3:56pm UK, Monday June 21, 2010 - Skynews
They had hoped to cash in on the influx of foreign visitors, but prostitutes in Johannesburg say the fans are being scared away.
"We have children to support," two women told Sky News in the city's red light district.
"We came here from the Transkei to try to make some money, but it's tough," they said.
Fears over HIV may have contributed to the slump in trade. Most of the women we spoke to claimed to practise safe sex - but we found several who were willing to forego a condom.
"In the age of AIDS it's a risk," one woman said. "You will pay for sex without a condom with me, you will pay a big price," she said.
The prostitutes working the streets of Johannesburg charge around £3. Those who operate in the many hotel brothels earn just a few pounds more.
The women claim the police crackdown has been violent.
Thandi - a sex worker in Johannesburg for 20 years - said she had been subjected to "harassment, abuse and rape".
"They want bribes," she said. "If we can't pay, they have sex with us and they don't pay. I call that rape."
The hard line approach has also affected efforts to protect the women from the health risks of their work.
Witwatersrand University runs a mobile clinic in the red light district of Johannesburg and the number of sex workers using the service, including free tests for HIV and STDs, has dropped dramatically in recent weeks.
"The women have been forced from the streets and if we can't find them we can't treat them," Ellen Crabtree, a British volunteer with VSO said.
Ellen, a former marketing consultant from Edinburgh, is providing training for Johannesburg's sex workers to help them exit the profession. Several of the women she's taught have now found different jobs.
But in a city where the unemployment rate is around 25%, many of the sex workers have no option but to work the streets to support their families.
After hoping for riches during the World Cup, they are now waiting for the tournament to end.
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