World Cup Soccer Draw Hits African Shores
Cape Town is boiling over with excitement. The World Cup Soccer draw has finally dawned upon African shores. Even the city’s famous landmark, Table Mountain, is paling into the background against the glitz and glamour of celebrity presence. With the likes of Charlize Theron who participated in hosting the draw, and soccer’s hero David Beckham, who cares about a mountain?
It is estimated that approximately 350 million pairs of eyes were glued to TV screens throughout the world as the gala ceremony in Cape Town’s International Convention Centre is televised live, tonight. The qualifiers were drawn into eight first round groups for the tournament on June 11 next year.
Speaking about celebrities and eyes; nothing touches you more than the bright eyes of a child gazing up in to what could be. Hundreds of such young eyes in Khayletisha did precisely this when David Beckham, yesterday, glided in to their world for one brief moment, like a glittering apparition from a world they can only dream off, or perhaps not even imagine. Their world is a sprawling informal settlement where unemployment runs at 80% and one in three of the two million populace, are HIV-positive. No wonder, apart from his soccer prowess, Beckham, for them takes on godlike appearance.
Many places like Khayletisha dot the South African landscape and will be the recipients of such visits by stars and football heroes throughout the build-up and the tournament itself. Of course it is done to make the marginalized feel part of the whole celebration and event, and that's to be lauded. But let’s be honest, is it not also an assuaging of guilt for the vast sums of money spent on stadiums and other preparations, throughout a country racked by poverty with a gap between rich and poor as wide as the moon and us.
The advent of the Soccer World Cup is welcomed and celebrated by the majority of South Africans, and that’s wonderful; but, when the teams, the fans and the glitz go home and the stadiums are empty, let’s hope the poor will get their share of the 500 billion Rand which stands to be made.
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