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Goal.com Traveller’s Guide To South Africa: A World Renowned Host
For those fans who are still not convinced that South Africa will be a fine host in 2010, Goal.com decided to take a closer look at the various sporting events which the country has hosted in the last 15 years.
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Feb 10, 2010 12:30:00 PM
By Peter Pedroncelli
The World Cup is less than five months away now, and soon South Africa will be buzzing with tourists from all over the world, ready to experience a new culture whilst soaking up the football extravaganza.
Doubts still plague the tournament however, and it is only fair that people who are unsure of the competition host voice their opinion, but looking at the impressive resume of sporting events under South Africa’s belt provides further evidence of a more than capable host nation.
International events held in South Africa since 1995
1995 Rugby World Cup
Since 1995, when Nelson Mandela handed the William Webb Ellis Trophy to Springboks captain Francois Pienaar after a pulsating Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, South Africa has shown itself capable not only of hosting the really big sporting events, but of making successes of them as well. The logistics of the event proved that South Africa could host a global event without major problems and the stadia in place at the time allowed for top class rugby and great fanfare.
1996 Africa Cup of Nations
A year later, Mandela was on hand once more to present the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to South Africa's national team, Bafana Bafana. As with the Rugby World Cup, the continent's premier footballing event went off smoothly in South Africa, with full houses and impressively well-behaved supporters. The traveling supporters from other African countries were pleased with the event in the rainbow nation, a few years after the country was readmitted to a number of international sporting codes.
1996 World Cup of Golf
In the same year, Cape Town's Erinvale Golf Club played host to the World Cup of Golf. Ernie Els and Wayne Westner took full advantage of the familiar conditions and home crowd support to decimate the opposition, winning the event by a record 18 shots. The event may not have been anything near the magnitude of the World Cup of football, but it did none the less show the ability of South Africa to welcome sportsmen from around the world and take care of them during an international event.
1998 World Cup of Athletics
Two years later, the world's top athletes were in Johannesburg for the World Cup of Athletics. Despite unusually poor weather for South Africa's business capital, the event went off without a hitch, whilst Africa took the title in the team competition. A memorable event took place in the city which will host 15 World Cup matches during the 2010 competition, including the opening and final encounters.
2003 Cricket World Cup
For once, in 2003, home advantage didn't help the South African team, as an under-performing Proteas side failed to progress to the knockout stage of cricket's showcase tournament. The event was well supported and impeccably run, and in a high-scoring final in Johannesburg, Australia defended the title they had won four years previously in England. The cricket event provided no security breaches and all logistical and transport systems ran smoothly during the weeks of the competition. A number of cities provided the venues and the touring teams were treated to a great tournament.
2007 World Twenty20 Championships
Cricket's inaugural Twenty20 World Championships is worth a special mention. South Africa hosted the event with style to match its efficiency, creating a vibe and energy that many felt was lacking at the 2007 World Cup (for the longer, 50-over-a-side version of the game) in the West Indies earlier in the year. The country did a fine job of hosting the event, leaving colourful memories for cricket players and fans to cherish, with a very successful first edition of the international cricket competition proving South Africa’s ability once again.
A1 Grand Prix
The Durban leg of the 2006 A1 Grand Prix was named the best event in the Motorsport’s inaugural season. A sell-out crowd of close to 100,000 fans lined the 3.2km street circuit in South Africa's coastal city, which will be one of the nine host cities for the World Cup, as ex-Formula One driver Jos Verstappen of the Netherlands took the honours in the feature race, following France's victory in the sprint race. Successful races hosted in the years that followed showed Durban as a capable venue and a city filled with enthusiastic sports fans.
Fina Swimming World Cup
Since 2003, Durban has been one of eight stop-offs on the Fina Swimming World Cup short-course (25 metre) circuit, drawing some of the world's best swimmers to the Kings Park Aquatic Centre - and helping to disprove the myth of Africa being poor in swimming talent and infrastructure. South Africa's Ryk Neethling was the overall men's winner of the event for two years running, with 21 race victories in the 2004-05 series and 16 victories in 2005-06.
