The tournament is seen as a test run for the ultimate showpiece in world football, the World Cup, which will be hosted on African soil for the first time next year.

As hosts South Africa are granted immediate qualification for the Confederations Cup and will be pitted against African champions Egypt, European giants Spain and Oceania champions New Zealand. South America will be represented by Brazil, while Concacaf champions USA and defending world champions Italy will also feature at the tournament.

The action will take place in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Pretoria and Bloemfontein.

Schools can use the event in their learning and teaching activities:

  • Discuss the geography, culture and traditions of the countries where the various teams come from;

  • Look at careers that are critical in the organisation and hosting of an event such as the Confederations Cup, for instance sports management, groundsmen and women, marketing and construction;

  • Collect articles in newspapers, on the internet and any other media on the economic impact of big sporting events;

  • Debate the celebrity cult that surrounds the world's top football stars in the context of the need for role-models; and

  • In the lower grades ask learners to make artworks of their favourite sporting moment.

    Another way for you and your learners to get involved is through the My 2010 Adventure Campaign.

    As part of the campaign, the national department of education promoted the idea that schools in eight provinces symbolically "adopted" the eight teams in the tournament. The ninth province, KwaZulu-Natal, chose to use the opportunity to learn more about the African Union.

    The Easten Cape adopted Spain, Free State adopted Italy, Gauteng adopted South Africa, Limpopo adopted New Zealand, Mpumalanga adopted Egypt, the Northern Cape adopted crowd favourites Brazil, North West adopted the United States and the Western Cape adopted Iraq.

    But when the Teacher contacted schools about the campaign many were not aware of it. Those who have taken note did not want or did not know how to incorporate it into the curriculum.

    The organisers have already selected volunteers and ball crews for the tournament, but tickets for the event are competitively priced to allow the public to attend the matches.