MARK GLEESON
THURSDAY marks 10 years since South Africa hosted a World Cup highly charged with symbolism but dogged by questions about the wisdom of spending billions on a sports event that might have been better used elsewhere.
Hosting the first soccer World Cup in Africa was seen as a coming of age for the embattled continent.
But the month-long tournament, which had a US$3-billion price tag, also came at a time when the country faced an enormous backlog of social needs such as housing, hospitals, water and electricity.
Danny Jordaan, who was the force behind the successful bid and then ran the local organising committee, insists the 2010 World Cup – which was won by Spain – has left a positive legacy for the country and was money well spent.
“There was never money taken away from the delivery of essential services. The money that built the World Cup
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