FIFA hedges its bets

There was an interesting development at FIFA headquarters in Zurich over the weekend, which went largely unnoticed by the local media. Perhaps it’s not altogether surprising given the current political climate which is dominating the headlines, but we should all take heed of this development.

At its third executive committee meeting of the year, global football’s governing body confirmed that it has secured a $650-million insurance package to cover the next two World Cup tournaments. “To ensure the 2010 and 2014 (Brazilian) World Cups are a success — should natural disasters or other acts occur — we have insured the events,” said FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

The insurance would cover FIFA in the event that the tournament is postponed or switched to another country. Secretary General Jerome Valcke stressed that the move does not indicate “any lack of trust” in South Africa which he said remains well on track to host the tournament.

What does this actually mean? For starters, FIFA has now covered itself in the event that this country does experience widespread civil unrest in the build-up to 2010.

Given the outbreak of xenophobic violence earlier this year, the “recalling” of president Thabo Mbeki and the split in the ruling African National Congress that followed, the reality is South Africa is probably not the safest of bets. Independent Electoral Commission chairman Brigalia Bam this week warned that “undertones of robust contestation turning into violent contestation are surfacing”.

The reality is that the country that secured the rights to host the world’s biggest single-code sporting event back in 2004 and the one that is now experiencing a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty (thanks largely to the behaviour of a handful of politicians) are two very different places.

FIFA has previously faced challenges with hosting an event of this magnitude. In 1978, World Cup hosts Argentina were under military rule when the tournament was held while 1998 hosts France faced crippling labour disputes on the eve of the tournament. FIFA has repeatedly expressed its faith in South Africa and has acknowledged the extraordinary progress that has been made with preparations for both the Confederations Cup next year and the 2010 World Cup.

With general elections now looming fast, the current climate calls for cool heads and a recognition that we cannot allow political instability to derail Africa’s best chance to showcase itself.