HST 105 Final Podcast

The debut podcast discusses how the 2010 World Cup challenged South Africa's infrastructure and shattered stereotypes about Africa. The event proved that Africa was capable of more than people thought. There were doubts about South Africa's ability to build stadiums, improve transportation, and host visitors. However, South Africa overcame obstacles and proved skeptics wrong. The World Cup was a landmark moment that showcased Africa's potential. South Africa spent billions of dollars on infrastructure, created jobs, and built stadiums. The event had a lasting impact on South Africa and Africa as a whole. Despite skepticism, South Africa proved that they were capable of hosting the World Cup. Welcome to our debut podcast, Africa's Leap Forward through the 2010 World Cup. My name is Collin Kinsella. And my name is Graham Miller. And we want to discuss how the 2010 World Cup tested South Africa's infrastructure and economic abilities and how it shattered the common stereotypes surrounding Africa. We want to show you guys how the 2010 World Cup was an incredibly impactful event that ended up proving to the world that Africa was capable of much more than people think. It was a time for the continent to come together and show the world what they can really do. These stereotypes were surrounded by a lack of trust in the continent due to historical misrepresentations and misconceptions about the strength of their economy and lack of organization to facilitate an event of this size. Although South Africa has been plagued by misconceptions of problems, they still face many social problems from a decade and a half beyond Apartheid. Although South Africans believe that Westerners have created an unfair, alarmist view of South Africa. Barang Batho Kordjas, who is an influential sports columnist, stated that untruths like there's going to be no electricity, people are mimed at the airport, women are raped in the streets. Let us change our mindset when it comes to Africa. We are not savages. We are human beings. We are excited to discuss about the skepticism that surrounded the World Cup and how South Africa overcame many obstacles to prove the skeptics wrong. I totally agree with you, Graham. After doing some research myself, I found that the organizer and man responsible for obtaining the bid to host the World Cup, Danny Jordan, stated, there was the sentiment that Africa did not have the capacity and that it couldn't be trusted. We were under so much pressure to deal with the world's negativity, but after the World Cup, we saw a lot of that Afro-pessimism end. There was tons of negativity surrounding the country, but they were tough and worked hard to overcome these negative opinions. Initially, we want to deliver some context surrounding the World Cup and the skepticism of South Africa faced heading into the event. From FIFA officials to social media around the world, many doubted the African nation's ability to build these stadiums, increase hospitality and public transportation, and host every team and tourist visiting the nation. People all over the world felt that it would be too unsafe or that they simply would not be able to complete the pure construction of stadiums, hotels, and more. We then want to present more of the specifics, diving into the amount of money South Africa used, the jobs they created, the stadiums they built, and the transportation systems they had to upgrade to host an event of this magnitude. Finally, we will explain the success, triumphs, and everlasting effects that the 2010 World Cup had on South Africa and Africa as a whole. The World Cup was not just a sporting event, but a landmark moment in Africa's history that showcased the continent's potential to the world. By exploring the tournament's economic and infrastructural impacts, we plan to argue that this fan catalyzed the change that rippled throughout the continent and how people viewed Africa. But before we get into the good stuff, we'd like to share an inspiring quote with you from the former president of South Africa, who finished his final term during 2008 when the construction was well underway. On behalf of our continent, we want to stage an event that will send ripples of confidence from the Cape to Cairo, an event that will create social and economic opportunities throughout Africa. We want to ensure that historians will one day reflect upon the 2010 World Cup as a moment when Africa stood tall and resolutely turned the tide on centuries of poverty and conflict. We want to show that Africa's time has come. Welcome back to the podcast. Hopefully you enjoyed our intermission with some lovely music from Tyla coming out of Johannesburg, South Africa. We want to kick this section off by talking about some of the skepticism and lack of infrastructure that South Africa faced leading up to the tournament. I find it incredible that so many people showed so much skepticism in voicing their opinions publicly that they simply did not believe that an African nation had what it took to host an event like this and the funding to do so. People across the world thought that South Africa would not be able to construct the stadiums in time, not be able to invest in their transportation systems, or be able to host all the fans. It brought common African stereotypes to life and people were seriously hating on the abilities of South Africa. One fact that absolutely blows my mind is the fact that FIFA executives themselves did not believe that South Africa would be able to pull off hosting the World Cup. And this was as far back as 2006. One quote read, there are long-standing doubts about whether stadiums can be built and modernized in time, but there are even more serious concerns about South Africa's transport infrastructure and whether it would be able to cope with tens of thousands of fans traveling between venues. It was immediately clear that nobody believed in the ability of South Africa to get the job done. It surprises me that even a committee that granted South Africa the ability