In the special edition for the 2010 Lunar New Year, Thanh Nien The Thao & Giai Tri newspaper interviewed Madam Do Thi Kim Lien, Honorary Consul of the Republic of South Africa in Ho Chi Minh City, who will have the honor of welcoming the reputable FIFA World Cup when it arrives in Vietnam.

On January 18, you are expected to receive a very special task - welcome the FIFA World Cup to Vietnam. How do you feel about this?  
Madam Do Thi Kim Lien: Vietnamese people have a strong passion for football and I feel this passion has absorbed into the flesh and blood of everybody. I am not an exception. Like millions of Vietnamese fans, I am very eager to wait for the day to see the famous football cup right in our country. With the role of the South African Honorary Consul in HCMC, I will try my utmost to make this event more meaningful to the people of HCMC in particular and Vietnam in general.  

Could you talk about activities to welcome the FIFA World Cup?
- On January 18, I and the South African Ambassador to Vietnam will go to the Tan Son Nhat International Airport to receive the cup. Then we will bring the cup for display at the Military Zone 7 Stadium so that people can view and take photographs with it. On this occasion, there will be many activities to promote the images of FIFA and South Africa.   

It is not long from now to the opening of the World Cup. As Honorary Consul of South Africa in HCMC and a Vietnamese citizen, do you have programs to introduce the images of Vietnam?
- The FIFA World Cup is organized every four years and attracts the attention of most people in the world. So, I will take advantage of this special event to promote the images of Vietnam and South Africa to international friends. We have enough information to assist Vietnamese people approach to the host country of the Football World Cup. As a businessperson, I will make the most of this event to help Vietnamese and South African businesses approach each other and strengthen economic cooperation.