Germany worry over 2010 safety

Germany have already qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa Germany's footballers have been told they may have to wear bullet-proof vests if they leave the team hotel at next year's World Cup in South Africa. The comments come from the head of security firm BaySecur, who look after the the German Football Federation (DFB) and their guests when the national team play away from home. BaySecur is one of the firms expected to be employed by the DFB while the team are at the tournament that runs from 11 June until 11 July. "The possibility for the players of moving outside of the hotel boundaries should be kept to a minimum," BaySecur's Guenter Schnelle told German magazine Sport-Bild. "Otherwise there must be a full escort: armed security guards and bullet-proof vests for the players." The DFB is sending its security chief to South Africa to inspect the team's headquarters near Pretoria before deciding if any extra security measures would be needed. Helmut Spahn, the federation's official in charge of security, will travel to South Africa at the end of this week. "We will then receive the first security report," DFB spokesman Harald Stenger said Wednesday. "After a security workshop following the draw on 4 December the federation will receive more information. "And the will then decide if and what extra security measures it might take on its own to beef up security for the national team and its entourage. "Any such measures would have to be cleared by Fifa and the South African organizers." Former German international and the man in charger of team logistic's Oliver Bierhoff says the team will have to get used to certain restrictions. "We'll have to adjust to a World Cup under different conditions," he said. "The players won't be able to move so freely as they did 2006 in Germany or 2008 at the European Championship in Austria and Switzerland."