The South African city of Durban is the latest partner to help Bristol realise its goal of bringing World Cup football to the city.

The backing of Durban, one of the host cities for the 2010 World Cup, is a coup for Bristol as it seeks to convince the FA it has the know-how to help host the biggest event in the world.

Bristol's burgeoning reputation as a sporting centre of excellence has been recognised by football officials in South Africa – drawing personnel from Durban to establish a relationship with Filton College's sports academy.

Michael Mlaba Zibuse, the manager of South African first division side African Warriors, who is also the brother of the Mayor of Durban, is in Bristol this week talking to Bristol City Council about its World Cup bid and to Filton College about replicating its sporting model in the Southern hemisphere at Elangeni College.

Partnerships director for the council, Stephen Wray, told the Post: "This relationship could prove very useful next year after the 2010 World Cup and we can watch how Durban copes with the tournament.

"We also got some very useful information about the structure of sport in South Africa and potential relationships with African clubs."

The Mayor of Durban is boarding a plane bound for Bristol in September when the council plan to glean more about the fine detail of Durban's successful bid for participation in 2010 and add this to the ever-growing pool of knowledge they are acquiring.

"We've got a developing relationship with Kenya through the University of Bristol, we're twinned with Beira in Mozambique and we also have a relationship with Nicaragua, who will be trying to make the most of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil," said Mr Wray.

The extensive facilities of the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England has helped Bristol achieve a deal with the Kenyan Olympic team for their athletes to use the city as a base in the run up to, and for the duration of, the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The city's sports facilities have also been attracting international athletes and hosting national events.

UWE's Filton campus has been used for training camps by the England hockey and volleyball teams and staged the England hockey Championships in May this year.

In the past few months Bristol University's Coombe Dingle sports complex has played host to the eclectic mix of the European University Sports Association rugby sevens tournament, the Home Nations Fencing Championships and the Bristol Festival of School Sport and Culture featuring more than 1,400 pupils.

Alex Isaac, acting head of sport for UWE told the Post: "Hopefully the FA will keep to its word and is keen to support football around the country.

"Bristol is more than capable of hosting the World Cup."

Karen Harvey from the University of Bristol's department of sport, exercise and health was equally forthright about the city's potential.

She said: "One of the reasons we got Kenya is we don't just focus on facilities for athletes.

"It was the whole package of cultural exchanges and providing a Bristol experience for them.

"We offer more than just facilities and this is a model that is now being copied by other cities around the UK."

The Bristol bid team has been scouting at least 12 sites as possible training venues that visiting teams could use for inclusion in its presentation to the FA.

These are believed to include the Filton WISE campus, the Gloucestershire FA's base in Almondsbury, Clevedon Town's stadium, Bristol City's training ground in Failand, Bristol Rover's Memorial Stadium, the University of Bristol's Coombe Dingle complex and the South Bristol sport centre on the old Imperial ground.