CBC-Sports

A coming out party for African soccer

June 1, 2009 02:31 PM | Posted by   Nigel Reed  

For all intents and purposes the Confederations Cup is now a full dress rehearsal for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In 2001 and 2005 the eight-nation competition preceded the World Cups in South Korea and Japan, and Germany four years later.

The 2009 edition takes place exactly a year before South Africa stages soccer's global showpiece, giving organisers and participants alike an opportunity to complete some fine tuning in the run up to the main event in 2010.

The Confederations Cup can also be viewed as a coming out party for African soccer. Never before has the continent staged a tournament of this magnitude but it has been a long cherished ambition of FIFA President Sepp Blatter to take the World Cup to a region not traditionally associated with the sport at the highest level.

The decision has been a risky one. Ever since South Africa was awarded the World Cup in the spring of 2004, rumours and speculation have continued to circulate over the country's ability to deliver the necessary infrastructure, in terms of stadia, transportation and security on time and on budget.

Blatter has stood his ground - repeatedly assuring the media that South Africa will be ready and that only in the event of a ‘natural catastrophe' would FIFA consider moving the tournament to another country.

The Confederations Cup will utilize four of the ten World Cup sites as construction work continues in cities such as Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Danny Jordaan, who heads the 2010 World Cup organizing committee, expects all the venues to be complete by October of this year.

There'll be no shortage of spectators despite South Africa's relative geographical isolation from the established soccer markets. According to FIFA nearly 400,000 tickets have been sold for the Confederations Cup as soccer continues to rise in popularity and rival rugby and cricket as the ‘national' sport.

South Africa boasts a young but stable professional league - Premier Soccer League. Like Major League Soccer in the U.S., the PSL, which kicked off in 1996 and boasts 16 teams, has produced a number of players good enough to win contracts in the English Premier League. Everton's Steven Pienaar, Manchester City's Benjani and Blackburn teammates Benni McCarthy and Aaron Mokoena all kicked off their careers in the PSL.

It's probably safe to say South Africa won't win the Confederations Cup against a number of soccer's heavyweights, but a good showing at this tournament will only raise excitement and expectation among its fans for the World Cup for which it automatically qualifies as the host nation.

Spain and Brazil will be the likely favourites with Italy, Egypt and the United States all keen to flex their respective muscles in readiness for the battles to come a year from now. Of course, the old theory stating European teams win in Europe and the South Americans dominate on their own continent is irrelevant.

No team has ever won the World or Confederations Cup on African soil so it will be fascinating to see which teams and which styles adapt best to these uncharted waters of international soccer. Let's all hope, for the good of the game, it's an entertaining, competitive Confederations Cup that whets the appetite of soccer fans and leaves them craving the entree to come in twelve months time.

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