Danny Jordaan awarded for successful hosting of 2010 World Cup

The 2010 Fifa World Cup hosted in South Africa has been adjudged the best ever at least in terms of revenue, Danny Jordaan, CEO of the South Africa 2010 World Cup has disclosed.

The World Cup raked a whopping $4.2 billion in proceeds to FIFA, which was 53 per cent higher than the preceding World Cup held in Germany and which accumulated $2.6 billion to FIFA.

Jordaan made the revelation at the 36th Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Awards Night held in Accra on Saturday.

The huge success of the 2010 World Cup, he said, has demystified the erroneous impression about the African continent – impressions which denied the continent the right to host the tournament – for hundred years.

He said since 1904 when FIFA came into being, the African continent was denied the opportunity to host the World Cup largely because of perceptions that “there cannot be a viable and profitable World Cup in Africa.”

To consider Africa an option, there were arguments that FIFA must accumulate “enough reserves because it will go bankrupt” after an African host.

Some were expecting buses to be late, others were expecting flood lights to go off intermittently during games, Jordaan narrated, and yet after South Africa 2010, the chorus has been deafening –“2010 was the best ever World Cup.”

“We will never have another World Cup like that,” he said, adding, “There will not be a World Cup where the host nation supports all teams even after it is eliminated from the group stage.”

“We will never have another World Cup where Desmond Tutu will be dancing at the opening ceremony and Nelson Mandela making an appearance at the stadium.

“There will not be another World Cup with the Octopus Paul supporting one team or the other,” he intimated.

Quoting from ex-South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, Mr Danny Jordaan said “the 2010 World Cup gave Africa its second liberation” and “made the world understand that we are equal.”

He was rapturous in appreciation of the sterling performance of the Black Stars and for making Africa proud.

“No wonder when the Bafana Bafana was eliminated the whole of South Africa became “Baghana Baghana,” he noted.

He said Africa must assert itself in its endeavor and charged African leaders to take decisions and be ready to take responsibility for those decisions.