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Is South Africa ready to welcome the world?
Jamie Trecker / Fox Soccer Channel
Let's step away from the MLS playoffs for a moment this week and look ahead to one of the biggest issues on the world soccer horizon.
No, it's not the Charleroi compensation case — which has the possibility of being the next Bosman ruling — nor is it the pending election for the presidency of UEFA. It's not even the upcoming FIFA elections, at which Joseph "Sepp" Blatter may face a challenge for the first time since 2002.
The biggest issue on the world soccer horizon right now is the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It's an issue that has dominated global discussion since this summer, and is likely to be a major factor in how FIFA does business for the next year and a half.
Simply put, the question is this: Can South Africa successfully host a World Cup when it lacks the infrastructure required to deliver water and electricity, transport goods and services, and ensure the safety of its own citizenry?
The statistics out of South Africa are shocking to say the least.
According to the United Nations, South Africa is ranked second out of all nations for assault and murder per capita. Fifty murders a day, on average, occur in the nation, and South Africa apparently suffers as many assaults per day as a country in a state of war. Monday, the Catholic archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Tlhagale, echoed many when he said that "violent crime is becoming part of the landscape of South Africa."
The UN's Development Program also ranked South Africa low on its latest HDI (Human Development Index): 120 out of 177. According to the CIA, 21.3% of the adult population of the nation is infected with HIV and 50% of the country lives below the poverty line.
Transportation in the country is a major issue, with aging minibuses forming a shaky spine. Tuesday, in conjunction with a workshop on the World Cup, the leading financial newspaper, Business Day, published a scathing editorial on the situation, writing that there is "clear evidence" that the road, rail and bus networks "are rapidly deteriorating."
"The test should be whether a foreigner will be able to ride safely on a Metrorail train, or in a minibus taxi," wrote the paper in an unsigned leader. "At the moment, that tragically is often not even the case for South Africans."
Partly because of the fact that its own money is on the line, Blatter has taken an unusually hard line in public against the political bloc he rode to power. In September, Reuters quoted him as saying that he had "yet to see the pickaxes and spades needed to start the work."
Such criticism is unusual for Blatter, who is typically the consumate politician. Instead, others are making the case that South Africa can work. Aside from a brief statement of support, other FIFA pols are out in front, and in the trenches. Tuesday, Dr. Amos Adamu of Nigeria, who is one of the most controversial sports ministers in Africa, expressed confidence that South Africa could get it done.
However, the chatter remains, and it isn't going away: most recently, Franz Beckenbauer said that 2010 was "beset by big problems." Some African delegates at the 2006 World Cup also expressed private concerns over the continent's image should a World Cup fail in South Africa.
And, to be sure, there is some considerable old-line, racist pressure being brought to bear. One high-ranking FIFA executive told us there was opposition from some who didn't want to see a "black World Cup."
That said, there have also been a number of behind-the-scenes meetings to "feel out" a substitute site in case South Africa has to pull out. According to reliable sources, the parties involved in those talks are Australia, Mexico and the United States.
This weekend, U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, while expressing confidence in SA2010, told Fox Soccer Channel's "Center Circle" program that the USA "is always be ready to help FIFA in any way if needed."
There are
Jamie Trecker / Fox Soccer Channel
Let's step away from the MLS playoffs for a moment this week and look ahead to one of the biggest issues on the world soccer horizon.
No, it's not the Charleroi compensation case — which has the possibility of being the next Bosman ruling — nor is it the pending election for the presidency of UEFA. It's not even the upcoming FIFA elections, at which Joseph "Sepp" Blatter may face a challenge for the first time since 2002.
The biggest issue on the world soccer horizon right now is the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It's an issue that has dominated global discussion since this summer, and is likely to be a major factor in how FIFA does business for the next year and a half.
Simply put, the question is this: Can South Africa successfully host a World Cup when it lacks the infrastructure required to deliver water and electricity, transport goods and services, and ensure the safety of its own citizenry?
The statistics out of South Africa are shocking to say the least.
According to the United Nations, South Africa is ranked second out of all nations for assault and murder per capita. Fifty murders a day, on average, occur in the nation, and South Africa apparently suffers as many assaults per day as a country in a state of war. Monday, the Catholic archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Tlhagale, echoed many when he said that "violent crime is becoming part of the landscape of South Africa."
The UN's Development Program also ranked South Africa low on its latest HDI (Human Development Index): 120 out of 177. According to the CIA, 21.3% of the adult population of the nation is infected with HIV and 50% of the country lives below the poverty line.
Transportation in the country is a major issue, with aging minibuses forming a shaky spine. Tuesday, in conjunction with a workshop on the World Cup, the leading financial newspaper, Business Day, published a scathing editorial on the situation, writing that there is "clear evidence" that the road, rail and bus networks "are rapidly deteriorating."
"The test should be whether a foreigner will be able to ride safely on a Metrorail train, or in a minibus taxi," wrote the paper in an unsigned leader. "At the moment, that tragically is often not even the case for South Africans."
Partly because of the fact that its own money is on the line, Blatter has taken an unusually hard line in public against the political bloc he rode to power. In September, Reuters quoted him as saying that he had "yet to see the pickaxes and spades needed to start the work."
Such criticism is unusual for Blatter, who is typically the consumate politician. Instead, others are making the case that South Africa can work. Aside from a brief statement of support, other FIFA pols are out in front, and in the trenches. Tuesday, Dr. Amos Adamu of Nigeria, who is one of the most controversial sports ministers in Africa, expressed confidence that South Africa could get it done.
However, the chatter remains, and it isn't going away: most recently, Franz Beckenbauer said that 2010 was "beset by big problems." Some African delegates at the 2006 World Cup also expressed private concerns over the continent's image should a World Cup fail in South Africa.
And, to be sure, there is some considerable old-line, racist pressure being brought to bear. One high-ranking FIFA executive told us there was opposition from some who didn't want to see a "black World Cup."
That said, there have also been a number of behind-the-scenes meetings to "feel out" a substitute site in case South Africa has to pull out. According to reliable sources, the parties involved in those talks are Australia, Mexico and the United States.
This weekend, U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, while expressing confidence in SA2010, told Fox Soccer Channel's "Center Circle" program that the USA "is always be ready to help FIFA in any way if needed."
There are
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