2010 FIFA WORLD CUP- reimagined identity?

7/29/2019 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP- reimagined identity?
1/17
Page | 1
2010 FIFA World Cup A re-imagined identity for South Africa?
Table of contents:
Introduction 2
1. The once fragmented nation, apartheid and inequality 3
2. International media coverage prior to the world cup 5
3. The legacy & Banal nationalism 8
4. Positives and negatives of FIFA world cup 10
Conclusion 13
References 15
Word count= 4,253 (Not including references).
Project written by Rhys Martin [10145224]

2/17
Page | 2
Introduction
The most prestigious of all sporting events worldwide, the FIFA world cup, entered the South
African border in 2010 after they had become triumphant in the bidding process in Zurich
back in 2004. Immediately it became apparent that the hosting of this mega-event wasnt
solely centred on the football aspect moreover it meant so much more for the South African
nation as well as the whole of Africa. This mega event was utilised as part of an ongoing
project that focused on nation-building and many academic scholars and ordinary citizens
cited the event as a catalyst and platform for bringing the whole of South Africa together
regardless of race, colour or class. It was widely regarded as a utopian vision; however the
staging of the event did not pass freely without its critics as well as the pessimism that existed
within media representations that existed both locally and internationally.
This essay will seek to explore, from a broader perspective, whether South Africa was able to
use this sporting event as a motivating force in instilling a re-imagined identity not only for
themselves but from the perspective of the rest of the world. The project will be well-
grounded with a cornerstone of extensive research and the contributions of many well-known
authors. Furthermore it seeks to explore some of the following unanswered questions:
1. How has South Africas history influenced a new imagined identity through sport, in
particular the hosting of the FIFA world cup in 2010.
2. What impact did the world cup have on the host country- both positive and negative?
3. What role did local and international media play in either glorifying or nullifying
South Africas re-imagined identity?
4. Post World cup era. The way forward- how long will the legacy be prolonged?

3/17
Page | 3
Chapter 1: The once fragmented nation, Apartheid and inequality
In order to completely comprehend why the hosting of the 2010 FIFA world cup was so vital
for the nation of South Africa it is mandatory to explore, albeit briefly, the troubled past of
South Africa and how that was exposed to the world. White supremacy, segregation and
apartheid all contributed to the downfall of South Africa and as these were so deeply
entrenched in the nation it is impossible to disregard or even attempt to bury the past in a bid
to move on with any degree of ease. These problems burdened the nation and carried so much
weight they soon encroached into the sporting context and consequently brought about the
demise, albeit temporarily, of South Africa and its isolation from the rest of the world.
Apartheid, [Happened] in twentieth-century South Africa, [and was] the official policy of
separating the races within their society legally and socially (Student resources, 2012).
Essentially, the black race was oppressed whilst the white race enjoyed contentment.
Therefore, the nation was divided and strict measures were enforced to ensure that there was
a separate development in different sporting codes; in particular football teams. Whilst other
independent world football associations began to form under the umbrella body of FIFA;
from the mid 1900s South Africa became increasingly distanced and somewhat alien as it
ended up very much on the outskirts of world football (Merwe, 2010).
It came as no surprise that due to the divisions in South African society at the time of
apartheid; South Africa had four separate dissimilar football entities. These included the
Football Association of South Africa (FASA), The South African Soccer Association
(SASA), The South African Soccer Federation (SASF) and the South African National
Football Association, (SANFA) (Introduction to the South African football association, n.d.). As racial
conflict and division became increasingly entrenched FIFA acted in accordance with their
anti-discrimination policies and Rules and subsequently inflicted a lengthy ban on South

