Yes, (South) Africa Can!
The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was by all means a much anticipated event, both locally and internationally. Prior to the Opening Ceremony on 11 June 2010, much of the international community expressed hesitation and doubt about South Africa’s ability to host a successful World Cup tournament, and this was compounded by less than favourable media coverage in many European countries. However, as the tournament has come to an end, it has proven a success on many accounts.
Many questions were asked whether South Africa was able to cope with the logistical, infrastructural and security demands that the 2010 FIFA World Cup would bring. I am no logistics expert, but I did experience the organisational arrangements for the World Cup first hand as a Volunteer, and had the privilege to be at all the matches hosted at Cape Town Stadium, including the semi-final between the Netherlands and Uruguay. At the Cape Town Stadium (and I believe at all the other stadiums), all the organisational and logistical operations ran smoothly with the exception of a few minor, occasional and expected hiccups. There were structures and plans in place for every aspect of the match day, and on match days these plans were put into action.From the route to the stadium, either via the vibrant fan-walk, on the BRT buses or in their own private vehicles, fans had many safe options to get to the stadium. Upon arrival at the stadium, all fans had to go through a thorough security check as well as an access check. Inside the stadium, there was never a reason for confusion or chaos as all systems were in place. There were hundreds of volunteers and police assisting fans and running the operations. No glitches were experienced from the activation cells of the Sponsors and Affiliates of the 2010 FIFA World Cup through to the Information Technology & Technology within the stadium.
The games always started promptly and the stadium was filled to capacity for the majority of the games (with only about a thousand empty seats on certain days). This meant that the atmosphere and vibe in the stadium was always breathtaking. To my surprise, despite the criticism and complaints from the international community about vuvuzela’s and their presence at the games, most (if not all) the fans, including the international football fans, had their vuvuzela’s in tow and this added to the wonderful experience. On the pitch everything ran smoothly and operations were handled by the relevant departments with aplomb. Even the egress was orderly and without incident, due to the fact that there were clear instructions and structures in place to facilitate the exit of fans from the stadium and its surrounds. It took many partnerships and contributions from a variety of different people and departments, municipalities, organisations, institutions and volunteers to ensure that each match day was successful.
The spirit of humanity of the World Cup was highly visible each time I strolled out of the stadium close to midnight after the conclusion of a game to find seas of people from all over the world lining the streets of central Cape Town – from Sea Point right through to Long Street. As the World Cup draws to a close, and as everybody begins to return to their normal lives again, I feel that I can safely say that indeed Ke Nako (it is time). It is time to move on and look to the next great achievement for South Africa and Africa. Drawing inspiration from the words of Neil Armstrong, as each excited fan took one hurried step into one of the impressive World Cup stadiums, they collectively took a giant leap for Africa.
Noella Mulowayi
Project Assistant
Mthente Research and Consulting Services
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