First World Cup, now Olympics?
First World Cup, now Olympics?
Posted: 2010-07-24 17:09
The Olympic Games have never been staged in Africa, but the recent football World Cup in South Africa may change that in the near future.
The success of the 2010 World Cup has had many benefits, but one that has silently arisen as a result is the fact that other events, and specifically the Olympics, could be hosted by the country in the near future following a fine showing with the greatest show on earth.
Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan's global travels to promote the World Cup a few months back took him to Vancouver for a meeting of the International Olympic Committee during the Winter Olympics. Durban, one of the 2010 World Cup cities, is also staging the IOC Session in July 2011.
In addition to the World Cup, that meeting will showcase South Africa's ambition to bring the Olympics to Africa for the first time.
At the time, Jordaan said the IOC's awarding of the 2016 Olympics to Rio, the first Games for South America, has opened the door for South Africa to assemble a strong bid to stage the Olympics, either in 2020 or 2024.
"Now that Brazil will be hosting 2016, I think it creates the possibility," he said at a press conference, "and I think further that a successful FIFA World Cup in our country will certainly up the stakes for an argument that Africa's time has come for the hosting of an Olympics on the continent."
Well, the World Cup in South Africa has come and gone successfully, and it certainly left the world impressed with the capabilities of South Africa as a host. This has opened the door to a bid for the 2020 Olympics.
There seem to be three cities which could be put forth as a potential Olympic host for the 2020 games, with Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg in the running, while Pretoria could probably also host the event.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) announced a few days after the end of the World Cup that they were considering possible bid cities within the country.
South Africa's Olympic body said in a statement that the announcement “comes in the wake of resounding international acclaim for the manner in which South Africa staged the 2010 FIFA World Cup”.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge, who met with South Africa president Jacob Zuma in South Africa during the tournament, said in a press conference that the IOC would welcome a bid from South Africa.
Rogge attended the World Cup final and praised the country's organization of the world's biggest football competition.
"From the start, when South Africa was named as World Cup hosts, we all knew the country would be able to organize the tournament," Rogge said. "Now it is up to you as a nation to decide if you want to host this (the Olympics) event," he said.
The newly-built stadiums in the three cities have been proven at the World Cup, with Soccer City providing the stage for the opening game and final, amongst other games, while Moses Mabhida in Durban and the Cape Town Stadium both hosted semi-final matchups of the world's greatest sporting event with success.
The people of South Africa have displayed their hospitality and their ability to welcome visitors from all corners of the world, and they would no doubt be as accommodating during the Olympics if they were held in the country.
The organisation of the World Cup has proven the capabilities of South Africa as a host, and this is not in question any longer. Surely Africa deserves a chance to host the Olympic Games for the first time in their history, and perhaps South Africa can ride the wave of a successful World Cup into 2020 or 2024 and yet another African first will become a reality.
Goal.com
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