JOHANNESBURG — “Brand” police will patrol 2010 Soccer World Cup stadiums to ensure the Fifa brand is not “hijacked”, the world football body said yesterday.

No brand but the Fifa brand will be allowed in the commercial restriction zones in and around stadiums countrywide.

Soccer fans will sip their cold drinks in “neutral, clear” glasses, will eat food served in “unbranded wraps” and will not read newspapers, since newspaper sales are not allowed inside stadiums.

“We plan to have teams in each of the cities looking out for brand hijackers,” said Fifa rights protection manager Mpumi Mazibuko.

“We protect the brand that is Fifa,” he added.

He was speaking at a media round-table event to explain the thinking behind Fifa’s strong protection of its brand.

Businesses situated in the zones around World Cup stadiums will be allowed to do business, as long as there is no Fifa-related marketing activity or ambush marketing.

Fifa marketing director Thierry Weil said the world football body will also allow businesses to sell their products at the fan fests.

“The restriction is that it must be unbranded, but you will still make money, so this unbranded one is not harming anyone,” said Weil.

Informal traders will also be allowed to do business outside stadiums, as long as their products are not branded.

Weil said that Fifa’s aim is to protect its commercial affiliates, said Weil.

“When you buy a car, you buy it completely… you don’t let everybody drive the car and it is the same for our partners — they bought the car, they want the key and they want to be ensured they are the only ones driving the car,” Weil added.

If the Ponte building in Johannesburg, which carries a huge Vodacom billboard, had fallen into a commercial restrictive zone, it would have been covered up. But Weil said people wearing branded T-shirts will be allowed into stadiums — if they did not move together wearing the same T-shirts in big groups.

Also, vuvuzelas with small brands on will be allowed in — but not vuvuzelas bearing “huge words”.

“We will most probably ask the person not to bring the vuvuzela in,” said Weil, before launching again into his analogy of the new car that needs to be protected.

A journalist then remarked to him: “But it sounds like you parked your car in my garage.”

To which Weil replied: “Yes, but we asked if we could borrow your garage.”

Fifa considers its trademarks to be ‘2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa’, ‘2010 Fifa World Cup’, ‘Fifa World Cup’, ‘World Cup’, ‘World Cup 2010’, ‘Football World Cup’, ‘SA 2010’, ‘ZA 2010’, ‘South Africa 2010’, ‘Ke Nako — Celebrate Africa’s Humanity’, ‘Soccer World Cup’ and ‘Zakumi’.