Germany worry over 2010 safety

Germany have already qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

The German Football Federation (DFB) will be sending its security chief to South Africa to to inspect the team's World Cup headquarters near Pretoria.

Helmut Spahn, the federation's official in charge of security, will travel to South Africa at the end of this week.

The DFB will only decide after his visit if any extra security measures would be needed.

"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 then we 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 charge of team logistic's Oliver Bierhoff says the squad 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."

The comments come as the head of security firm BaySecur was quoted as saying the players may have to wear bullet-proof vests if they leave the team hotel during the World Cup.

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."

However according to reports in South Africa Schnelle denies making any such comments.