Security Article 2                                                                                                      January 2010

Article prepared for the British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa by George Nicholls – CEO Pasco Risk.

Is South Africa a 2010 Terror Risk?

The 8 January attack on the Togo national football team in the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, which left three dead and eight injured, has reverberated around the world with many sectors of the international media questioning the level of risk attached to the FIFA 2010 World Cup that kicks off in South Africa on 11 June this year.

In light of these issues, this article considers the potential impact of the Cabinda attack on security risks associated with the FIFA 2010 showpiece which has been a continued, illuminated topic in both press and media.

George Nicholls, Pasco's CEO, who has been involved in evaluating and advising upon security and terrorist risks associated with sporting events, believes that it is important to avoid making any direct connections between the Cabinda incident and security risks connected with the 2010 showpiece in South Africa. “Cabinda serves as a reminder that in today's world any event is potentially at risk of disruption by extremist elements”, he comments, “but there is little or no reason to suggest that the risks associated with FIFA 2010 are any higher because of it”. In support of this assessment, Nicholls points to the following elements:

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