6 years ago, on May 15, 2004, in Zurich, at the FIFA Executive Committee, the Republic of South Africa was elected by secret ballot as the host country of the 19th FIFA World Cup. Then very few people remembered (if they remembered at all) that 2010 is also the "golden", jubilee "Year of Africa". It is unlikely that FIFA President Sepp Blatter, one of the initiators of the "rotation" of the World Cup on continents and the main "lobbyist" of the idea of holding the 2010 Championship on the Black Continent, also remembered this. One way or another, whether by chance or not, FIFA's choice came in handy. On a significant date in its history, Africa received a great gift - the world championship of the most popular game on the planet.

Different countries were surprised by FIFA's decision to host the World Cup in South Africa - a country with a high crime rate, lack of enough sports facilities, lack of electricity, and so on. All this was covered in newspapers all over the world. Some media outlets suggested that this decision was a kind of respect for the name of Nelson Mandela, an outstanding fighter against racism and apartheid, the first black president of the country.

South Africa plays host to the world's elite football players. The largest championship is a serious incentive for creating modern infrastructure in the country and tempting investment opportunities for foreign investors.

RISKS AND CONCERNS

Having made a choice in favor of Africa, representatives of the world football Olympus took on a great responsibility and took a certain risk. In fact, having no experience in conducting such events, the host South African side could not give one hundred percent guarantee, except for loud statements that everything would be at the proper level.

South Africa has alarmed FIFA executives. In February 2010, just three months before the start of the World Cup, FIFA was forced to admit that infrastructure preparations for the event were far from complete.

Difficulties were not spared from the main problem - we are talking about the construction of stadiums. A record number of sports arenas - 10 stadiums in nine cities-have been announced for participation in the tournament. However, most of them had to be rebuilt, and those that were available had to be completely reconstructed.

A scandal broke out about the bases where the participants of the football forum should be located. The British expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed camp. The "founders of football" were not satisfied with the degree of readiness of the fields for training. Newspapers reported that the head coach of the England national team was shocked by the sight of the camp for his team, where his players will live.

For the sake of justice, we note that almost all countries that have taken on the burden of responsibility for holding a large-scale sports event experience similar problems with the delivery dates of objects. As life has shown, in most cases the owners creak, but they meet the deadlines allotted to them. Therefore, the South African organizers remained relatively calm about this issue.

The stadiums are still a success - they are beautiful structures, modern, majestic, sparkling with lights. Here's something to admire!

But then suddenly" unexpectedly " it turned out that for full coverage of matches, a huge staff of TV operators is needed, which would operate in different cities competently and smoothly, as well as tons of all sorts of sophisticated equipment. After all, the total audience of TV broadcasts of matches is 30 billion viewers! And if the issues with the equipment were solved in the end relatively simply by obtaining it for rent from different companies, then with qualified personnel everything was much more complicated.

The internal reserves of local TV companies were not enough. Therefore, in a hurry, "machine-gun courses" were deployed to train cameramen, commentators, and correspondents. There are a lot of applicants, this job is much more profitable than any other.

In many countries, security concerns were of particular concern. South Africa is one of the countries where the crime rate is very high. However, South African police chiefs have assured the public that the situation will be under control by the start of the World Cup.

The authorities will act quickly and "ruthlessly" against criminals and terrorists of all stripes. This was stated by the Minister of Police. According to him, the country has purchased special equipment and allocated money for the work of 40 thousand police officers and special service agents. To ensure security during the tournament, it is planned to use units of the anti-riot forces, which will be given helicopters and water cannons.

Each participating team will be protected by a separate sub-race-

division of rapid reaction forces. It is also planned to strengthen border security, patrolling city streets and major highways, airports, hotels, stadiums, restaurants, etc. As part of law enforcement, the South African police offered cooperation to Interpol, and even the FBI.

"BAFANA-BAFANA", OR SIMPLY "GUYS"

Football in this part of the world began to be played at the end of the XIX century. It was a popular sport. Many clubs showed a good game. But during the apartheid era, the Confederation of African Football and FIFA banned the South African national team from playing in international tournaments until racist policies were eradicated.

The national team of the country-here it is called "Bafana-Bafana", or "Boys" - was one of the strongest African teams. But South Africa's decades-long policy has done the national team a disservice. From 1955 to 1992, she did not play a single international match.

