Echoes of the Past

Only two times in the 92-year history of the biggest tournament in soccer (football) has the event been hosted outside of Europe or the Americas. Thirteen and a half years ago, South Africa broke the trend as the first, with the sounds of seemly endless plastic horns (vuvuzelas) resonating around the nation from June to July.



The World Cup is the most watched spectacle in sport, drawing over three billion viewers. Final matches receive almost ten times the spectators as the Super Bowl. But despite the fanfare, there is a constant dark cloud over FIFA, the sport’s governing body, due to bribery and corruption over the years. These wrongdoings typically involve host nation selections for the tournament. Countries see this event as a quick opportunity to make money and, more recently, “sportswash” their nation’s reputation to the rest of the world.



Cape Town Stadium held eight matches in the 2010 tournament. It served as the stage for Ronaldo balancing the ball on his head before scoring against North Korea, Emile Heskey’s famous stepover against Algeria, and a Van Bronckhort’s screamer in the semi-finals.



After these moments pass, however, many host nations face the harsh reality that venues constructed for a one-month event are no longer needed as they were intended. World Cup matches require far greater capacity than domestic matches, and many of these stadiums are sparsely filled after the tournament, with some going completely unused.



Much of what remains are just the memories and echoes of the past.