4/17
Page | 4
Africas participation in subsequent tournaments post 1956. This seemed logical and entirely
consistent with the ethics and values of FIFA given that FIFA stands for unity, within the
football world and...[FIFA] use football to promote solidarity, regardless of gender, ethnic
background, faith or culture (Mission & Statuses, n.d.).
Ever since the end of apartheid, South Africa and its subsequent opinionated leaders have
attempted to seek out a new national identity, otherwise known as a re-imagined community,
a term coined by Benedict Anderson. According to Farquharson and Marjoribanks, (2003)
after exploring Andersons concept of imagined communities they specify that, nation-
building is not necessarily a benign or unifying process involving all members of society, but
may well be the result of the imposition of coercive power and of exclusion by political or
economic elites. This is what was essentially happening in the apartheid era of South Africa
whereby the National party cast its ideals over an imagined community of white supremacy at
the exclusion of blacks. What we are now witnessing in todays contemporary society are
carefully framed and formulated nation-myths such as the rainbow nation and the melting
pot that are being used to construct a new and reformed identity.
These new myths have been fused into the context of sport and sport has been used by the
South African citizens as a vehicle to achieve a new acclaimed status on the world stage. The
significance of sport to any developing country cannot be underestimated. Sport builds
bridges between people. Sport is a means to foster tolerance, respect and peace, and to
facilitate communication...between people (United Nations office for sport development and
peace). It is this tolerance, cultural tolerance that South Africa has transitioned into in the
last seventeen or so years; being able to recognize and accept the differences between their
citizens and to live as a civilized humanity has been one of their fundamental goals. The
rainbow nation myth, with its biblical undertone, has been utilized as a symbolic tool since
the turn of apartheid and it promotes the unison of colours, (black and white) and the

5/17
Page | 5
integration of different ethnicities. This can be contrasted to the assimilation of the melting
pot proposed by Stratton and Ang (1994) in which they elucidate the point that equal
opportunity and social justice should be granted to all members of society providing that they
work towards a common ideal of multiculturalism (ORegan, 1994).
Indeed, when these myths are taken into the sporting context, what we have is both a
powerful and potent concoction that South Africa as a whole can reap the benefits from. In
addition, when reputable leaders such as Nelson Mandela are proclaiming these myths in
speeches it seems as though a seamless positive spirit will be instilled within the citizen mass
of South Africa. However, come the end of the day are these just myths that are acting as a
figment of the imagination of the people? Do they still exist only as a utopian desire rather
than a stringent reality?
South Africa however does seem committed to continuing the pursuit of this dream into the
future. For example, they have hosted the 1995 Rugby world cup, 1996 African nations cup
(football), 2003 cricket world cup, 2007 world twenty20 cricket championships and most
recently the 2010 FIFA world cup (Morgan, n.d). The ongoing hosting of major international
sporting events, where the worlds eyes are upon the South African nation, is testament to the
thought process of the leaders of South Africa in strengthening their national identity as well
as influencing and swaying perceptions from a worldwide audience.
Chapter 2: Media coverage prior to the world cup
Regardless of where the FIFA world cup took place, the event has always and will always
attract enormous interest and coverage from the media. However, in the case of the 2010
world cup in South Africa there existed a heightened interest from the media as it was the
first time in history that an African country had hosted this most prestigious event. Given that

6/17
Page | 6
South Africa had already successfully hosted large scale events before; namely the Rugby
world cup in 1995 and the Cricket world cup in 2003, it was interesting that afro-pessimism
still managed to move stealthily into discussions surrounding the hosting of this particular
international event.
British media representation: Print
For South Africa to live up to a new imagined identity it would need to prevail over any
pessimistic views that circulated throughout the media, especially the international media.
Unfortunately, yet somewhat expectantly, The FIFA world cup in South Africa has been at
the receiving end of hostile publicity from the Western media (Mshale, 2010). So much so
that South Africa was positioned as the other and international perceptions focused on
theydom up against wedom. The British media perceptions of South Africa hosting the
world cup in 2010 were downbeat as they seemed to have been so immersed into the
countrys troubled past that there was no other real avenues considered for a different
outlook. (Hammet, 2010). During the build up to the world cup, the British media cast a
vigilant eye on the daily occurrences in South Africa and anything that presented them with
an opportunity to expose the other in a somewhat vilifying way...they would latch onto it
almost instantaneously. For example, some of the headlines that ran in popular British
newspapers at the time aimed at stimulating and promoting thoughts relating specifically to
fear, crime or security ...., On sale: Body armour with team colours of your choice for world
cup 2010 in South Africa, England fans too scared to travel and England fans could be
caught up in a machete race war at the World cup... were some headline grabs (Hammet,
2010, p.69).
The way in which the British media acted can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. Firstly, the
attitudes exhibited by the media were extremely bias and that contributed to the heightened

