South Africa Welcomes World Cup Tournament

From June 11 to July 11, the men’s national soccer teams from 32 countries will meet in South Africa’s largest and most culturally significant cities.

The nation won the bid to host the World Cup in 2004, when the sport's global governing body FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco.

But South Africans say they have been preparing for this day much longer -- since 1994, when the brutal political system of segregation known as apartheid officially gave way to true democracy.

The spotlight provided by the World Cup gives South Africa a chance to show the international community that an African nation is financially and politically stable, as well as safe enough to host the biggest single-sport tournament on the planet.

Soccer's biggest event finally arrives in Africa

	The World Cup matches will be divided among several stadiums across South Africa, such as the Nelspruit Stadium pictured here.

Played every four years, the World Cup has been held almost exclusively in Europe or the Americas since the inaugural tournament in 1930. Japan and South Korea split host duties in 2002, marking the first World Cup in Asia.

The 32 countries that play in the tournament are determined by matches that take place in the three years leading up to the competition.

For the 2010 World Cup, 204 teams entered the qualification phase that consisted of 848 matches between August 2007 and November 2009. South Africa automatically received a spot as host for the event.

South Africa dresses to impress

	Many South Africans still live in shantytowns where crime rates and unemployment are high.

While South Africa has made great strides in recent years, much remains the same since the days of apartheid, which was a political system founded on racial segregation that forced millions of non-whites into crushing poverty.

Unemployment still hovers around 25 percent and crime rates remain some of the highest in the world. Most visibly, millions of blacks still live in sprawling apartheid-era townships, or shantytowns, on the outskirts of economic centers, often without access to electricity and clean drinking water.

International observers wondered whether South Africa could muster the cash and political will to build five new FIFA-approved stadiums and upgrade five more in time for the competition. At several points, corruption, murder and mismanagement led to rumors that FIFA would abandon its plans for South Africa and select a more economically stable venue for the tournament. FIFA officials denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, massive stadiums began rising in cities such as Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth. They also appeared in less expected places like the safari gateway of Nelspruit where the seats are covered in zebra print and steel giraffe heads protrude from the roof.

Roads were patched, bus lines installed and hotels renovated. A mass, rapid-transit railway system was installed to shuttle visitors between the international airport and the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

In total, the South African government spent more than $5 billion to construct the tournament venues.

Security tight amid terrorism concerns

	Police prepared extensively for the World Cup events, which pose security and terrorism concerns.

Hosting large sporting events brings tens of thousands of visitors, but also widespread media attention that can boost a nation’s image and encourage new investment and economic growth.

But hosting the World Cup also brings a greater risk of a terrorism attack due to the size of the crowds and the presence of many celebrities and heads of state.

Alarm bells started ringing worldwide in April when an internet statement linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb -- the terrorist group’s wing in northern Africa -- remarked “how amazing” the match between the United States and England would be if “an explosion rumbles through the stands, the whole stadium is turned upside down and the number of dead bodies are in their dozens and hundreds, Allah willing.”

Several weeks later, officials in Iraq detained a suspected al-Qaeda militant who is alleged to have plotted an attack on Danish and Dutch teams during the tournament.

South Africa: 'We Are Ready'

	South Africa's tourism office created a special dance called the Diski to show World Cup pride.

Regardless of the hype, the danger, the economics and the criticism, most South Africans are eager to prove their country is up to the challenge. "We are Ready" has become a common phrase.

After all, the story of soccer in South Africa parallels the larger struggles and victories of the nation.

FIFA banned South Africa from 1975 to 1992 due to the nation’s segregated sports practices, but soccer still thrived in black townships throughout the country. Nearly two decades later, when the nation’s segregationist policies were being dismantled, the South Africa team was welcomed back to the world stage.

“There’s a feeling that it’s actually arrived,” said Bradwin Sitzer, a resident of Cape Town. “We’re used to seeing the stadiums on TV, but to have them at our own doorstep is such a feeling of pride. I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen anything like it. The whole nation is proud.”