EAC to host World Cup 2030

This month has seen history being made. South Africa has become the first African nation to host the football World Cup. This is a big event that draws in lots of attention and investment leaving both FIFA and the hosts a little richer and more popular. The scepticism about an African nation managing to host an event of such magnitude is not about to die until the final whistle is blown. Reports of workers striking or threatening to strike are the new challenge for the tournament organisers. But who said it would be easy. It is never easy when riding in the direction of success. Hosting an event like the World Cup requires massive investment in infrastructure and extreme organisation. Each time the World Cup or Olympics come up, it is common to hear people making comparisons. Many stop and imagine their country (Rwanda) in the same position as the host nation of the prestigious event. The problem with such comparisons is that they are made without adjustments to the time settings. One looks at South Africa today and compares it with Rwanda today which is a huge mistake. I must admit that looking at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg and our modest Amahoro stadium is not so good for one’s psychological health. What we need to do is to visualise a progressive Rwanda 20 years from now in 2030 for instance. With such a time adjustment, things can start to make a little sense. I strongly believe that by 2030 we can be in position to host an event like the World Cup. Like the time travellers that Hollywood occasionally creates for us, I recently took a time trip fast forward to 2030 and this is what I saw. By January, the only mention of Rwanda is in history classes for the school going citizens. The reason for this is that Rwanda joined up with Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi to form the now mighty East Africa. This country that many prefer to just call ‘EA’ has a population of over 200 million people and is second to Nigeria as the most populous country in Africa. Six years back it was selected by FIFA to host the World Cup. The excitement here is unbearable. The global attention has reached fascinating levels. A lot of infrastructure has been put in place in preparation for this tournament. There is a high speed train linking all the stadiums to the capital Arusha. Thanks to this train it now takes just 20 minutes for one to travel from the state of the art stadium in Ruhengeri where some of the group matches will be played to the refurbished Moi stadium in Nairobi. Other new stadiums can be found in the major towns like Dodoma, Kampala, Eldoret, Kigali, Dar es Salaam and of course the beach town Bujumbura where one of the semi-final games will be played. EA’s football team, ‘Vijana stars’ is one of Africa’s most promising. It is coached by former Inter Milan star McDonald Mariga. It has most of its players in the top European leagues and many believe it will make it to the semi final level of the competition. Yesterday a top British scholar was on TV explaining the rise of EA from a war infested region that was once known for genocide, poverty, Joseph Kony’s brutal war in the north and corruption. The British professor was quick to point out that programmes like Rwanda’s Vision 2020 and Kenya’s Vision 2030 played a big role in the region’s rise. “The children who grew up using laptops from 2009 under the One Laptop Per Child are now Ministers and top bureaucrats,” the professor said. The region is currently the ICT race in Africa with high speed broadband using the latest 9G technology that offers a wonderful multimedia experience. Many envy its education sector which totally relies on ICT platforms. 20 years ago when South Africa hosted the tournament, East Africa was not even a country but integration plans were in high gear. In fact as the World Cup 2010 was in progress, the EAC common Market was taking shape as one of the steps to eventual integration. The economy of this country began to rise when oil was discovered in the region that was then called Uganda. The vast quantities of methane gas being tapped from Lake Kivu in what used to be Rwanda are certainly enough to provide electricity throughout this year’s tournament. The opening ceremony was graced by Baaba wa Taifa Paul Kagame. Comrades all the above is very possible and not mere fantasy. If we only exploit the natural resources well, develop a skilled human resource, improve on the infrastructure and fully integrate into one big prosperous nation then FIFA will have no option but to bring the games here in East Africa. ssenyonga@gmail.com