Thank You South Africa

For making Africa and Africans proud BEFORE the 2010 world Cup kicked off, hosts South Africa had a big point to prove, after all there had been a sense that the country must prove itself capable of presiding over the biggest sporting event on the planet to a world that has been waiting for it to fail. Pundits from across the world but mostly Europeans, after South Africa was awarded the rights to host the tournament six years ago, had spent most of their time, ink and airtime forecasting absolute doom. They would come up with all sorts of negative messages mostly basing their argument on security issues and that the stadiums would never be ready in time, they warned countless times. But guess what, they were wrong and few would deny South Africa when they boast of having staged a very successful tournament. Critics predicted too few fans would attend matches. Yet, according to statistics, they came in droves; more than 97 per cent of available tickets were sold, surpassing sales of the World Cup in Germany in 2006. Over eighty-four thousand fans turned up for the final game in the magnificent Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg and the vuvuzelas left a lasting mark on the world, in fact they (vuvuzelas) were the major characteristic of Africa’s first World Cup. The final was a colourful, noisy, vibrant and mildly frenzied atmosphere. You can say, it summed up much of what Africa’s first World Cup has been about. South Africa, on behalf of the entire African continent promised a successful, trouble-free World Cup when they were made host country in 2004 and to many they were as good as their word. Much-discussed fears about crime proved speculative. This World Cup certainly proved many critics wrong regarding not only South Africa as a country but Africa as a continent. Seeing the scenes on the streets of Johannesburg on the final day and that wonderful closing ceremony, I realized how nothing is impossible in this world. It was a moment that made most Africans including your columnist feel more proud to be Africans; after all, I thought to myself, we can actually do a lot more than most European countries. Thank you South Africa. Considering that just two years ago, the world was wondering if South Africa could pull it off, but after the final day, Africa’s biggest economy was left in a better physical state than when FIFA handed it the responsibility of hosting the tournament. In that sense, South Africa has proved many detractors wrong. But away from the organization part, to me the football played didn’t make it a ‘great’ World Cup, no matter what others may say. But if you are going to judge World Cups by ticket sales and TV revenues, then this World Cup was a success story. The truth is that the football was only occasionally exciting (Ghana vs Uruguay), Spain vs Germany), Nigeria vs South Korea). The final (Spain against Netherlands) was dreadful to say the least. It will take a while to erase that from the memory. It wasn’t the dream final of a World Cup. Ideally, a final between Netherlands and Spain should be a smothering clash but this wasn’t, a least from where I was sitting. Nonetheless, after this World Cup, South Africa’s injured national pride is recovering. While in Johannesburg for the final game, a South African friend showed me an email which was sent to thousands of disheartened local fans since Bafana Bafana’s early exit rallying them to: “Choose another country to support, paint your face, fill the fan parks.” “Help a tourist, say hello to someone new. Fly the flags even higher and be proud of our country. This is our chance!” And indeed the email worked its magic though mostly on white South Africans, leaving out the black South Africans, who ironically are the real football mad group because most couldn’t afford match tickets. Actually if there is one letdown to this World Cup, it was this; the black South Africans missing out on matches because they couldn’t afford tickets, leaving stadiums for foreign fans. All in all, from the spectacular pre-tournament concert in Soweto to dramatic world-class closing ceremony in Johannesburg, the event was a success, and according to some South Africans that I talked to while in Jo’burg, it may help to build a reputation eroded by decades of racial oppression and rampant crime. Being at the centre of the world’s attention provided South Africa the kind of advertisement that money just can’t buy. Beyond football though, South Africans feel the World Cup brought them a growing spirit of comradeship and ubuntu, which bubbled in the stadiums and beyond, and could well trickle into their everyday lives long after the last whistle was blown. But of course, after the World Cup euphoria cools, South Africans will return to the harsh realities of high unemployment and impoverished townships that lack the most basic services. Yet its people can, however, be proud of what they have given to the world over the last five weeks. As Shakira sang, it was time for Africa, and on the whole, South Africa did not let Africa down. nku78@yahoo.com