to host the World Cup could so quickly turn on them and openly discuss changing the host country and disrespecting South Africa in a way. I completely agree. I then want to turn to another quote that I found, which is just as surprising, coming from the FIFA president at the time himself, Joseph S. Blatter, who stated, people don't want to trust in Africa. Once again proving to us that the people had no faith in South Africa and that nobody believed they could do it. Yet, as we will continue to discuss, they never gave up. I find it crazy to believe that so many people were so public about how they felt. Instead of trying to encourage South Africa, especially since millions of people worldwide tune in for the World Cup every four years. I agree. I also found more quotes from Brang Betho Korthuis, who talked on how the nation of South Africa felt after seeing these comments and trends spread like wildfire throughout social media and the media in general. He stated, it pains us a great deal when we read newspaper accounts from abroad saying a lot of lies about the country. And he goes on to say, the World Cup is an opportunity for South Africa to show that Africa and excellence belong in the same sentence. I think that Korthuis is bringing up two important points when he says this. Firstly, he is clearly talking about the feelings of his country and Africa as a whole, and that they all have to see these horrible stories and lies being spread around the world about them, and there is essentially nothing they can do about it. 100%. They have to watch the world believe they are less than they really are, which is very tough when you call that same place home. He then goes on to touch on another point, which is about how the nation of South Africa and the continent as a whole want to prove that they are just as strong, intelligent, and capable as any other country in the world. And I also want to add a little more context to the lack of infrastructure that South Africa had leading up to the World Cup. Apartheid left many negative impacts on both the economy and infrastructure throughout South Africa. More specifically, there was a large amount of fragmentation in the country due to the modernization of infrastructure in areas only populated by white citizens. On the contrary, the non-white areas of the country lacked roads, public transportation, healthcare facilities, and much more. And that is exactly what sparked the skepticism and forced the government to spend billions of dollars on their transportation systems, stadiums, all around the country in order to house thousands of tourists and ensure a great tournament. And that's an amazing point, and I completely agree. The 2010 World Cup was a time for South Africa to prove a point, and they clearly thought the same too. Welcome back to the next segment of Africa's Leap Forward to the 2010 World Cup. We are happy you're back with us and excited to get into the next portion of today's discussion. We hope you enjoyed the song, Holy Ghost, from Nigeria's one and only Omale. He has been stuck in our playlist for a while, and we wanted to share it with you guys. All right, Graham. Tell us about this next section. For sure. Super excited about this part. In this segment, we want to discuss the nuts and bolts of the World Cup. We've done extensive research finding out how much was really spent throughout this process and all the different investments that the South African government had to make in order to get the job done by tournament start. The purpose of this section is to provide evidence for this infrastructural and economic feat that South Africa was able to overcome. They spent billions of dollars as well as created hundreds of thousands of jobs. So let's hop into the specifics. Firstly, as a general overview with everything put together, the tournament cost over 5.9 billion U.S. dollars to complete, which is absolutely mind-boggling. Within this 5.9 billion, they improved national roads and airports and invested in public transport such as the GUA train and rapid bus transport systems. South Africa absolutely poured funding into this project, and it was not just an investment for the World Cup itself, but a time where they could invest heavily back into the development of the country, whose benefits would last much longer than the duration of the tournament. Next, I want to explain the different stadiums that were constructed and the cost of each to quantify just how much organization and infrastructure this project needed in stadiums alone. Firstly, there were 10 stadiums built in 9 different cities, 2 in Johannesburg, and only 1 in Cape Town, Durban, the Nelson Mandela Bay, in Bombella, Polokwane, Manguang, Rustenburg, and Tshwane. Spending over 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in total, the most expensive stadium to construct was in Durban, costing an estimated 260 million U.S. dollars to complete. On the other hand, the cheapest stadium was located in Tshwane, coming in at just under 15 million dollars to construct. I know, it is incredible that they were able to fund such a large project. I think it is also super important to note that the tournament did for the job market of South Africa as well. They created over 415,000 jobs while also compensating a lot of these workers with huge ticket discounts and even free tickets to many South African citizens. Over 120,000 tickets were given to disadvantaged citizens for free, and over 575,000 tickets were sold at a discounted price for as cheap as $20. On top of that, 40,000 tickets were gifted to workers who helped create the stadiums, because without them, this tournament would never have been possible. Great points, Graham. I love that this was also a purity of time where the job market flourished and allowed many people to help out their nation and find jobs to support both themselves and their families. I also wanted to point out some of the areas that South Africa spent money on, including stadiums and development, transport, broadcast and telecom, event