They will arrive in style and in the lap of luxury.
Some international World Cup visitors are set to dock in Durban and Cape Town aboard "super yachts".
The manager of Durban Marina, Roy Close, confirmed it had received a number of enquiries from mega-rich yacht owners about berthing during the soccer extravaganza.
"We have assured them that they will be accommodated and have requested a 48-hour to seven-day notification, depending on the size of the yacht," said Close.
He said the most used route to Durban was from the east coast of Madagascar, to avoid the pirates up the north coast.
"Of course, these yachts are more than capable of outrunning any pirate boats, so it's not really a problem for them."
But Close added that Durban harbour had seen a significant increase in super yachts over the last two seasons, due to piracy risks on the east coast of Africa.
"They are not coming through the straits and rather take the route across to Madagascar, down to Durban and then on to Cape Town," he said.
Super yachts are generally over 150 foot (45m) and are costly. A 2005 Sunseeker Predator was recently on sale for £1.75 million (about R21m.)
The popularity of the super yacht grew in the early 1900s when luxurious motor yachts such as the 325ft (100m) Christina O and the Savarona, then the largest yacht in the world at 408ft ( m), were constructed.
Always staffed by professional crews, many super yachts are also used for charter purposes at a high price, some topping over £300 000 (about R3.6m) a week.
The news of the super yachts will be welcomed, as organisers of the luxury cruise liners Noordam and Westerdam, which had been expected to berth in Durban and Port Elizabeth during the World Cup, announced the cancellation of their plans on Wednesday.
A spokesman for German cruise organiser One Ocean Club (OOC) confirmed there was not enough interest by international visitors, possibly as a result of the recession.
The Westerdam, however, is still scheduled for a southern cruise from Barcelona and will stop over in Cape Town on June 9, departing on July 8.
OOC said the voyage was almost fully booked.