South Africa World Cup

Few events in 2010 have the potential to go down in history as one of the achievements of the year while as likely to end in tears, as the football World Cup in South Africa.

Arguably the world’s so-called ‘beautiful’ game -founded by colonising Europeans and with a global activity today dominated by the influence of multi-national sponsors, media giants and the hold that richer nations have on the lucrative transfer market-has taken much too long to reach this degree of ownership by the developing world.

This is the first time in the 80 years history of the tournament that the world cup is being staged in Africa, a belated recognition that it is from this most underdeveloped continent that some of the top European clubs have for years bought impoverished local talent and turned them into cogs of a money-spinning industry, only a small proportion of which is accounted for in immigrant remittances.

With a potential TV global audience of billions, and the planned visit of hundreds of thousands from thirty-two countries representing diverse cultures, races, and political systems, the credibility not just of the host nation, but of its continent is at stake.

South Africa won the right to stage the world’s most popular event in May 2004 after seeing off rival bids by thee other African nations-Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya- as part of the government body FIFA’s new policy of rotating the tournament among its various continental confederations.

The successful bid made up for South Africa’s disappointment at losing out in the earlier tender for the staging of the 2006 World Cup by only one vote to Germany . Success was widely seen as the vindication of the gigantic steps that South Africa had made to emerge from diplomatic isolation since Nelson Mandela’s release from prison paved the way for his courageously reconciliatory presidency.

Priot to this, football had played a small part, if not insignificant part, in forging South Africa’s sense of identity as a nation, although with a different narrative to that produced by rugby. During the years of apartheid, South Africa’s different footballing bodies were defined by race and yet provided one of the rare meeting grounds between different races.

In 1976, following the brutal repression of the student uprising in Soweto, South Africa was expelled from FIFA. However football remained extremely popular in the townships, despite limited resources which held back the development of a national squad capable of making a mark internationally. When South Africa was re-admitted as FIFA members into the international football community in 1991, its national squad qualified just for two World Cup-in 1998 and 2002 -but failed to get beyond the group stage on both occasions.

By contrast rugby, was for decades claimed by the Afrikaners’ as their national game, the prowess and success of the Springboks providing support for the Afrikaners’ belief that there was something elemental and biblical about their themselves as heroes. In 1995, the lifting of the Rugby world cup by the Springbok captain, the very white and very blond Francois Piennar, in the presence of a similarly joyous Mandela-also dressed in the emblemic Springbok shirt-was an iconic moment, suggesting that rugby had come into the warm glow of humanity at last and was no longer the exclusive preserve of a racist minority.

Defying any sense of false dawn, the latest World Cup organizers has been upbeat, insisting that this football tournament will be even more of a a celebration for the Rainbow nation than the Springbok victory fifteen years ago, showing not only what South Africa as a nation has achieved but how much more a whole continent can achieve in the future..

But the challenge is daunting, not least in the threat to travelling fans represented by South Africa’s appalling violent crime rate and the brutal police tactics for dealing with it. The security of the fans will not be helped by the shortcomings in public transport that persist, and, in the area of public health, by the high level of South Africans infected with the HIV virus and the continuing trafficking in prostitutes across African borders. The concern is that irresponsible drunken fans will be infected in South Africa and return home with unfamiliar strains or sub-types of the virus.

Precedent suggests nonetheless that this World Cup, like others we have seen, could just as well end up being remembered more for what happens on the pitch than off it-and here there is much to look forward to, if you like the game.

Some highlights: an England resurrected by its Italian manager; a Spain that has remained invincible since winning the European championships in 2008; a Brazil that has not lost its ability to dance and dazzle; a crop of exciting individual young talent, led by Argentina’s Leo Messi-voted recently the FIFA’s footballer of the year- and Cristiano Ronaldo, the similarly brilliant Portuguese whose transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid last year secured a record fee.

The omens are good for a hugely exciting tournament so cancel all other engagements between June 11 and July 11 and if you are not travelling to South Africa, arrange your TV viewing. If you are one of those misanthropes who hate football, book a holiday- preferably as far away from other people and electricity as possible.

The perfect and not impossible outcome: an African country lifts the World Cup in triumph. Despite having the psychological advantage of being the host nation, South Africa’s chances of winning are slim although it will desperate to avoid the embarrassment of being kicked out at an early stage. But don’t underestimate the other contenders from the continent: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Algeria and Ghana.