The event was right up Joseph Blatter's alley. The president of FIFA, the international governing body of football, added his handprints to the Mandela Legacy Canvas in Cape Town, meant to honour Nelson Mandela and his legacy of 'offering peace, and not hatred or revenge.'
The Swiss official is fond of glamour and the trappings of state, particularly when they underscore his image as a promoter of world peace. For four weeks, the football World Cup in South Africa was the perfect stage.
Never before in its 80-year history has the tournament stood so squarely in the political spotlight. By organizing its first World Cup in Africa, FIFA has accomplished the developmental task it had set for itself.
At times, football seemed almost to slip a bit too much into the background.
'I can only fully agree with Nelson Mandela's words that this World Cup can unite people, change the world and lay the foundation for a better future,' proclaimed Blatter, who likes to hold forth on the beneficence of sport.
The crowning moment of his often ill-concealed statesmanlike airs would be to present the World Cup trophy, together with former South African president and folk hero Mandela, to football's new world champions on Sunday.
'Football,' as Blatter is wont to say, 'unites all people.'
Blatter was bent on holding the tournament in South Africa, which was not without risk. Organizationally it has proved a success, however, doubters falling silent well before the approach of the final weekend.
When the time comes to take stock, the first World Cup on African soil will show much to its credit. FIFA has met its aims of assistance with numerous initiatives, including One Goal - Education for All, Football for Hope, and Football for Health.
What is more, FIFA's Ticket Fund has enabled thousands of low- income South Africans to attend a World Cup match.
Aside from all of the good that the World Cup is said to be doing, the mega-event - immune to economic crises - has never been more lucrative for FIFA, which has raked in over three billion dollars in revenues.
A nine-figure profit is likely, most of which is to be reinvested in football projects.
A matter of disagreement, however, is how much money will remain in the South African economy. The amount can probably be calculated in several years only.
South Africa has benefited emotionally from FIFA's involvement. But has the World Cup burnished FIFA's image? A constant balancing act between billions of dollars worth of assistance projects and image cultivation, the tournament has often been a public relations disaster for FIFA.
The football body's maxim has been to do good and talk about it, and stay mum on the bad. And so outside of Africa the World Cup has not been an ideological marketing success because FIFA cannot get the balance right between being a global concern on the one hand and a sport federation on the other.
Blatter has ascended into rarefied spheres. FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke, a tough-as-nails economist, has long been running the business. The interests of the football-loving public, meanwhile, are often ruled to be offside.
Whether it was striking security stewards or refereeing blunders, crisis management by FIFA - fortunately tested only rarely - was inadequate. FIFA rejected responsibility for every World Cup puzzle piece that failed to fit, shifting the blame to others.
Dispatched by Blatter and Valcke to the media battlefield, the FIFA press department led by Nicholas Maingot, who has been as ineffectual as he is friendly and polyglot, typically fought off questions with 'no comment.'
While Blatter looked after every detail himself at the World Cup in Germany four years ago, in South Africa he practically turned up only at receptions and awards ceremonies.
It will be interesting to see how abiding Blatter's love of Africa is after the final. The FIFA caravan now moves on to Brazil, hosts of the 2014 World Cup. He is already brushing aside questions about continuing support for the hosts of the 2010 tournament.
'There's a saying, 'God helps those who help themselves.' So it is up to South Africa to take the legacy we have created - the infrastructure and the popularity of football - and to make it work,' Blatter said.
'FIFA can help, but we expect that South Africas football leadership really is doing their homework.'
By Arne Richter
Deutsche Presse Agentur |