South Africa up to the 2010 World Cup task

Hilary Oitela

The first ever Olympics to be hosted in China will be followed two years later by the first ever World Cup to be hosted in Africa.

That point is not lost on South Africa, which takes its leadership role in sub-saharan Africa very seriously. It is envisaged that the 2010 World Cup would not only benefit South Africa, but also spread a sense of confidence and prosperity across the continent.

There is no question that a South Africa-hosted World Cup captures the imagination. However, it is a very different proposition from Beijing this year. While the former is poised to become the world’s dominant economic power, the indicators in the latter are much more mixed.

The flipside is that the South African economy has been registering strong growth with the financial investments pouring in. On the downside is the Zimbabwean immigration (brought about by Mugabe’s domestic policies), an energy crisis and rising food prices right across the continent!

In light of this, South Africa is not a country, which could ever entertain the notion of spending $40 billion on presenting a smiling face to the world! However, it is making serious infrastructural investments in the run-up to the event, which will be held in ten locations .

Massive investments in stadia improvements and internal transport links are the most significant. There has also been a heavy influx of public and private money into the hotel sector, convention centres and airports. Major extensions and refurbishments are underway at various airports ,while a new one is being built north of Durban.

Investment is also being ploughed into the creation of Fifa endorsed fan parks around Johannesburg for the fans who will not have tickets to watch live matches. This provides a telling contrast to China. If the symbol of the Beijing Games is its big new airport terminal (a gateway to the world), then South Africa’s motif is probably its emphasis on parks with easy accessibility through public transport and park and ride facilities.

In other words, success for China is tied to establishing a world status. For South Africa, it is also linked to social inclusiveness,a critical theme in a society where so many distinct ethnic voices need to be heard and accommodated. There have,of course, been concerns about South Africa’s state of readiness. But the same was true for Athens, which proceeded well in the end.

On the positive side, it has to be remembered that South Africa has the experience of hosting major sporting events, notably the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 2003 Cricket World Cup and Inaugural A1 GP. And, like Beijing, it is already regarded as an attractive tourist destination-irrespective of sports.

Last year, more than nine million foreigners visited the country-up by over nine percent in 2006.That is the third year in a row that South Africa has broken its own record of annual tourist arrivals.

Whatever the trends, the overall view is that South Africa stands to benefit significantly from hosting the event. Last year, a report from Grant Thornton estimated that the world cup will contribute $6.5 billion to the country’s GDP.

Although a lot of this comes in the shape of infrastructural investments by the government, Grant Thornton stresses that tourism will play a big part.