Friday, June 11, 2010 is sure to be an unforgettable date in the minds of all Africans and soccer fans across the globe being the day when Africa gets to hold the prestigious FIFA World Cup. For the past 80 years, the FIFA Cup host countries have revolved around Europe and the Americas. Just how is the location for a FIFA World Cup decided? The latest selection policy is that any country can bid for the world cup as long as their continental confederation hasn’t hosted it in the past two years which makes a Africa very eligible. South Africa had a narrow loss against Germany in the 2006 bidding with 12 votes to 11 as the final tally. For the 2010 Soccer Cup however, all countries that bid were African the top three being South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. South Africa beat Morocco by 4 votes leading to this memorable event.Those are the ‘technical’ reasons why this years tournament is being held in South Africa but is the country itself capable of holding such an event? I would answer with a resounding “Yes”. Here’s why:
* They’ve got a great team- that simple fact makes them deserving to have the great privilege of hosting the cup.If you’d ask me, having a World tournament in a country whose team isn’t even above average would be a disgrace. Even if you look back, the soccer teams of countries hosting the cup are usually first class like Brazil (1950), Argentina (1978) and Italy (1990). Adding SA to the list would make sense.
* You should see the stadiums- as part of their preparation for the 2010 FIFA Cup, they have constructed four brand new mind-blowing stadiums. One has a detractable glass roof, another with spectacular lighting, then there’s the ‘zebra’ inspired stadium located nearby the many game parks, and finally one that resembles the South African flag. What more could you ask for?
* The perfect weather- if there’s one thing its is known for-aside from its wildlife, it would be the weather. The World Football Tournament coincides with the winter time. Don’t worry, our favorite players won’t freeze to death, winter temperature at midday, is warmer than most countries daily summer temperature! The average temperature will be around 20 degrees Celsius at 12pm noon. Lower temperatures are known to be better for athlete’s bodies. Good weather equals higher tempo.
* It’s in Africa- what could be a better place for the world to unite than in the very place that civilization is said to have begun? And the place where soccer is in the heart of every African? Soccer in the host country has in the past been a cause for unification and a force for apartheid resistance during President Mandela’s era. The finals being held in Soweto which has been the center of soccer there really adds meaning to the whole event making it not simply a sports event but a historical one.
Despite any controversies in the past four years regarding safety, in my opinion, South Africa is the perfect place for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the whole world should be very proud that this is the first time that a sporting event of this magnitude is being held in the continent.