[ccebook.cn]The World in 2010

(plastic trumpets). So Africa’s moment may be uncomfortably white.
Controversy over the crowds will not extend to the pitch. The World Cup will be set
alight by African footballers. Indeed, in 2010 Africa will rival Latin America as a
football power. For the first time, there will be six African teams represented. No
host nation has failed to reach the second round and South Africa’s national team,
Bafana Bafana, which won the African Nations Cup in 1996, will stumble through on
Copyright © 2009 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.
South Africa will
prove sceptics
wrong
home support. Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire will do better, and could even surprise the world by making a push for
the final.
The pull of Europe
This reflects the steady progression of the African footballer, says Steve Bloomfield, author of “Africa United”,
a portrait of the game on the continent. It was a shock when Cameroon beat Argentina in the 1990 World
Cup. Only a handful of Africans then played in Europe, labouring in the lower divisions and suffering racist
taunts. An African win over even Italy in 2010 would not be a shock. According to Mr Bloomfield, there are 80
Senegalese footballers playing professionally in France. Côte d’Ivoire boasts Didier Drogba of Chelsea,
Emmanuel Eboué of Arsenal, Kolo Touré of Manchester City and his younger brother Yaya Touré of Barcelona.
Ghana’s Michael Essien remains the most expensive African footballer. His move to Chelsea in 2005 is worth
$51m in today’s money. With half of all Africans under 18 years old, in 2010 more African raw material—boys
with prodigal footballing gifts—will be signed by top clubs. The only restriction on the English clubs will be a
British visa regime which requires Africans to play regularly for a national team before they can be considered.
Football will be Africa’s success story in 2010, but it will remain shockingly administered at home. The pitches
of Africa’s national stadiums will remain dusty, pocked and almost unplayable. Domestic leagues will be
eclipsed by the English Premier League, still by far the biggest entertainment in Africa. Local administrators
will still use football to build a political power base. But imagine their venality restrained by World Cup
pressures: if a football federation can be made to clean up its act, perhaps a government can be too.
Jonathan Ledgard: eastern Africa correspondent, The Economist
-69-