It’s fever pitch time - for footballers and PR professionals alike.

With the kick off to the World Cup just days away I can’t help but wonder what PR professionals and brands are doing with the growing excitement (yes, despite some of us being unable to remember the last time our boy’s qualified).

As the 2010 South African Football World Cup approaches, branding activity surrounding the world’s most watched sporting spectacle hits fever pitch. It seems that official and ‘unofficial’ sponsors, celebrities, charities and entire nation are implementing strategies geared  towards capitalising on the tournament’s almost universal appeal, with mixed levels of success.

Yet how well can they bank on success? Can they really connect with football fans, or is this even the point? Are they merely attempting to get a cut of all the excitement interlinked with the event.

Studies have already revealed the successes and failings of the big brands in the days counting down but surely this will alter somewhat in the weeks of the tournament? What they must be doing is continuously driving interest back to their brand through real time strategies, achieved through effective digital PR.

Not forgetting the brands that are not directly sponsoring the sporting event but are still competing for consumers attention. Here they appear to jump on the football wagon by enlisting the use of ex-footballers to front campaigns.

But the attention still returns to social media. It’s a platform to discuss and share YouTube clips, news, opinions, and is all in real-time. Being the first World Cup to engage heavily with social media, this will surely set the tone for future international sporting events, good or bad.