South Africa 2010: the social legacy of Africa's first World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, held in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010, was the first World Cup in Africa. Spain won it, beating the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time at Soccer City in Johannesburg. Four years after the Germany 2006 tournament, it was also the first World Cup in which FIFA built a social programme into the official campaign. Its legacy is mixed, and worth looking at honestly.

What was promised

FIFA chose South Africa in 2004, over Egypt and Morocco. Five new stadiums were built and five upgraded, with construction costs initially expected to be R8.4 billion (just over US$1 billion). Public transport was improved, including Johannesburg’s Gautrain.

The official campaign of the tournament was 20 Centres for 2010, which aimed to build Football for Hope centres across Africa, combining a pitch with education and health services. The first opened in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, run by Grassroot Soccer.

What went well

• Community centres. Football for Hope centres opened in South Africa, Mali, Namibia, Kenya and beyond, and the programme continued after the tournament.
• Fan Fests with a local footprint. South Africa had ten national Fan Fests, which FIFA says drew over 2.6 million fans, led by Durban and Cape Town. The Mangaung Outdoor Sports Centre in Bloemfontein was upgraded and kept the improvements; Cape Town gave environmental NGOs space at its main Fan Fest; in Tshwane, local caterers, traders and artists were certified to work at the events and added to a database for future contracts. See our Fan Festival history.
• Image. The event helped South Africa’s image abroad and its sense of national identity, important for a country that had lived under apartheid.
• A longer-term fund. In 2012 FIFA launched the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust to support projects in sport, education, health and humanitarian work in South Africa.
• Organisation. FIFA president Sepp Blatter rated South Africa nine out of ten; public transport was the main weakness noted.

What went wrong

• Money. Construction costs for venues and infrastructure reached £3 billion. The government expected tourism to bring in £570 million; only £323 million came, because 309,000 foreign fans arrived instead of the 450,000 expected. FIFA, meanwhile, took £2.24 billion in revenue.
• Vendors. Local vendors were banned within 1.5 km of any stadium unless they paid FIFA a R60,000 registration fee, far beyond the means of most street traders.
• Evictions. The tournament was linked to evictions. In Durban, the shack-dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo took the KwaZulu-Natal government to court in 2009 over its slums act. In Cape Town, the N2 Gateway project planned to move over 20,000 residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement, and the Blikkiesdorp camp was criticised by NGOs and human rights groups. Some argued that evictions were common anyway and wrongly blamed on the World Cup.
• Workers. In July 2009, 70,000 construction workers went on strike over pay; the strike was resolved within a week.

A tournament before the tournament

In March 2010, three months before kick-off, Durban also hosted the first Street Child World Cup, where teams of children who had lived on the streets played a seven-a-side tournament and wrote the Durban Declaration on their rights.

FAQ

When was the 2010 World Cup?

From 11 June to 11 July 2010, in South Africa. Spain won.

What was the official social campaign of 2010?

20 Centres for 2010, building Football for Hope centres across Africa.

Did the 2010 World Cup make money for South Africa?

Not directly. Tourism income was well below expectations, though the event improved the country’s image.

Conclusion

South Africa 2010 brought real community projects and a powerful image, but also showed who pays and who profits when a mega-event comes to town. More in our World Cup culture section.