Returning to the international scene, South Africa not only hosted the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, but also sensationally won it, and in 1998 the South African team made it to the World Cup for the first time. However, in France, the South Africans disappointed their fans. They were eliminated in the first round after two losses and one draw.

In recent years, Bafan-Bafan has not been doing well on the continent and on the world stage. It entered the 2010 World Cup as a team of the host country.

ADIDAS AND JABULANI

A highly publicized event was the presentation in Cape Town by Adidas and FIFA of the official ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup-Jabulani - jabulani. The new ball is already used by football teams in many countries, including Premier League players in Russia.

The name "Jabulani" comes from the Zulu language, which is spoken by every fifth inhabitant of the country. In literal translation - "we will rejoice", "we will celebrate".

The design of this ball uses 11 colors. This number was not chosen by chance. As stated in the press release of the company "Adidas", its colors represent 11 languages of different ethnic groups inhabiting the country. It should be noted that the Constitution of South Africa provides for just so many official languages. This number also corresponds to the number of players on the football team. In addition, the ball is the 11th official ball of a FIFA or UEFA competition developed by Adidas since the 1970 World Cup.

The bright design of the Jabulani symbolizes the "identity in unity" of the Republic of South Africa, and the four triangular elements on a white background made the appearance of the ball original and reflecting the originality of the African style. The ball's colorful palette and ornamentation echo the facade of the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, which will host the opening of the championship and the final match of the world Championship.

VUVUZELAS AND MAKARAPAS

South African fans actively prepared for the competition, never for a moment losing hope that the good initiative will not be drowned in the technical aspects of preparing for the main football event in the world and the football epic will definitely be held at the highest level.

In the arsenal of local football fans there are, for example, pipes-vuvuzelas. What is it? These are the local Jericho pipes. Their high-pitched sound gets on your nerves and makes it difficult to concentrate. Both players and coaches complain about it, and especially TV people. Paying tribute to the African exoticism, the cacophony created by the vuvuzelas was compared by journalists to a herd of continuously trumpeting elephants. Calls to ban pipes are meaningless and even offensive to the local public, and caused a violent reaction in the camp of fans. And what can you do if this is the tradition?

In Zulu, vuvuzela means " make noise." Previously, these pipes were made of tin, but now they are being mass-produced from plastic. Historically, they date back to the ornately curved horns of the kudu antelope, which were used to gather people. There is a belief that this strong sound kills the baboon. So in stadiums, South African fans "disperse" towards the end of the match, when it is necessary to end the opponent's resistance and suppress his morale. So staying in the stands can make a lasting impression on European tourists.

But makaraps - another unique attribute of South African stadiums-will even amuse Europeans. In the Xhosa language, this word means "migrant worker". In previous years, people used to go to soccer games in South Africa in miners ' helmets to protect their heads from flying rocks and bottles. One day, a fan decided to paint this headdress. And a tradition was born - since then, South African fans began to paint their helmets with different symbols and battle calls, crowning them with intricate and sometimes bulky designs in the style of African shamans.

"CARMEN" IN AFRICAN

It even went so far as to stage a "football" ballet based on "Carmen"in South Africa. Poor Georges Bizet. Who just did not encroach on his opera! In the love triangle of the original, the authors of the production changed the bullfighter to... captain of the football team, and dragoon Jose - on the star player. The action of the ballet is transferred from the sultry Seville to the equally sultry Johannesburg. The music, mostly preserved, contains South African motifs, and among the instruments used are the already familiar vuvuzela pipes.

The ballet, according to its creators, is a theatrical treatment of a football match, not the football match itself, but a kind of artistic version of it. The production is a mixture of classical ballet and modern dance. In some scenes, dancers perform their parts using soccer balls. The fight between Escamillo and Jose, originally set in a smuggler's camp, takes place on a green soccer field in the South African version.

The authors of the new" masterpiece " hope that in the light of the FIFA World Cup, the production will find a sponsor and the ballet will be staged not only in Johannesburg, but also in other cities.

FUNDI WINE AND FOOTBALL COINS

The original gift was made by South African winemakers. They created the official wine of the 2010 World Cup. The name of the new wine brand is "Fundi", which means "disciple"in Zulu. A special project aimed at further development of the country's wine industry, whose products are known in many countries of the world, including Russia, was launched in 2008.

