Bringing the World Cup to the Masses

As South Africa begins serious preparations for its star turn hosting the 2010 World Cup, one of the questions that many of us have been asking is how the masses of the country are going to be able to see the game for which they have so much passion. South Africa is a country deeply divided between the minority of haves and the vast majority of have nots. The World Cup represents an opportunity either to try to bridge that gap or merely to exacerbate it. One can envision two scenarios: Stadia crowded with affluent white Europeans and a substrata of South Africa's moneyed elite, black and white. The other, preferable, option involves truly multiracial crowds that encompass South Africa's soccer-loving masses showing up to cheer not only Bafana Bafana but making their presence felt in all of the games, from the earliest group fixtures to the finals.

Unwarranted optmimism has fueled grave disappointment in Africa in the past, but the Mail & Guardian reports that FIFA and South African officials are working to guarantee poor South Africans access to free or cheap tickets for the duration of the Cup. One imagines that ticket brokers, scalpers, and corrupt officials are already scheming to get their hands on reams of these tickets, but if handled properly, a plan to bring the world's biggest sporting event to the people of a continent that cannot wait to show the world a more positive face is a step in the right direction.

One can imagine critics scoffing at the idea of providing the poor with tickets when what they need is jobs and economic security. But this is a red herring and a false choice. The option on the table is not either to provide necessary services and opportunities to the poor. The question is whether to provide tickets to a sports-mad populace that would desparately love the chance to see the games but who will not otherwise be able to afford to do so. The idea that leisure and enjoyment is merely a diversion does an injustice to people whi, while cognizant of their needs, still have desires that ought not to be limited to subsistence or exclusive to the monied classes in South Africa and traveling from abroad.