The Angola attack has taught police vital lessons as they welcome fans to a 'fiesta'

Bheki Cele, South Africa police's national commissioner, has been outlining his plans for the World Cup.

South African police chiefs today promised unprecedented levels of security for players, officials and fans during the World Cup, vowing to learn the lessons of the attack on Togo footballers in Angola. England players will be escorted by armed police and security guards as they travel from the airport to their training camp in Rustenburg and then head south for their final two group games in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Bheki Cele, the South African Police Service national commissioner, said that attacks on Sri Lanka's cricketers in Lahore and the Togo team bus in Cabinda had changed the sports security landscape.

"We have an overall plan for the event but we also have an overall plan for the teams in specific areas, like their travelling routes from airports to their hotels, base camps, training, and playing as individual teams," he said.

Cele was speaking after a two-day security seminar in Zurich had brought together security chiefs from 29 of the 32 countries competing in this summer's World Cup, organisers, Fifa executives and national police.

The South African police said fans would be welcomed to a "fiesta" but warned they would face a "zero tolerance" approach if they stepped out of line.

Interpol, one of several security agencies present for the talks, said it was confident its intelligence gathering would "identify people who are known to disrupt international major events such as this".

"Interpol will deploy its largest ever team of experts, more than ever before for a major event," said Christopher Eaton, head of operations.

Cele said the political climate and security arrangements at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola could not be compared to the South African World Cup but admitted the Togo attack had impacted on their plans. "If you move from South Africa to Cabinda, you fly four hours and cover 4,000km," he said. "But there were lessons learned by the security team from South Africa. It has helped us and enhanced us and made us much better and brighter in terms of preparations."

In January, three people were killed when the Togo team bus was attacked by armed rebels in the exclave of Cabinda, forcing the squad to pull out and casting a shadow over the tournament.

A budget of 1.3bn Rand (£115m) has been committed to policing the World Cup, including the purchase of new helicopters, vehicles, water cannons and dedicated holding cells on trains. But Cele said police would be told to exercise discretion around crimes such as drinking in public.

"Rather than apprehend people we might advise them where to do it. We are not going to war over things that are not a security risk or a danger to people," he said. "They would advise you that you can't do it, but why not do it inside the bar or in a fan fest."

Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter, said he hoped the World Cup would change perceptions of South Africa: "It should be a festival of joy, not one of fear where you have to hide away somewhere."

Andy Holt, the head of football for the Association of Chief Police Officers, this week signed a memorandum of understanding with his South African colleagues. He said he had been working to correct the perception of English fans among his South African colleagues and will lead a team of 12 British police who will work alongside domestic police to help judge the mood of England fans.

"I'm afraid to say there is still a perception that England fans abroad are still as they were à la Heysel. I'm able to say there has been a huge change around legislation, working with the fans themselves, better policing, a whole range things." More than 20,000 England fans are expected to travel, with Fifa revealing this week that 100,000 tickets had been sold to UK addresses.

Blatter, who has much riding on the success of the first African World Cup before his re-election campaign next year, called on the media to move away from security concerns. "I think it is a wrong approach. The media can help South Africa and Africa as a continent by changing this attitude. It is a well organised country. The World Cup shall be a fiesta," he said.

"I don't know why people think it is not secure. Everybody will be protected. The fans will be protected, the teams will be protected, the media will be protected. What more can we do?"

Around 44,000 police will be dedicated to the event, of a total police force of 188,000. A further 10,000 private security guards have been hired.

"Zero tolerance is an international phenomenon of policing. Show me any security agency that tolerates nonsense or crime. Nobody does. Anybody who gets out of the framework of law will be dealt with," said Cele. "People who will come to spoil the festivities, we would not tolerate that kind of behaviour. If you step out of line, you must be put back in line."