SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - World Cup organisers say tournament huge success
Record ID:
455704
SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - World Cup organisers say tournament huge success
- Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - World Cup organisers say tournament huge success
- Date: 11th July 2010
- Summary: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 10, 2010) (REUTERS) WORLD CUP ORGANISING CHIEF DANNY JORDAAN WALKING INTO STUDIO (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD CUP LOCAL ORGANISING CHIEF, DANNY JORDAAN, SAYING: "Where we sit today, it's just incredible to think that after 16 years of work, we have only two matches left, we have delivered 62 matches and we are two matches to go to end an 80-year wait for Africa to host its first World Cup, and now this World Cup will be over by tomorrow, and then it's on to Brazil." HOST AND JORDAAN IN STUDIO (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD CUP LOCAL ORGANISING CHIEF, DANNY JORDAAN, SAYING: "Just 20 years ago, we were a society that was entrenched on a racial basis by law that black and white could never sit together in the stadiums, black and white could never go to the same school, to swim at the same beach, to go and sit in the same restaurant, to play in the same football team. Those things were outlawed by law, for more than 300 years and within 20 years we reached this position, as if these people belong together naturally." AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD CUP LOCAL ORGANISING CHIEF, DANNY JORDAAN, SAYING: "People felt a sense of pride, they walked tall and they were very proud of what this country has achieved, and that was an incredible thing. Again, you must know we're a society where many of these people who walk the street with heads held high were told over many years that you are inferior, you are less than equal, you cannot present these things, because of the colour of your skin. So that was a huge psychological barrier that our nation crossed." MORE OF STUDIO (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD CUP LOCAL ORGANISING CHIEF, DANNY JORDAAN, SAYING: "As far as the Olympics are concerned, I'm sure that we expect Jacques Rogge to be in the final, I'm sure some of the people from our Olympic committee will have a conversation and give us a sense of what that discussion will be about, whether or not South Africa would look at hosting the Olympics or making a bid to hosting the Olympics." STUDIO CAMERAMEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD CUP LOCAL ORGANISING CHIEF, DANNY JORDAAN, SAYING: "You know the revenue will essentially come from the sale of tickets, we think between 80-100 million U.S. dollars. I agree with you that that money should be invested in development, it's the success of the U.S. in 1994 after the World Cup in the United States, the United States set up a trust with academies and since then you can see that the U.S. team has always been in the World Cup and their youth teams are doing very well and the women's team, in 1999 the women's team won the World Cup in Los Angeles." STUDIO AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD CUP LOCAL ORGANISING CHIEF, DANNY JORDAAN, SAYING: "There was the perception and the reality, the reality is that - which we said already at the end of the Confederations Cup - that we have the ability to present a safe World Cup. The extraordinary thing is that the fans, and even the officials, who said different things about crime in this country, many of them came to me and said: 'You know what, we were wrong'. In fact, some of them apologised for the way in which they presented the country. I think there is better understanding, I think that this country is no different to other countries, and as an event organiser, in a world of uncertainty and huge insecurity in the world, this is a major challenge, not only for South Africa, but for any country hosting a major event." JORDAAN AND HOST LISTENING TO QUESTION JORDAAN STANDS AT END OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 26th July 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: South Africa
- Country: South Africa
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA4M9P5IOPQK8OCKJ6V1U4QOEGS
- Story Text: The chief of the local organising committee for the 2010 World Cup Danny Jordaan said on Saturday (July 10) that the host nation has made huge leaps since its days of racial segregation to surpass expectations and stage the single biggest sporting event in the world.
The long-awaited tournament was hosted on African soil for the first time since the inaugural tournament was held in Uruguay in 1930.
"Where we sit today, it's just incredible to think that after 16 years of work, we have only two matches left, we have delivered 62 matches and we are two matches to go to end an 80-year wait for Africa to host its first world cup, and now this World Cup will be over by tomorrow, and then it's on to Brazil," he said.
Jordaan said the event had united a nation that still harboured memories from less than 20 years ago of the apartheid era where black people were segregated from white.
"Just 20 years ago, we were a society that was entrenched on a racial basis by law that black and white could never sit together in the stadiums, black and white could never go to the same school, to swim at the same beach, to go and sit in the same restaurant, to play in the same football team. Those things were outlawed by law, for more than 300 years and within 20 years we reached this position, as if these people belong together naturally.
"People felt a sense of pride, they walked tall and they were very proud of what this country has achieved, and that was an incredible thing. Again, you must know we're a society where many of these people who walk the street with heads held high were told over many years that you are inferior, you are less than equal, you cannot present these things, because of the colour of your skin. So that was a huge psychological barrier that our nation crossed," Jordaan added.
Jordaan hinted that the tournament's success could lead the country to seek a bid to host the Olympics in the near future. The International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge is currently in South Africa where he is meeting President Zuma and is expected to attend Sunday's (July 11) final.
"As far as the Olympics are concerned, I'm sure that we expect Jacques Rogge to be in the final, I'm sure some of the people from our Olympic committee will have a conversation and give us a sense of what that discussion will be about, whether or not South Africa would look at hosting the Olympics or making a bid to hosting the Olympics," Jordaan said.
Jordaan is keen to see some of the revenue generated from the World Cup ticket sales being used to help develop soccer academies to further the sport in South Africa, following Bafana Bafana's failure to reach the second round of the tournament.
He cited the United States as an example for South Africa to follow, who, since hosting the 1994 tournament, have been successful in all areas of the game.
"You know the revenue will essentially come from the sale of tickets, we think between 80-100 million U.S. dollars. I agree with you that that money should be invested in development, it's the success of the U.S. in 1994 after the World Cup in the United States, the United States set up a trust with academies and since then you can see that the U.S. team has always been in the World Cup and their youth teams are doing very well and the women's team, in 1999 the women's team won the World Cup in Los Angeles."
Jordaan has been pleased that there has been relatively low levels of crime during the World Cup, going against what many people had predicted.
"There was the perception and the reality, the reality is that - which we said already at the end of the Confederations Cup - that we have the ability to present a safe World Cup," said Jordaan. "The extraordinary thing is that the fans, and even the officials, who said different things about crime in this country, many of them came to me and said: 'You know what, we were wrong'. In fact, some of them apologised for the way in which they presented the country. I think there is better understanding, I think that this country is no different to other countries, and as an event organiser, in a world of uncertainty and huge insecurity in the world, this is a major challenge, not only for South Africa, but for any country hosting a major event." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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