D uring half-time and at the end of the 2006 FIFA Soccer World Cup final match on 9 July, between Italy and France, at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, FIFA broadcast a message to those present at the stadium and those watching on television throughout the world, inviting the peoples of the world to meet in South Africa in 2010. Truly the moment had come when our country would take the baton from Germany as the host of the next FIFA Soccer World Cup.
In a way, the journey to this moment had begun in 1994, when we achieved our liberation. Interviewed shortly before our first democratic elections of that year, the then President of the United States, Bill Clinton, said:
These sentiments surfaced again when we launched the logo for the 2010 Soccer World Cup on 7 July in Berlin. The FIFA headed the statement commenting on this launch - "A symbol of hope". Among other things, it said:
"South Africa has certainly got out of the blocks quickly and made an impressive start. The speakers at the event included Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and President of the Republic of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki.
"They all spoke of the continent's immense pride in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup on African soil, and the need to 'Win in Africa, with Africa'.
Indeed, CAF President and FIFA Vice President, Issa Hayatou is so optimistic about the success of Africa in 2010, he declared it will 'mark the renaissance of Africa.'...Meanwhile, Mr Blatter reiterated his belief and confidence in the Host Country saying: 'There are more than one billion people behind the FIFA family who have said yes to South Africa, we trust South Africa.'"
Michael Palmer, head of the FIFA 2010 World Cup office said in an interview:
"But we have bigger hopes for this, that the 2010 World Cup will change the world's perceptions of the African continent and provide wonderful opportunities for people in the future. The hope is that it will be the sporting event that does the most good for a country and a continent."
When FIFA decided to rotate the World Cup among the continents, it took into account that it would be difficult for many countries, including African countries, to compete successfully against the developed countries of the North in terms of hosting the World Cup.
FIFA also understood that the Soccer World Cup and soccer in general were about more than scoring goals and winning matches. Given the popularity of the sport, it understood that soccer also plays an important role with regard to such issues as national unity and reconciliation, social and economic development, the promotion of peace, and the encouragement of mutually beneficial cooperation among the nations.
When it decided that the 2010 Soccer World Cup should be hosted by Africa, it sought to promote precisely these objectives. Issa Hayatou was therefore correct when he said our hosting of the 2010 World Cup would 'mark the renaissance of Africa.' Similarly, Michael Palmer was also correct when he said "the 2010 World Cup will change the world's perceptions of the African continent and provide wonderful opportunities for people in the future."
When the FIFA Executive Committee decided that South Africa should host the 2010 World Cup it took into account our logistical and financial capacity to discharge this obligation. However, the distinguished members of this Committee would also have been mindful of the need for the African Host to provide the best possible circumstances for the tournament truly to mark the renaissance of Africa, as Issa Hayatou said.
And thus it is that we come back to the comment made by President Clinton in 1994, when he said our peaceful transition to democracy would be "amazing...(and would be) a matter of enormous historical impact."
The victory we achieved in this regard in 1994 created the basis for us to stand out as perhaps a very relevant Host for the 2010 World Cup, capable of providing the setting that would turn this tournament into a "symbol of hope" that would "do the most good for a country and a continent."
As we take on the task to prepare our country for an outstanding 2010 World Cup, inspired by the fact that "more than one billion people behind the FIFA family who have said yes to South Africa, we trust South Africa", as President Sepp Blatter said, we must recall that not everybody was convinced that we had the capacity to achieve a peaceful transition to democracy.
In his book, "Partner to History", Princeton Lyman, the former US Ambassador to South Africa who served in our country as we achieved our transition to democracy, said correctly:
"The weeks preceding the election had been filled with concerns. There were rumours that even if the election went smoothly, it would be followed by a complete collapse of services, utilities and governance. Among some elements of the white population, there were preparations for disaster...
"Among the blacks, there was worry as well but of a different kind: a lingering concern about the loyalty of the security forces, especially in the event of any serious armed white resistance. The ANC was particularly anxious in these final days to allay the concerns of the white population and to secure the loyalty of the security forces...
"It is hard to convey the joy, relief, enthusiasm and euphoria that swept over the country when the election actually did take place, free of all that people feared. Millions of people stood in line for hours, patiently, to cast their votes. All fears of low turnout, of widespread violence, of intimidation or disorder vanished in the national outpouring of support for change."
And now, as we prepare to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup, as happened in 1994, there are again some who doubt that we will succeed to turn this tournament into "a matter of enormous historical impact." Instead, they are making predictions based on nothing but prejudice, that we will fail.
For instance, recently a German publication wrote among other things that:
"With only four years to go before the kick-off for the 2010 World Cup, South Africa still has a massive amount of preparation to do. Its stadiums are crumbling or unbuilt, security poses a real problem and organisers are way behind schedule. But FIFA is confident that the first World Cup to take place in Africa will still be fine...
"Four years before the World Cup in Germany, things were so organised that officials even knew what streets to close off before games, but in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, chaos and perplexity are currently the order of the day. 'They're totally behind schedule,' said Delron Buckley, a South African player in Germany's Bundesliga professional league who just returned from a two-week vacation in his homeland. 'They're neither building nor renovating anything.'
"Originally, the South Africans proposed holding the games in 13 different stadiums. Then that was reduced to 10 arenas, of which five would have to be built from scratch and the rest renovated. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the existing facilities where the matches are to be held were designed for rugby or cricket. Some of these stadiums are ramshackle, with dubious structural stability and zero provisions for providing security.
"It also remains unclear the extent to which white South Africans will identify with the World Cup. More and more are being pushed out of civil service positions and their interest in sports is mostly limited to cricket, rugby and golfing. In their minds, football is a sport for blacks. And with the lowest ticket prices currently set at $20 per seat, the majority of South Africa's predominantly black population will be priced out of the World Cup...
"Global football governing body FIFA's decision to hold the next World Cup in South Africa was a political one. The organisation, which likes to tout itself as a moral superpower, is holding the games there under the slogan 'Football for a Better World'. It's the first time the global spectacle has ever been held in Africa...
"The problem is that even 12 years after the official end of apartheid, South Africa is still a developing country, some areas lack the infrastructure and the country has never before hosted an event on this scale."
The doomsayers' message in 2006 is the same as it was in 1994 - that the fact that we are African means that we are incapable of achieving success!
The final match of the 2006 Soccer World Cup was played in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. This stadium was built by the Nazi regime for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. Hitler and his fellow Nazis were determined to use these Games to show the superiority of their evil ideology, the supremacy of the "Aryan race", and, especially the inferiority of people of African descent.
The intentions of the Nazis were thrown into disarray when the outstanding African-American athlete, Jesse Owens, won four gold medals, shattering the insulting illusion that people of African descent were incapable of achieving success. Enraged, Adolf Hitler refused to hand out the medals to the winners, to avoid having to shake hands with a black athlete.
Conscious of the fact that the scourge of racism continues to haunt the world, FIFA launched its campaign "Say No to Racism" during the 2006 Soccer World Cup, at the same Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where Hitler had refused to shake hands with Jesse Owens. Our own Tokyo Sexwale participated in this launch, carrying the responsibility to work as one of the FIFA champions against racism.
The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, held in a country and continent that know the true meaning racism, will strike a powerful blow against this scourge, as Jesse Owens struck a powerful blow against racism through his athletic prowess.
As black and white united in our country in 1994 to ensure the peaceful elections that President Clinton said would signify "a matter of enormous historical impact", so will we act in unity once more, to ensure that the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the first to be held in Africa, truly "marks the renaissance of Africa", as the President of the African Football Confederation, Issa Hayatou, said
