There’s a feeling in the progressive world that the World Cup may not be such a good idea for SA after all. The documentary – World Cup Soccer in Africa: Who Really Wins? in now available on iTunes.
The same view is echoed here by Dave Zirin:
To paraphrase an old African saying, “When the elephants party, the grass will suffer.” In the hands of FIFA and the ruling African National Congress, the World Cup has been a neoliberal Trojan Horse, enacting a series of policies that the citizens of this proud nation would never have accepted if not wrapped in the honor of hosting the Cup. This includes $9.5 billion in state deficit spending ($4.3 billion in direct subsidies and another $5.2 billion in luxury transport infrastructure). This works out to about $200 per citizen.
Not such a party after all… But, and this is an important but, I do think there is place for hope. And if SA can build on the goodwill and infrastructure, we hope to see better days ahead. Man does not live by bread alone. You gotta have football (soccer)!