In South Africa, a competition for the best wine was announced, according to its results, members of the Cape Town Winemakers Guild named the names of six winners. The main wines of the championship were 6 red wines. All proceeds from the sale of Fundi will be spent on training young sommeliers for South African restaurants. Hence its name.

The mint did not stand aside either. Many commemorative gold and silver coins dedicated to the 2010 World Cup were issued, which immediately attracted the attention of numismatists, and some have already become rare. Minting of these coins began in 2006 with the issue of a quarter-ounce gold coin with a value of 2 South African rand, and a silver coin with a value of 2 rand. In 2007, the Mint added another one to this series. The 2008 series consists of three coins, and the three 2009 coins feature the World Cup mascot Zakumi.

Sets of "football" coins are issued in limited quantities. They are sold exclusively through a network of stores that sell collectible coins. We can say that in South Africa, in fact, a new "gold rush" has begun - football fans, tourists and numismatists are very active.

In early 2009, a special "game" coin was developed - made of silver, and made so that in the capsule in which it is enclosed, there are four holes and four small balls, so that the owner, rotating the coin, can play and score "goals". In 2010, a one-ounce gold coin was added to it, as well as a number of pure silver medallions.

A LEOPARD WITH GREEN HAIR

The official mascot of the 2010 World Cup was a leopard cub, the most revered animal among the indigenous population of the country. It was called "Zakumi". This kid has yellow - green hair and is wearing a T-shirt that says "SOUTH AFRICA 2010". The combination of yellow and green is not accidental-these are the colors of the uniforms of the national sports teams of South Africa. The name "Zakumi" consists of two parts, where " ZA "is an international designation for South Africa and "Kumi", which means"10" in several Bantu languages.

Passions are boiling around the championship - many ordinary South Africans, and not only, hope to earn money on it. But...

"Zakumi" is widely stamped in China, where cheap labor is used. This was reported by the South African weekly Sunday Times. The article also spoke about the plight of workers in factories around Shanghai that produce souvenirs with the symbols of FIFA and the 2010 World Cup.

"Such a situation with the production of numerous souvenirs has become absolutely intolerable," the newspaper notes. - All our stores are packed with cheap Chinese goods with the symbols of the world championship. When South Africa received the right to host the championship, all entrepreneurs had the hope that the country would have the opportunity to employ its fellow citizens and benefit from this event. But, alas. FIFA constantly insists that the world football festival belongs only to it, and only it can decide what, when, where and in what quantity to do. Therefore, South African citizens can become strangers at this celebration of life."

WORLD CUP AND SORCERERS

And one more question that concerns the African football community. Why haven't Africans been successful in global forums so far? Local shamans have an answer to this question - African sorcerers are strong only in their native land. Therefore, everyone is sure that South Africa will become the champion this time. Wizards will sit in the stands and cast spells on the players of the opposing teams. This will definitely help your team.

Before matches, local sorcerers intend to wash the T-shirts of the national team players in a special barrel along with particles of animals and plants, summoning the spirits of their ancestors. They promise to" treat "field players" Guys " with the hoof of a zebra, giving them the stamina and power of the animal's kick, and the goalkeeper - with the paw of a monkey, so that he was just as bouncy. And so on and so forth. After that, "Bafana-bafana" will definitely win!

President Jacob Zuma also contributed to the promotion of the football championship in the Republic of South Africa. And in a very original way. From the rostrum of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (January 2010), he solemnly declared that the country is ready to host the world championship. The stadiums are functioning, everything is checked, we are ready, absolutely ready, support us-this was his speech.

The session during which this statement was made turned out to be different from the traditional ones for this forum. The South African delegation took to the stage in the bright yellow jerseys of the country's national football team, constantly blowing vuvuzelas.

So, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is being held in an exotic country. For the first time - on the hottest continent, which has become the birthplace of many football stars. Thus, FIFA is following its plan for global football expansion, expanding the geography of the competition.

A magnificent draw ceremony for the teams participating in the final games was held in Cape Town in December 2009. During the month - from June 11 to July 11 - fans are guaranteed an exciting football festival. After all, football is a passion that unites the world.

Pretoria (South Africa)