by Ray Xi
On June 11, 2009, Africa will step into the center of the world stage. No, it won’t be because of AIDS or malaria, genocide or corruption. We won’t be talking about aid programs or Africa’s backwardness. Instead, we will be cheering for something far happier, more dramatic, and decidedly more beautiful. It is because South Africa is hosting the FIFA World Cup.
The World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, and as the Super Bowl and Olympics have shown, sport has become an increasingly powerful political and economic force. From hosting the games alone, South Africa expects to generate almost $3 billion in GDP, roughly one percent of its economy. With four weeks in the global spotlight, its government has an unrestricted opportunity to bolster its political voice and stake a greater share on the global stage.
Yet for South Africa, and by extension, for the continent as a whole, the World Cup is much more than a stimulus package or political tool. It is an opportunity for Africa to display its history, culture, vitality, and modernity. It is an unprecedented chance for the world’s most neglected continent to control its own global image, one too often defined by pictures of famished children and burnt villages. Much as the Beijing Olympics served as a coming-out party for the Chinese, the South Africa World Cup could mark the beginning of a new Africa, a continent no longer seen as a stagnant land of despair, but a place of abundant life and opportunity.
In many ways, South Africa is on course to realize these hopes. Construction is on schedule, and the country seems fully prepared to host the coming games, silencing many critics who doubted any African nation could manage such a colossal event. Things are even looking good for African soccer. With Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast fielding some of the strongest African squads in recent memory, we may even see an African team lift the World Cup trophy on home soil. It would be the perfect ending to Africa’s own coming-out party
