The Chief Executive of the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup Danny Jordaan says his outfit will integrate several Africans including officials of Ghana 2008 in the organization of the World Cup.

Jordaan says the idea is to ensure that the continent uses the unique opportunities of the 2010 world cup to increase the capacity of the continent’s administrators in organizing big events and in sharing the benefits of the tournament.

“We in South Africa 2010 think it is important that we leave a legacy for football on the continent”, he said at a briefing. It is important for football infrastructure, it is important for the commercialization of football because in six countries where the world cup has been hosted there has been a direct benefit in terms of increased numbers right after that.

“For us too it is important that we strengthen football on the continent. We will take officials from the continent including those working on the 2008 Nations Cup and work with them on SA 2010. It is our way of legitimizing the benefits of the world cup.”

That opportunity for African administrators to work on the 2010 world cup may be the only means by which the rest of the continent can truly benefit from the world cup.

For Jordaan, it could be South Africa’s small contribution in raising the level of football administration one notch up.

He is no doubt it remains the last major barrier that the continent has to cross in order to become a true global football power house.

“Africa has been brilliant at every level except the senior world cup. We have won Olympic golds, junior titles and yet have never managed it at the world cup. It is not ability, it is administration, a lack of proper preparation. We have to begin to say this is not correct. No African team whether Pele says so can just walk in and win the world cup. It has to be systematic.”

His hope is that the period leading up to SA 2010 and the opportunities that it offers can help bridge that gap.

In what may sound like music to the ears of many Ghanaian fans, Jordaan thinks Ghana is one of those few countries that can lift Africa’s image in the coming years.

Ghana, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast have got some real quality players so they are the ones to look at. The quality of players coming through at the U-17 and the U-20 levels is another indicator of how well they could do in the 2010 tournament.

That tournament even this early has brought out the uniqueness in South Africans. Quick airport transfers, an ever smiling population, lightening quick shuttles between hotels and all the major venues.

But the South Africans are still fighting their demons and perceptions with crime a question that has come up at every press conference and transportation another issue that has been pressed at every opportunity.

With three years to the tournament however, those problems hasn’t caused panic yet.



Story credit: Michael Oti Adjei