On Friday the 11th of June 2010 the whole of africa will join the many soccer fans across the globe being the day when Africa gets to hold the prestigious FIFA World Cup. It’s been 80 years that FIFA World Cup host countries have revolved around Europe and the Americas. Just how is the location for a FIFA World Cup decided?Currently, the policy for selection is that any country can bid to be the venue for the World Cup guaranteed that their continent hasn’t hosted it in the past two years making Africa a good candidate. South Africa had a narrow loss against Germany in the 2006 bidding with 12 votes to 11 as the final tally. For the 2010 World 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 World Cup 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 Cup 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). It would make sense to have South Africa join the list.
* Perfect stadiums- South Africa’s preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup included the construction of four new stadiums. Their designs include : a detractable glass roof, beautiful lighting, zebra like seats, and the South African flag. Is there anything else you could want?
* The perfect weather- if there’s one thing South Africa is known for-aside from its wildlife, it would be the weather. It will be winter time when the World Football Tournament will take place. Not to worry though, your favorite players won’t end up freezing to death since the winter temperature in South Africa is warmer than most countries summer temperature! Lower temperatures have been proved to be better for athlete’s bodies so the average expected temperature of 20 degrees Celsius at 12pm noon will be great. With good weather, we can expect better performance..
* The continent alone- soccer is no doubt in every African’s heart and Africa is known to be the place where civilization begun. So what better place to have countries from the four corners of the earth meet? More so since South Africa has used soccer as a means of unity and force against apartheid in the Mandela era. The finals being held in Soweto which has been the center of South African soccer 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.
Tags: entertainment, football, recreation and sports, soccer