Our best chance to fulfill Mandela’s vision

Any lingering doubts about South Africa’s ability to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup have surely been laid to rest with this week’s 100-day countdown festivities.

And the most pleasing aspect of this important milestone was not the magnificent new stadiums that were unveiled to the international media or the controlled flurry of activity as millions of South Africans continue to carry out final preparations for the month-long event.

Rather, it was the united front that Fifa, the 2010 Organising Committee, other 2010 role-players and, for that matter, the entire country has presented to the world. No more bickering and no more doubts, just a consensus that South Africa can rightly take its place as the centre of the universe for four glorious weeks in June and July.

“There is no doubt … let’s have this World Cup,” said Fifa president Sapp Blatter. The organisation’s general secretary Jerome Valcke who undertook an inspection tour of the country’s 2010 stadiums said that on a scale from one to 10, South Africa’s readiness was at an eight, “but we will be at 10 on June 11”.

2010 Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan said the 100-day milestone is “as much a celebration of the work achieved as it is the expectation of the world’s greatest football event”.

And millions of South Africans agree. The latest African Response survey, which was released this week, reveals that 85% of the populations believes the nation will be ready for the games (that’s up from 65% in June 2006).

At noon on Tuesday, radio stations across the country marked the 100-day countdown by broadcasting the national anthem and, for one brief moment, all of South Africa was united. Let’s get used to more of the same. After all, South Africa has been gifted with its best chance to fulfill Nelson Mandela’s vision of a united nation. Before he jetted back to Zurich, Blatter saluted his old friend, saying: ‘We just hope and ask the heavens to help us that former President Nelson Mandela will be there on June 11’.