Introduction: Emergency medicine is a new speciality in South Africa. It was first registered in 2003, and there are now 30 specialists in the country, with 10 new graduates from local registrar training programmes and over 40 trainees on four programmes across the country.
Conclusion: Emergency medicine is currently enjoying a governmental focus as part of the preparations towards the FIFA 2010 soccer World Cup. This article discusses the current structure of emergency care in South Africa.