The 14-country Southern African region, in particular the nation of Zimbabwe, has fallen head over heels in love with the 2010 World Cup set for South Africa. Governments are realigning their economic budgets to meet 2010 targets, while ordinary citizens are planning to camp in South Africa for the entire duration of the tournament. It is a big boost to stagnant economies like Zimbabwe.

First-time visitors to Africa making their first stop in Zimbabwe, would be forgiven for mistakenly thinking they had landed in Johannesburg, South Africa instead. Every facet of life in the Southern African country now literally revolves around the 2010 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted by its giant neighbor South Africa.

Billboards at the Harare International Airport display adverts linked to the tournament and streets are decorated with similar paraphernalia. It is not uncommon to spot people donning T-shirts emblazoned with 2010 World Cup messages. This is the first time the global tournament is happening on this continent and, for a people that have always had to follow the explosive quadrennial action on television, a neighbor hosting the event is a dream come true.

Equally historic is the fact that the world governing body, FIFA, has for the first time allowed countries neighboring South Africa to host some of the finalists, as long as the flying distance to their matches is within the 90-minute range. FIFA is never afraid to record firsts. In 2002, two Asian countries, South Korea and Japan, hosted the World Cup together and it was no less successful.

In the case of 2010, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has already announced that the competition has recorded more marketing deals with agreements signed with five strategic partners valued at more than 1bn Swiss francs (about $821 million). This dwarfs the 850m francs ($700m) worth of deals made for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. More than 350,000 visitors, among them players, officials, administrators, fans and tourists, are expected to find their way through the untamed jungles of Africa for the world’s biggest sporting competition, besides the Olympic Games, which have also never been held on the continent.

In December, FIFA was scheduled to send an inspection team to carry out final assessments on the suitability of neighbouring countries to assist South Africa in hosting the tournament, with Blatter personally expected in Harare. Apartheid-tainted South Africa, who arrived in the community of nations after their first democratic elections in 1994, has announced its intention to make the 2010 event Africa’s World Cup. Projections are that South Africa has facilities to take in only 300,000 visitors, leaving the remainder in the hands of their neighboring countries.

Zimbabwe borders South Africa, which is Africa’s economic giant, to the north, Mozambique to the east, Namibia to the south-west and Botswana to the west. South Africa also geographically encircles Lesotho and forms two thirds of Swaziland’s borders. But almost every country in the Southern African region is sprucing up its image ahead of 2010 in anticipation of reaping maximum benefits.

Danny Jordaan, South Africa Football Association (SAFA) CEO and also head of the of the 2010 local organising committee, said preparations for the event had entered the “operational phase” stage and only seven months before the kickoff of the extravaganza. Jordaan said a debacle of a shortage of luxury buses needed to transport more than 400,000 visitors from the airports had been averted.

“At the seven month countdown, we need to engage manufacturers of buses and place orders. Teams with large followings like Brazil, England, Germany and Japan will arrive in blocks – big blocks.” Besides some of the finalists being expected to base in neighbouring countries and fly in to South Africa for their matches, other countries stationed further away will play a part by virtue of hosting some of the training camps for the participants before the finals start.
Government departments including, but not limited to, sport, tourism, infrastructure development and agriculture, have remodeled their budgets to cater to various investments into facilities that will be used by the World Cup guests.

Zimbabwe in particular has committed over US$200m to the widening of the Harare-Beitbridge-Johannesburg highway, refurbishing the Bulawayo and Victoria Falls airports, constructing new or renovating existing hotels and upgrading the small border town of Beitbridge into a city by 2010. Beitbridge lies on Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa, less than an hour’s drive over the great Limpopo River to the city of Polokwane, which will be one of South Africa’s 13 venues for the World Cup. Zambia, further north of South Africa, is also in frantic preparations for the tournament. New stadia are being built and a number of related facilities are also being improved. Diamond-rich Botswana and Namibia are also engaged in similar drives.

In South Africa, the euphoria started much earlier. It could be said to have begun in 2004 just as FIFA announced South Africa as the next host of the World Cup. Upgrading of facilities kicked off in earnest and new industries were opened up to provide supporting goods for what will be South Africa’s third major global sporting event after the successful hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and, together with Zimbabwe and Kenya, the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Five new stadia have been built for the tournament (three match venues and two practice grounds), and five of the existing venues were upgraded.

Construction costs have run up to roughly US$1billion, but 159,000 new jobs were created. In addition to the stadia built and upgraded, South Africa is also working to improve its current public transport and infrastructure, and implement special measures to ensure the safety and security of local and international tourists attending the matches in accordance with standard FIFA requirements. Away from the corporate rush by companies in Southern Africa to cash in on the event, the frenetic pace has not been lost on the pitch.

Countries from all over Africa heightened their preparations for the tournament, hoping to make it for the five available seats to Africa at the tournament. Although most failed, football will never be the same again in their respective countries. A host of countries hired foreign coaches, embarked on youth development crusades and for once central governments were not stingy, or in the case of Zimbabwe, self-centred with their budgets. It was envisaged that participating at the tournament would increase chances of reaping economic benefits from the tournament.

After Zimbabwe missed qualification, they made an effort to host a regional football event, the 14-member Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) Senior Challenge last October. This was done in order to keep the country on the international football radar and attract football tourists en route to South Africa for the World Cup. A special fund has been created by private African individuals in Nigeria to assist in the preparations and participation of the continent’s finalists at the event. In announcing the development, a spokesman for the consortium of investors said the money was intended to ensure African teams did not embarrass the continent by performing dismally in the full glare of the international eyes.

The best African teams have managed at the World Cup so far is a last-eight finish, achieved by both Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. The impressive showing of Ghana at the 2006 finals in Germany, and the star-studded composition of Ivory Coast has now instilled confidence and hope among Africans that the gold-plaited Jules Rimet trophy may yet remain in Africa when the tournament closes on 11 July 11 2010.

The excitement surrounding the tournament is no less evident on the streets and pavements in the region. Ordinary football fans and even armchair lovers of sport can hardly wait for the June 11, 2010 kick off. Most families have relatives, friends and associates working in South Africa and contacts are already being made to expect them when the World Cup starts rolling.

Regional political leaders, under the aegis of SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) have pledged to ease traveling restrictions to those wishing to travel to watch the tournament. Arrangements are in place to introduce a Uni-visa concept for all the countries in Southern Africa, similar to the Schengen visa in the European Union. But there will much more for visitors to see other than international football superstars on the field. South Africa and the Southern African region are famed for their natural beauty and breath-taking tourist sites, coupled with excellent hospitality facilities and warm, friendly and cheerful people.

To begin with, there is the Victoria Falls, itself a world wonder, between Zimbabwe and Zambia and only 75 minutes from Johannesburg. There is also teeming wildlife particularly in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana, including the big five; namely lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceroses and buffalo. Currently the three countries, together with Mozambique, have opened what is touted as the largest game park in the world, whose land mass saddles across the four countries. Several other similar projects have been opened up which include Angola, Namibia and Zambia. Only one visa will be required to enter into any country in the southern sub-continent.

The next seven months leading to the tournament promise to be fun-filled, as countries get their preparations for the tournament into high drive.

Publication rights to this feature are available from Africa Media Online.