Six-star rated surfing events
With regards to surfing, South Africa is home to a six-star rated World Championship Tour event, the Billabong Pro at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay - said to be capable of producing "the perfect wave" - as well as two six-star rated World Qualifying Series events: the long-standing Mr Price Pro (formerly the Gunston 500) in Durban, and the Quiksilver Pro Durban. The sport-mad country welcomes the world to a number of sporting codes throughout the cities to be used in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
2009 IPL (Indian Premier League Cricket)
The IPL was originally going to be held in the cricket-mad nation of India but due to the election dates coinciding with the match dates and the Indian government unable to assure full security, the much-hyped competition was transferred to South Africa with less than a month to prepare. To say that the 2009 IPL was a success would be an understatement. Initially there were apprehensions whether South Africa could organise such a mega event as successfully as it should, but the hosting of the tournament was professionally and impressively done. The South African sports organisers demonstrated that they could host a major sporting event successfully, even at short notice.
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
South Africa took a huge step towards gaining the confidence of the world when they hosted a fantastic Confederations Cup in 2009. The precursor to the World Cup, the Confederations Cup saw Brazil take the title in the final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, one of the major stadiums to be used at the event later this year. The tournament tested four of the stadia, and they all came out with flying colours. The event was also a safe one, with very few incidents occurring, apart from some petty theft at the team hotels of Brazil and Egypt, amounting to some money and clothes. Fans came out in support of the competition and the colourful fans gave life to a memorable tournament.
The players and staff at the cup had good things to say about the organisation, the country itself and the South African people. The one issue that became apparent at the tournament was the need for better transport infrastructure, but this was and is being addressed and a number of improvements will be made by June of this year. FIFA considered the test event for the World Cup a great success, and the same is expected of the showpiece event.
Apart from the big name events, the country is constantly welcoming sports teams from around the world and making sure that these guests are well taken care of, whilst being kept happy and safe in a country renowned for friendly people and beautiful surroundings. Examples of these sports include countless rugby and cricket matches, as well as the recent English cricket tour, where a team notorious for their security consciousness returned home after a pleasant month and a half spent in South Africa. The British and Irish Lions tour also took place last year and tens of thousands of fans from Britain spent weeks in the country following their side from city to city, with no negative incidents to speak of.
Most recently another host city, Cape Town provided the setting for the World Cup finals draw, which was another well-organised event that had the international media falling in love with the Mother City. Security and transport were not concerns during the draw and all the events which accompanied it. South Africa seems to be ready to welcome the world to its shores, and before we know it the World Cup will have come and gone and the country will have added the ultimate competition to an already impressive resume.
Doubts still plague the tournament however, and it is only fair that people who are unsure of the competition host voice their opinion, but looking at the impressive resume of sporting events under South Africa’s belt provides further evidence of a more than capable host nation.
International events held in South Africa since 1995
1995 Rugby World Cup
Since 1995, when Nelson Mandela handed the William Webb Ellis Trophy to Springboks captain Francois Pienaar after a pulsating Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, South Africa has shown itself capable not only of hosting the really big sporting events, but of making successes of them as well. The logistics of the event proved that South Africa could host a global event without major problems and the stadia in place at the time allowed for top class rugby and great fanfare.
1996 Africa Cup of Nations
A year later, Mandela was on hand once more to present the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to South Africa's national team, Bafana Bafana. As with the Rugby World Cup, the continent's premier footballing event went off smoothly in South Africa, with full houses and impressively well-behaved supporters. The traveling supporters from other African countries were pleased with the event in the rainbow nation, a few years after the country was readmitted to a number of international sporting codes.
1996 World Cup of Golf
In the same year, Cape Town's Erinvale Golf Club played host to the World Cup of Golf. Ernie Els and Wayne Westner took full advantage of the familiar conditions and home crowd support to decimate the opposition, winning the event by a record 18 shots. The event may not have been anything near the magnitude of the World Cup of football, but it did none the less show the ability of South Africa to welcome sportsmen from around the world and take care of them during an international event.
1998 World Cup of Athletics
Two years later, the world's top athletes were in Johannesburg for the World Cup of Athletics. Despite unusually poor weather for South Africa's business capital, the event went off without a hitch, whilst Africa took the title in the team competition. A memorable event took place in the city which will host 15 World Cup matches during the 2010 competition, including the opening and final encounters.