7/17
Page | 7
nationalistic sentiment presented. As nationalism was protected and strengthened whilst
adversely reporting on another foreign country, this ensured that power was held in reserve
(Hammet, 2010). Secondly, this was the first significant time that the world cup had moved
away from traditional power bases of Europe and South America and therefore the British
may have been somewhat fearful of a change in hands (Merwe, 2010).
Transnational media broadcasts coverage: CNN, BBC, and Aljazeera.
Another traditional media outlet, (television) was extensively used throughout the period of
the FIFA world cup and it is clear that the reporting on South Africa as the host country
differed between three recognized transnational media broadcasters.
BBC world news coverage prior to the world cup was deeply rooted in the racial divisions
still prevalent in parts of South Africa. This was over-emphasised through communicating on
the binary oppositesof citizens in the country, particularly between colour associations and
ties. Samples of BBC news reporting showed, Black politicians on the one hand, and white
businessmen on the other, the white farmer and his black workers, as well as pictures of
crowds with black African football fans and a group of white people who commemorate
victims of black violence (Hoppe, 2011, p. 35). Bear in mind, these representations are
being exposed to an international audience and they only seem to add to the heightened fears
of scepticism and alienation. The power of media was on show.
Conversely CNN international, who are also a Western transnational broadcaster, had more
of a positive focus leading up to the world cup. CNN payed particular attention to Nelson
Mandelas involvement in breathing life back into his home country as well as momentarily
reliving past sporting events such as the Rugby world cup that held some of the same
nationalistic desires that the FIFA world cup did. However, much of this positive focus was

8/17
Page | 8
overshadowed when the report concluded by posing the question whether this world cup
would change South Africa markedly or do no justice at all. (Hoppe, 2011).
Interestingly, the only non-western based broadcaster station, (Aljazeera) was the only station
out of the three to bring football into the focus. This could be related to the fact that Aljazeera
Has closer ties, culturally and geographically, to the African continent (Hoppe, 2011, p. 5).
In this report there was still scepticism that existed but it was more connected with the
expenditure on the stadiums and whether the investment is cost-effective to the wider
community especially the poor. Most strikingly, compared with the other two broadcasters
Aljazeera passes by the chance to shed any light on racial issues which has been customary in
other reports from the media (Hoppe, 2011). Observably, it became clear that Western media
representations prior to the FIFA world cup have been rather critical of South Africa as a host
nation so much so that any optimistic views presented were overlooked. This can only serve
to thwart South Africas imagined identity.
Chapter 3: The promise Legacy of the South African world cup
In Bogdanovs theses he refers to the work of E. J. Hobsbawns (1990) book on Nations and
Nationalism since 1780 and the following exert strongly identifies how sport is used as a
vehicle to achieve and convey national identity:
What has made sport so uniquely effective a medium for inculcating national feelings, at
all events for males, is the ease with which even the least political or public individuals
can identify with the nation as symbolized by young persons excelling at what particular
every man wants, or at one time in his life has wanted , to be good at. The imagined
community of millions seems more real as a team of eleven named people. The
Individual, the one who only cheers, becomes a symbol of his nation himself.
(Hosbawn, cited in Bogdanov, 2011, p. 20)

9/17
Page | 9
Essentially, Hobsbawn is communicating that sport is very...