The World Cup is an international spectacle that has the ability to bring excitement to all corners of the world. The World Cup has always been an example of globalization, because, essentially, globalization is the transforming of a local happening or product into a global happening or product. According to the governing body of football, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association,
“The FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa is an international event with great historic importance to the African continent. It will be the first FIFA World Cup ever to be hosted in Africa since the competition began in 1934, and I am convinced that Africa is ready to welcome this momentous FIFA World Cup with open arms. I am also convinced that the host nation, South Africa, will be up to the task, not least because it has abundant potential and resources (#1)”
Given all of this information, one cannot deny that the World Cup is an obvious example of globalization, and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will be Africa’s greatest display of Globalization to date. In order to accurately access South Africa as a site for a huge international event such as the World Cup 2010, one must first look at the various social problems that are existent in South Africa. When looking at any African country, the fact that most African countries have only been independent for less than a century must be factored into any assessment. The majority of African countries have a number of social problems caused by cultural conflicts between ethnic groups that were drawn into the same country, lack of governmental organization, and a number of other factors. Although a number of African countries have had conflicts that have resulted in civil war, South Africa’s problems most likely stem from the fact that their first occurrence on non-white rule was in the 1990’s when Nelson Mandela was elected to be the president of South Africa. South Africa has been advancing into the modern World, although there are still various social problems that exist in the country, one of the most significant being AIDS. AIDS, in itself, is an example of globalization considering that it is believed that its origins started in a small area and now it is a global phenomenon. There are numerous efforts and organizations throughout the world to combat the effects of AIDS, and many resources have been deployed to research the disease. Statistics that these organizations attempt to portray to the world community are all the same in regards to South Africa: the prospects for South Africa look grim. South Africa can be looked at as a microcosm of the affects of AIDS throughout the world. According to AVERT, an international AIDS charity, “it is difficult to overstate the suffering that HIV has caused in South Africa,” and this statement is supported by the fact that 1 in 5 adults are infected with HIV. In addition, “South Africa’s AIDS epidemic has also had a substantial impact on the country’s overall social and economic progress,” and to give an example of how AIDS is affecting South Africa’s progress, “schools have fewer teachers because of the AIDS epidemic. In 2006 it was estimated that 21% of teachers in South Africa were living with HIV." (# 2). Clearly, AIDS has had a devastating impact on South Africa and this may play into some of the more important structural problems that South Africa faces in its attempt to host the World Cup in 2010. A large infrastructural problem that South Africa faces is crime. FIFA must factor in that the rampant crime that occurs in South African cities will deter some people from traveling to South Africa for the World Cup. There was earlier speculation that the World Cup would be moved to Mexico and California because of instability in South Africa. This would have been detrimental to the emotional state of a number of Africans, because, as stated before, this may be Africa’s finest hour, considering that an international event of this magnitude is being hosted in South Africa.
The FIFA World Cup 2010 organizing committee has factored in the crime rates in South Africa, and in order to lessen the number of crimes perpetrated against tourists, the committee has attempted to situate tournament venues in areas where there is less crime. The safety of all attendees of this great event is the first and foremost concern of the committee. The committee has proposed a heightened number of police officers and security will be present at the various venues in able to stabilize volatile situations and prevent harm. The South African government is glad to act cohesively with the World Cup organizing committee so that order can be maintained, and due to the government’s realization of the goal at hand, the government has agreed to spend money in the upcoming years in order to curb crime. In essence, the committee has tried to have the venues in more affluent areas of South Africa instead of the underprivileged areas where crime is more prevalent. Simply looking at the broad reach of soccer throughout the world is a quality way to assess how the most important event in soccer, the World Cup, is a great example of globalization. FIFA, the current governing body of World Soccer, has more members than the United Nations, a supranational governing organization. Ironically, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association is also called the United Nations of Football. To reinforce this point, one only needs to look at what FIFA states as its commitments.
“OUR PROMISE. For the Game. For the World.
The world is a place rich in natural beauty and cultural diversity, but also one where many are still deprived of their basic rights. FIFA now has an even greater responsibility to reach out and touch the world, using football as a symbol of hope and integration.
OUR MISSION. 'Develop the game, touch the world, build a better future'.
Played by millions around the world, football is the heart and soul of FIFA and as the guardian of this most cherished game, we have a great responsibility. This responsibility does not end with organising the FIFA World Cup™ and the various other world cup competitions; it extends to safeguarding the Laws of the Game, developing the game around the world and to bringing hope to those less privileged. (# 4).”

Clearly, this far reaching football organization is attempting to bring a local phenomenon, soccer, to a larger audience. FIFA promotes football throughout the World by providing statutes that its branches from each country follow. At the same time, FIFA supports its various international programs financially and also through deploying high quality coaches and referees to train other coaches and players in less affluent areas of the world.

Interestingly enough, international conflicts can affect a countries standing with FIFA. In theory, a country’s team can be banned from any FIFA sanctioned competition. South Africa was, in fact, excluded from earlier World Cups because of apartheid, and a number of African delegates to FIFA voted against the country being included. Banning would be done in protest to any undesired governmental action, such as government sponsored genocide. In addition, players from a country that is involved in a conflict can essentially be turned into a persona non grata, not because of their own personal actions, but because of the actions of their national governments. For many professional players, soccer is their only source of income, and to be unemployed for a number of months could prove incredibly detrimental to an individual. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and such this power that FIFA possesses has the ability to affect numerous people in the world community. The far reaching power that FIFA has, yet again, shows that FIFA’s largest event is a true example of globalization.