2003 Cricket World Cup
For once, in 2003, home advantage didn't help the South African team, as an under-performing Proteas side failed to progress to the knockout stage of cricket's showcase tournament. The event was well supported and impeccably run, and in a high-scoring final in Johannesburg, Australia defended the title they had won four years previously in England. The cricket event provided no security breaches and all logistical and transport systems ran smoothly during the weeks of the competition. A number of cities provided the venues and the touring teams were treated to a great tournament.
2007 World Twenty20 Championships
Cricket's inaugural Twenty20 World Championships is worth a special mention. South Africa hosted the event with style to match its efficiency, creating a vibe and energy that many felt was lacking at the 2007 World Cup (for the longer, 50-over-a-side version of the game) in the West Indies earlier in the year. The country did a fine job of hosting the event, leaving colourful memories for cricket players and fans to cherish, with a very successful first edition of the international cricket competition proving South Africa’s ability once again.
A1 Grand Prix
The Durban leg of the 2006 A1 Grand Prix was named the best event in the Motorsport’s inaugural season. A sell-out crowd of close to 100,000 fans lined the 3.2km street circuit in South Africa's coastal city, which will be one of the nine host cities for the World Cup, as ex-Formula One driver Jos Verstappen of the Netherlands took the honours in the feature race, following France's victory in the sprint race. Successful races hosted in the years that followed showed Durban as a capable venue and a city filled with enthusiastic sports fans.
Fina Swimming World Cup
Since 2003, Durban has been one of eight stop-offs on the Fina Swimming World Cup short-course (25 metre) circuit, drawing some of the world's best swimmers to the Kings Park Aquatic Centre - and helping to disprove the myth of Africa being poor in swimming talent and infrastructure. South Africa's Ryk Neethling was the overall men's winner of the event for two years running, with 21 race victories in the 2004-05 series and 16 victories in 2005-06.
Six-star rated surfing events
With regards to surfing, South Africa is home to a six-star rated World Championship Tour event, the Billabong Pro at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay - said to be capable of producing "the perfect wave" - as well as two six-star rated World Qualifying Series events: the long-standing Mr Price Pro (formerly the Gunston 500) in Durban, and the Quiksilver Pro Durban. The sport-mad country welcomes the world to a number of sporting codes throughout the cities to be used in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
2009 IPL (Indian Premier League Cricket)
The IPL was originally going to be held in the cricket-mad nation of India but due to the election dates coinciding with the match dates and the Indian government unable to assure full security, the much-hyped competition was transferred to South Africa with less than a month to prepare. To say that the 2009 IPL was a success would be an understatement. Initially there were apprehensions whether South Africa could organise such a mega event as successfully as it should, but the hosting of the tournament was professionally and impressively done. The South African sports organisers demonstrated that they could host a major sporting event successfully, even at short notice.
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
South Africa took a huge step towards gaining the confidence of the world when they hosted a fantastic Confederations Cup in 2009. The precursor to the World Cup, the Confederations Cup saw Brazil take the title in the final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, one of the major stadiums to be used at the event later this year. The tournament tested four of the stadia, and they all came out with flying colours. The event was also a safe one, with very few incidents occurring, apart from some petty theft at the team hotels of Brazil and Egypt, amounting to some money and clothes. Fans came out in support of the competition and the colourful fans gave life to a memorable tournament.
The players and staff at the cup had good things to say about the organisation, the country itself and the South African people. The one issue that became apparent at the tournament was the need for better transport infrastructure, but this was and is being addressed and a number of improvements will be made by June of this year. FIFA considered the test event for the World Cup a great success, and the same is expected of the showpiece event.
Apart from the big name events, the country is constantly welcoming sports teams from around the world and making sure that these guests are well taken care of, whilst being kept happy and safe in a country renowned for friendly people and beautiful surroundings. Examples of these sports include countless rugby and cricket matches, as well as the recent English cricket tour, where a team notorious for their security consciousness returned home after a pleasant month and a half spent in South Africa. The British and Irish Lions tour also took place last year and tens of thousands of fans from Britain spent weeks in the country following their side from city to city, with no negative incidents to speak of.
Most recently another host city, Cape Town provided the setting for the World Cup finals draw, which was another well-organised event that had the international media falling in love with the Mother City. Security and transport were not concerns during the draw and all the events which accompanied it. South Africa seems to be ready to welcome the world to its shores, and before we know it the World Cup will have come and gone and the country will have added the ultimate competition to an already impressive resume.
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|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
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