South Africa will use more than 30,000 police officers to ensure the safety of football fans at the World Cup in 2010.

The government are to increase the number of police officers in South Africa from 156,000 to more than 190,000 over the next three years.

Deputy National Police Commissioner, Andre Pruis said in December that more than 30,000 of these officers would be used specifically for the World Cup across covering intelligence, VIP protection, security at hotels, stadiums, airports, roads and border posts.

"More than 30,000 police officers will concentrate on providing security to the actual events, officials and supporters during the competition," Pruis said. "There will be a dedicated team of officers in each sector.

"Police will also be patrolling roads between airports and hotels as well as roads between stadiums and hotels to ensure that visitors are protected at all times."

The SAPS (South African Police Service) will also be buying a number of helicopters and command vehicles with state-of-the-art technology.