SUPPORTERS AT the World Cup in South Africa face “a deadly-serious threat” from terrorists encouraged by the global affect of last week’s atrocity in Angola, security analysts warn.

The lethal ambush on the Togo squad showed the ease with which militants could gain publicity with a copycat attack on a bigger stage, said Anneli Botha, a researcher at South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies.

World Cup organisers reiterated yesterday that political strife in Angola should not be conflated with South Africa, and promised that no chances will be taken with players’ safety.

But there was little doubt the shocking incident had cast a shadow over Africa’s first World Cup, even if only by reinforcing the fears of pessimists.

South Africa, like Angola, has invested millions in stadiums and infrastructure in the hope that staging a major international event will help bury a troubled past. But experts believe the Africa Cup of Nations incident shows how easily insurgents can grab world headlines with attacks on soft targets.

“Far from needing weapons of mass destruction, terrorists have put a tiny place like Cabinda on the map using simple strategy and a few guns,” Botha said. “When star football teams from places like Brazil and England turn up, it could be a gift to aggressors like this.”

Fans could also be vulnerable, she added. “It’s a deadly-serious threat for supporters at the World Cup too, because it does not require the attacker to get through security barriers. Anywhere where there are fewer gun control searches, for instance by the big TV screens at fanparks, is wide open for trouble.”

Botha said she feared the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec), which claimed responsibility for the ambush, could use the World Cup to boost its profile. “Flec have now proven to themselves how much attention they can get through this sort of activity. The World Cup offers an even bigger stage, and it will not take much effort to penetrate.”

South Africa has had myriad major problems since the end of apartheid in 1994, but terrorism is not one of them. The most unequal society in the world has one of its highest rates of “ordinary” crime, including an average of 50 murders per day. Such a climate could provide opportunities for terrorists from inside or outside the country, experts say. Fake passports, illegal firearms and explosives are all in wide circulation.

But linking the situation in Angola to South Africa is at best foolish, and at worst an ignorant, post-colonial caricature, say defenders of the 2010 project.

South Africa is the wealthiest country on the continent, boasting Western-style airports, golf courses, luxury hotels, multiplexes and shopping malls.

Organisers are keen to point out that South Africa has hosted more than 150 international events without major incident. Last year’s Confederations Cup saw only 39 arrests in or near a stadium.

Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of the South Africa 2010 organising committee, insisted the Angola attack should have no bearing. “I don’t think the world has ever asked one country to take responsibility for what happens in another country,” he said.

“Fortunately the majority of the world is not influenced by a warped understanding of the African continent. If there is a war in Kosovo and a World Cup in Germany, no one asks if the World Cup can go on in Germany, everyone understands the war in Kosovo is a war in Kosovo.

“The world must be balanced and must not apply different standards when it comes to the African continent. Our World Cup is secure and we are confident because we have employed a lot of resources to safeguard the event in our country.”