South Africa were the first of five African countries to present their books to Fifa, kicking off an afternoon of intense campaigning in the Swiss city.

A video message from president Thabo Mbeki led off the 30 minutes that South Africa had been given to highlight aspects of the bid book and emphasise their campaign.

After an introduction by South Africa 2010 Bid Company chairman, Irvin Khoza, who said the South African campaign was designed for the renewal of the entire continent, a comprehensive presentation of South Africa's infrastructure, organisational capacity and strengths was given by the bid company's chief executive officer Danny Jordaan.

Jordaan's presentation included video clips of support, plus highlighted the stadia, hotels, tourism infra structure, training facilities and other necessary elements for the hosting of a successful World Cup.

He was then followed by Kaizer Motaung, a bid company board member, who pleader the case for the players of his generation who missed out on international competition because of the apartheid era and who wanted the youth of the future to benefit from international participation.

Three-time African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele, who is from Ghana, also made a passionate plea for South Africa in French. He is one of the bid ambassadors who attended the event, including World Cup coach and captain Jomo Sono and Lucas Radebe.

A final message of government support was given by Mr. Essop Pahad, Minister in the Presidency, who pledged full state backing for the bid cause.

South Africa's bid book was then received by Mr. Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, who wished the South Africans good luck.

South Africa were followed by Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya but there was no presentation by Nigeria, who pulled out on Monday but have yet to officially inform Fifa.

Afterwards, South African officials expressed their satisfaction with the presentation. "It was good, it was detailed and it showed our capacity,' said sports minister Ngconde Balfour.