeism to the South African economy is expected to rise to R15bn this year.

Research by Barclaycard in the United Kingdom in England found that as many as six million workers would call in sick rather than risk missing Soccer World Cup matches. Forty percent of respondents stated that they called in sick if their working hours clashed with England matches.

The good news is that it is not too late for companies to prepare for the lost productivity costs of the beautiful game’s biggest showpiece.

As a starting point, employers need to communicate what will be considered acceptable behaviour.
Said Kouskos: “Employers could reinforce that employees take annual leave to watch the matches.
“Another tactic is to boost morale by allowing employees to watch the match at work so that a whole day’s leave is not required.

“Offering staff flexible working options so they can make up time earlier or later in their day could also be considered.”
Kouskos also advised companies to share with staff their IT policies prior to the World Cup because soccer fans are going to spend more time online.

A balance could be achieved between high staff morale and adverse effects on the business by allowing some internet use, while clamping down on inappropriate or excessive use.

“High absenteeism statistics in the workplace do not have to be something that we simply accept.

“While some employers believe that little can be done about such a problem, many will testify that their targeted and comprehensive interventions achieved more than just an increase in staff morale – it increased the bottom line,” Kouskos concluded.