Why the hell is South Africa hosting a World Cup?

[KC McElroy]

Brazil.

[babak_australia]

If Football truly is the World Game then it has to be in EVERY single continent out there.

Tru Europe is where the best players go but that doesnt mean they "own" a bigger share in the game.

Everywhere equally deserves a chance to host the cup.

If anything the passion for football in Africa and Asia is sometimes more than what u see in Europe and the Americas

[Pharaoh]

Interesting, there's a parallel debate running on a Nigerian forum I frequent with people making the same points against South Africa.

The main advantage South Africa has over Egypt is transportation. South Africa has a very efficient metro system and none of the outrageous traffic problems one finds in Cairo. Beyond that however... Egypt exceeds South Africa's qualifications to host this tournament.

As Nokhodi mentioned, Egypt is used to hosting hoards of people every year (over 10 million visitors in 2007, 9.2 million in 2006), all year round thanks to its flourishing tourism industry. South Africa simply cannot compete with the number of hotels and overall housing capacity of Egypt.

The security risks are generally higher there for political reasons, but Egypt also successfully faces some of the starkest security challenges in the world, hosting most major political summits in the region. We have nothing to tell us how South Africa will handle this.

Egypt is the only African nation with its own communication satellites in orbit with two (and working on a third). This is a huge advantage; Nokhodi alluded to it.

Cairo airport is one of the busier hubs in the world, and Egypt's location vis a vis South Africa makes travel easier for most countries.

Egypt had the most internationally ready stadia in Africa when FIFA began choosing which country will host the 2010 World Cup. Without the financial assistance the host country receives once it's deemed the host, Egypt already had 6 stadia with a capacity of at least 30,000 (two 80,000-seaters). And renovations could be made to the 10 other stadia with at least 20,000 seats.

Egypt hosts international events all the time. In terms of sport, it has hosted the All-Africa games multiple times, it's hosted the 1986 and 2006 African Cup of Nations with critical acclaim, it hosted the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship, and will host the 2009 FIFA World Youth Championship just to name a few.

Overall, in terms of the major and most critical requirements, Egypt's hosting qualifications pretty clearly surpass South Africa's (and this isn't taking into account the crime rate and recent spate of killings down there), and I think it's safe to say politics played a role in determining the 2010 host.

The only advantages South Africa possesses are:

1) A more efficient transportation system with fewer delays (but can it handle the added and sudden stress of 3-4 million people?)

2) A more favorable climate. Egypt in the summer is hell on earth. This is admittedly a pretty significant factor.

[KC McElroy]

Then why didn't FIFA pick Egypt?

[babak_australia]

Then why didn't FIFA pick Egypt?

Egypt is a country that hasnt had its shortage of terrorist attacks.

i cant see how Fifa would ever select a country like that as a host

[Rostam]

Then why didn't FIFA pick Egypt?

Read his post, and maybe you'll understand...

I think South Africa can handle it, but a lot of work needs to be done. S. Africa is one of the wealthier African nations. If any African country is capable of holding the World Cup, S. Africa is one of them. There isn't too much time left, but they can
pull it off. They ought to be given a chance to prove themselves, then we can judge
the outcome. Greece was faced with a similar situation before the Olympics, but
ended up as pretty good hosts. If S. Africa is not able to host or does a poor job, then we can really criticize them. If that does happen, FIFA needs to put a
lot more thought and consideration into who it chooses to host and think more wisely about selecting similar countries. We'll have to wait and see what happens, but I think S. Africa can be successful provided the conditions are right...

[ShahHouman]

regardless how much they prepare for it i just dont kno if i'll go, they can hav all the facilities and hotels and transportation and... but the chances of getting mugged, kidnapped, raped, etc. is high and i dunno if i wanna risk all that

besides, where can i go watch other matches besides the ones i attend? forgive my ignorance but are there sports bars in south africa? and when i ask that question i mean SAFE ones that arent a big hole in the wall

and besides, even if i do go, i wont dare bang any chicks out there lol

[KC McElroy]

Egypt is a country that hasnt had its shortage of terrorist attacks.
i cant see how Fifa would ever select a country like that as a host

Aha....

[BacheLot]

Brazil.

i am there dude..!! with or w/o TM...!!
football mad nation, samba soccer sluts, toothpick thongs...!! $ goes a long way...!!
whats there not to like about that WC..!!

[Shamim]

regardless how much they prepare for it i just dont kno if i'll go, they can hav all the facilities and hotels and transportation and... but the chances of getting mugged, kidnapped, raped, etc. is high and i dunno if i wanna risk all that
besides, where can i go watch other matches besides the ones i attend? forgive my ignorance but are there sports bars in south africa? and when i ask that question i mean SAFE ones that arent a big hole in the wall
and besides, even if i do go, i wont dare bang any chicks out there lol

With 25% of their population having H.I.V you better not take any chance but you can still bang female football fans from other countries

[Demis-11]

i think it will be a pretty good world cup..just hope your team isnt playing their games in a real ghetto part of the country lol

[PFS]

i think its suppose to create lots of jobs and help the economy because many sponsors are gonna dump money there