operations, safety and security, event volunteer training, ports of entry infrastructure, and immigration support. South Africa had to fund so many different departments in order to guarantee a smooth tournament with no problems. That was Eskabah from Wande, Cole, and DJ Toons, a track that has been a hit across the continent and beyond. Let's delve into the triumphs and the lasting effects of the 2010 World Cup here in South Africa and Africa as a whole. Here we are going to focus on how the World Cup serves as a monumental showcase for Africa's capabilities, especially in terms of economic growth and infrastructure. The successful stories are numerous, but let's start with a big one, Walmart's investment in South Africa. Absolutely, Colin. In the wake of the World Cup, Walmart purchased a 51% stake of Massmart, which is a major South African retailer. This move wasn't just about expanding business, but was also a vote of confidence in Africa's growth trajectory, inspired by the success of the South Africans hosting one of the biggest global events. And it wasn't just massive retail firms betting on Africa. Additionally, UA Bowl, the MD of a German company, announced a significant investment of $11.3 million in Cape Town. Like Walmart, UA Bowl also cited the success of the World Cup as a pivotal reason for their investment decision. This too shows the kind of international confidence that the World Cup sparked, especially in South Africa. Speaking of international perceptions, I feel like we should switch over to another sector, tourism. An incredible 96% of visitors surveyed that they would visit Africa again. The hospitality and warmth experienced during the World Cup left a lasting impression that continues to benefit the tourism sector to this day. Tourists were attracted to South Africa's pretty beaches, mountains, and museums. In addition, more than a third of the World Cup visitors were staying in South Africa for longer than a month. Those numbers are pretty significant. The fact that 96% of people want to return shows how powerful a tournament like the 2010 World Cup is for a continent like Africa. Also, I read that the tourism sector is continuing to thrive, as proven by the sector bringing in over $10 million in 2019 alone. I agree. Now if we switch to infrastructure, the stadiums built for the World Cup have continued to see use and remain profitable. For example, Moses Makhlida Stadium, which hosted many World Cup games, is now transformed into a multi-purpose entertainment center. Things like restaurants, bungee jumping facilities, and a sky car that even takes you to the top of the stadium are all examples of additional purposes for these stadiums. These stadiums are also used for South Africa's soccer league, and the World Cup has helped to boost the standard of the domestic league. This contradicts the skepticism that many people had about the vacancy of these buildings after the tournament ended. South Africa had the ability, and still does, to carefully plan events at these venues that still serve many purposes to them. The ripple effects of this tournament go far beyond just the physical structures they produce and the financial gains. But in fact, help them on an international level. After the 2010 World Cup, it marked Africa's entry into the BRIC group of emerging economies shortly after. This too highlights Africa's rising position on the global stage that was catalyzed by the hosting of this tournament. I just think it's fascinating what a single sporting event can do to almost change the whole scope of an economy. Domestically and internationally, the World Cup helped to raise money, infrastructure, and better foreign investment and relationships. This shows not only the scope of how big the 2010 World Cup is, but how eager some countries are to host these events because of the drastic impact it has. We are back. We hope you enjoyed Calm Down from Nigeria's RIMA. As we draw our discussion to a close, I think it's very evident that the 2010 World Cup was a lot more than just a global sporting event. Soccer is often referred to as the universal language on the planet, spoken more widely than English, Arabic, and Mandarin, and practiced more widely than any religion. Soccer truly is the world language. I totally agree, and I think Jürgen Klingsmann, former German player and now coach, puts it best when he states, soccer is a mirror of our world, bringing together races, religions, and nationalities in a way only a truly global sport can. I think it's important to draw attention to how popular this sport is compared to many others around the world. You're totally right. And that same popularity is what helped bring so much success to the 2010 World Cup. Africa showed to the world its modernized face. The infrastructure achievements, economic boosts, and social impacts have left a lasting legacy. The event also challenged outdated stereotypes about poverty and underdevelopment that have plagued the country and continent for centuries. Indeed, and perhaps on a more global scale, the World Cup helped to change the narrative about Africa. It proved that the continent could handle the world's biggest event with excellence. From the billions spent on stadiums and transportation to the millions of tourists who continue to visit, the ripple effects are evident. As we've heard today from voices like the feudal president to sports columnists, the event was a true turning point in South African history. It was an opportunity for Africa to show that excellence and Africa can indeed be spoken in the same sentence. And so as we wrap up today's episode, let's remember that the 2010 World Cup is a pivotal moment in African history, a time when Africa did not just host the world but truly amazed them too. Thank you for joining us on this journey through Africa's leap forward to the 2010 World Cup. We hope you've gained a deeper appreciation of the significance of sports and their impacts on perception, economics, and ultimately the history of the African continent.