Local Organising Committee (LOC) Chief Executive, Danny Jordaan, has urged people to sign up as volunteers for the 2010 World Cup, saying it is volunteers who will contribute to a successful 2010 spectacle.

The application process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup volunteer programme opened on Monday.

"During the FIFA Confederations Cup, volunteers did an outstanding job, and we expect them to improve on their strengths to make sure that we host the best world cup ever," Jordaan told BuaNews.

He added: "People have criticized South Africa that we don't have a culture of volunteerism, but after the FIFA Confederations Cup, we identified a great sense of partnership and we expect the same next year."

Meanwhile, 2010 Volunteer Programme Manager Onke Mjo also urged people to take advantage of the opportunity.

"The applications are open and people must visit FIFA online to apply. We are expecting more than 100 000 applications. Our vetting procedures will be very strict as we require only 15 000 volunteers for the event," said Mjo.

Mjo added that the LOC required that 10 percent of the volunteers be international, another 10 percent must be from Africa and the rest be South Africans.

The volunteers are required in 16 functional areas, including accreditation, marketing, media, protocol services, transportation, administration, hospitality, spectator services, welcome and information services, information technology, environmental services, language support, rights protection programme, logistic services and ushering services.

Applications are open to anyone who will be 18 years old or older in March 2010 and has a good command of the English language.

Applications close on 31 August 2009, and the LOC volunteer department will conduct interviews with the pre-selected applicants in January and February 2010.

Telephonic interviews will be conducted for foreign pre-selected volunteers.