In a great new initiative, schools in South African that take part in (and excel at) recycling projects will receive free tickets to the FIFA (TM) 2010 World Cup matches.

These tickets come from FIFA's Ticket Fund which was set up to help give those South Africans who cannot afford to buy tickets the chance to attend matches.

Onwell Msomi, general manager of the 2010 Fifa World Cup Unit at Coca-Cola South Africa, says the initiative is intended to make teachers and learners aware of the importance of recycling and the protection of the environment ... and then to reward them for good and eco-responsible behaviour.

In partnership with the Department of Education, schools in all nine provinces will take part in this innovative competition to promote recycling and environmental awareness. The National Schools Recycling Programme will also encourage learners to collect bottles and cans, which will be recycled.

A total of 200 schools in the country will be rewarded with tickets for World Cup matches at the 10 venues that will host the tournament. Tickets will be available for all of the 64 matches played during the month-long tournament.

The competition will be launched in January 2010 and the handing over of the free tickets to the winning schools will take place before the start of the tournament.

The Department of Education has partnered with Coca-Cola to ensure that the programme becomes a success.

Coca-Cola's "Soccer Crazy Crew" was used to promote the importance of recycling. Within a month 67 863 PET bottles were collected for recycling and learners from the schools were rewarded with tickets to watch the Fifa Confederations Cup match between South Africa and Spain at the Royal Bafokeng stadium.

Sounds like a great idea all round!

Courtesy: Sapa