It was inevitable. Long before the 2006 World Cup final, the Afro-pessimist brigade was already muttering dark warnings about 2010. Now comes the crescendo. We can almost feel the musty colonial breath in our faces, sputtering: “Crime! Disease! Civilisation! Give it to Australia!”
The most grotesque forms of this argument cannot be taken seriously. Fifa has already reiterated, unambiguously, that the world is coming to our shores in 2010. But it is worth talking about the challenges and what we need to accomplish as a nation over the next four years.
Estimates of Africa’s overall economic contribution to world football are tenuous, but there is general agreement that it hovers somewhere between the less-than-inspiring levels of zero and 1%. The continent’s biggest recognisable strength lies in its incredible human resources, calculated in terms of the number of players it exports to Europe.
As host of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa holds the cards and its economic influence in world football is bound to increase. The current monetary value of South African football is, according to informal calculations, approaching R600-million and it is believed that this figure will be well over R1-billion come 2010.
A drop in the ocean! But significantly this is among the reasons it was chosen to host 2010. The vote of confidence in our nation-in-becoming is a building block upon which our readiness and success should be measured.
In its latest annual report, South African Tourism records that the country hosted more than 7,3-million international visitors last year. There are more than 55 000 hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts. SA Tourism spokesperson Tholoane Qhobela points out that a growing number of South Africans are investing in lodging establishments. This can only be good for economic growth and job creation.
So who says we can’t handle the fans pouring in from all corners of the globe?
Afro-pessimism looms large though in the minds of those who want to peddle stereotypes about the developing world — this continent in particular — as a boiling cauldron of HIV and crime. More-over, bleats RW Johnson, South Africa’s infrastructure is decaying and the traffic lights don’t work.
No one is pretending that massive social and economic challenges don’t exist. How could they not in the wake of slavery, colonialism and apartheid? But 2010 is an occasion for South Africa to explode a range of stereo-types about our continent — and the myth that organising an event of World Cup magnitude is beyond our ability. It is also an opportunity to hasten economic development and boost African soccer.
While South Africa needs to approach the World Cup as a confident nation, we cannot afford to downplay the serious challenges ahead.
Although 2010 head Danny Jordaan notes that South Africa is well ahead in areas such as the finalising of host city and stadium contracts, others require serious attention, planning and investment. In many of these areas, such as stadium construction and public transport, we are surely lagging behind.
Government, business and civil society will need to pull together to make many of these things happen. Building stadiums, strengthening the communications network and improving the country’s general infrastructure is going to take serious work.
A host of foreign and South African companies will be queuing for 2010 projects. This presents enormous opportunities for new investment and job creation. Our local football industry employs about 10 000 people directly; the indirect figure is probably well over 100 000. The 2010 World Cup should act as a big multiplier.
Many of Africa’s critics talk about South Africa as if it is not part of this continent. They talk about our highways, hotels, shopping malls and other things they consider markers of our First World status (at least on the urban/suburban fringe). But South Africa is not Germany, they protest. Not even South Korea or Australia. How can South Africa ever hope to match the public transport systems of Berlin?
Short answer: it can’t and it won’t.
We need to relax about one thing. South Africa’s World Cup will have all the imperfections that go along with being a developing nation.
Finally, in the same way writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o exhorts the developing world not to shy away from borrowing English words to enrich our languages, persuasively arguing that the queen’s language owes a debt to many African and other languages, the continent should unashamedly use the 2010 opportunity to develop its administration of the game so that Africa can begin the process of levelling with Europe on the playing field.
Lungile Madywabe is the Mail & Guardian’s local soccer writer