The party spent a week at Afcon and returned yesterday to help prepare Safa for the hosting of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The delegation comprised Safa representatives from eight cities, plus Safa vice-president Shoes Mazibuko and technical committee chairman Fanyana Sibanyoni. The cities were those who have expressed an interest in hosting games in the 2013 Afcon next January, and the Chan (African Nations Championship) for locally based squads in 2014.

Asked if a 10-man delegation to Afcon was necessary, given that South Africa has much expertise in hosting major tournaments, Peterson said the number was justified.

"There is a fundamental difference between the World Cup and the Afcon. There are two different organisations - Caf and Fifa. There are different challenges, operational issues, people we need to get to know," he said.

"We host the Afcon next year and Chan in 2014. There will be seven or eight host cities. So we have sent senior members from the cities that have indicated a desire to host. We're not sending technical people because we know the technical issues. We're sending political heads who will need to interface with Caf."