Membership to supranational organizations is something desirable for any nation. In James Ferguson’s Global Shadows, Ferguson looks at membership in the world community from an African perspective. Ferguson states that “To speak of the political and economic borders of a postcolonial world often characterized by its cultural free flows is to reintroduce the question of institutionalized forms of social and economic membership…(166)” The World Cup in South Africa will only solidify South Africa’s spot as a member in the world community, and South Africa will be known to the rest of Africa as the groundbreaking country that garnered respect from the western world. Not only is the World Cup a great event for South Africa, but it is also a beacon of hope for all African countries who are trying to become a part of the world community. Africa can now see that it does not have to adopt all Western values because Africa has an interesting and unique set of values that the world is interested in and willing to embrace. In the end, everyone operates on a set of values that they learn from someone else, but it is up to the individuals to decide which values are most suitable to society, no matter if they are Western or African. Now, when a country hosts a World Cup, the host country has the ability to show their culture to the World. Considering that it is a large tourist attraction, a number of foreigners will be in South Africa during this time and will experience South African culture. There will be a number of positive things that these tourists will experience while visiting for the World Cup 2010, but at the same time there will be negatives. Unfortunately, seeing as crime is rampant in South Africa, it is inevitable that some individuals will experience crimes, possibly violent crimes. But hopefully, for the sake of Africa, most foreigner’s experiences will be great. There will be a number of South Africans that are trying to make Westerner’s perceptions of Africa better; therefore, South Africans will be able to effectively display their culture.

The World Cup is a rallying point for all African Countries. Literally, conflicts within African countries have paused or completely stopped simply because of World Cup or World Cup qualifying games. In the 2002 World Cup, when Senegal went to the World Cup quarterfinals, all African countries had eyes turned. The quarterfinals was the furthest stage that an African team had reached in the history of the FIFA World Cup, and Africans throughout the continent wanted to witness history. The display of Senegal won their captain, El Hadji Diouf, the African football associations player of the year, as well as propelling him to international star status that he enjoyed for a number of years while playing for a top flight English team, Liverpool.

Another player who relates to African cohesiveness is Jay-Jay Okocha, a Nigerian player who recently retired from international and club soccer. Okocha became an internationally renowned player after his talismanic skills propelled the Nigerian Olympic team to an Olympic Championship in 1996, and following this he led Nigeria to a strong showing in the 1998 World Cup. To many people, he is considered the greatest African player of all time. In honor of his contributions to the game of soccer, when he retired, the African Football Association held a game in his honor. African stars from throughout the continent came out to play in this honorary game, and these players ranged from young emerging players to seasoned veterans who had played with or against Okocha on multiple occasion. Okocha’s honorary match was another occurrence of cohesiveness that soccer brings to Africa. Although there are non-numerical advantages to having a World Cup in a host country, the World Cup also provides for more economic prosperity within a country. The 2010 World Cup tops the World Economic Forum Agenda. Worldcup2010southafrica.com offers a number of different reasons why South Africa will be economically improved,
“South Africa predicts at least 400,000 people will visit the country for the tournament, the first World Cup ever to be held in Africa. Some 160,000 jobs are expected to be created from hosting the event, according to the national football bid committee… The first industry to benefit will be the construction industry - building roads, stadia, bridge…(# 6) ”

There are obviously advantages and disadvantages to having a mega-event for a developing country. Some of the positives are that GDP will inevitably increase due to the increased number of consumers in the country. Also, tax revenue will increase considering the increased number of consumers paying sales tax. South Africa also has a number of zoos and other tourist attractions that will increase revenues in the private sector of the economy. The event may also attract new businesses to form. Although there is a large contribution to development and low labor costs in a developing country such as South Africa, there are also some disadvantages. The World Cup 2010 will cause mass amounts of spending on infrastructural things, such as stadiums, transport, and accommodation, because hundreds of thousands of people will most likely attend the festivities.

In the article, “Mega-events as a Response to Poverty Reduction: The 2010 FIFA World Cup and its Urban Development Implications,” a comprehensive assessment of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is offered with support from past mega-events that have happened in other developing countries. The article states that, “Mega events have become prominent in the South African context due to the perceived benefits of nation building, international profiling and economic and developmental gains (#7: p.12).” South Africa has put forth an agenda to develop the less prominent areas of the country and try to turn a new page in its history. The article does state that although South Africa does have a good agenda in mind and “2010 does offer South Africa the opportunity to deliver on the social and political promises associated with its mega-event strategy, it will be a vast challenge to balance investment with the socioeconomic needs of the populace. Furthermore, it is doubtful that the global intervention promise will of alleviating the poverty trap will be realized.” It is unfortunate that such complications do exist, yet this will be a telling time for South Africa, and the positive (or negative) outcome of this will send a message to the world.

Summarily, the fact that South Africa is hosting the 2010 World Cup is a historical event and one of the ultimate examples of globalization that Africa has witnessed in its history. There is no doubt that an assessment of all of the implications that this event brings about is highly complicated. Numerous different factors play into any assessment: Crime, History including colonialism, and others. If any African country can pull off the World cup, it is undoubtedly South Africa, and the reassuring words from the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, Daniel Alexander Jordaan are, "The World Cup is here in South Africa to stay.”