The South African government announced today that it will not issue a visa for the Dalai Lama to attend a peace conference meant to deal with Xenophobia and overall violence in hindsight of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

As a result Desmond Tutu and F.W. de Klerk have already pulled out. The move is seen as a way to avoid conflict with the Chinese government even though South Africa denies it. Why else would you not let the Dalai Lama in.

Other countries have been way more diplomatic in their way to deal with the Tibet problem.

The South African government seem to be fairly dependent from trade with China. The peace conference is doomed to fail as a result. Maybe it is better hosted somewhere else.

The signal sent is that non-violence and peace might not seem to be top priorities. The government will give in to threats by powerful forces. That could have implications in South Africa’s efforts to present itself as a safe place for visitors to attend the World Cup.

Keep in mind that China is not the biggest force in World Soccer. No matter how big their efforts. China has maybe won this battle. On the pitch in 2010 they’ll be a non-factor.

Banning the Dalai Lama from a peace conference feels a little like banner a soccer ball from the game.

Posted under 2010 World Cup, Everything Else

Twenty-three years ago this week, Swedish Prime Minister and longtime leader of the Social Democrats, Olof Palme, was buried at the Adolf Fredriks cemetery in Stockholm, Sweden. As one of the most prominent champions for the abolition of apartheid, Palme had been murded two weeks earlier in front of a Stockholm cinema after viewing a late-night showing with his wife. Although police eventually detained a suspect, Christer Pettersson, and charged him with the the prime minister’s murder, he was later acquitted due to a lack of evidence. When Pettersson died in 2004, most leads into the investigation died along with him. The case is, however, still open.

Palme’s last official speech, given one week before his death, was given to a Swedish group dedicated to the abolition of apartheid. Having begun his political career with South Africa at heart — he collected proceeds from fellow students’ blood donations and put the money towards anti-apartheid efforts — Palme had built much of his international career as a proponent of equal-rights campaigns. Palme demanded that the Nordic countries become accountable for joining together and putting pressure on South Africa to abolish apartheid. The policies Palme proposed became implemented in the Swedish government and in various manners within other Nordic countries. Read More…

Posted under Everything Else

Though this isn’t specifically about South Africa, it’s a great example of how smart organizations are tapping into the extraordinary popularity of soccer and soccer players throughout the world: UN unites with European soccer stars to “red card” global hunger.

In a nutshell, the weekend of 20-22 March all games played in major football leagues throughout Europe will raise money to help the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) fund its TeleFood “micro-project” initiative.

“The money raised from the campaign will finance FAO TeleFood micro-projects designed to provide solutions to poor families and communities by giving them the know-how and means to produce their own food.”

Terrific cause and idea. Very fun. If you’re in England, Spain, Germany or Italy that week, do go to a game and help raise funds for the TeleFood project to help combat hunger, a problem faced by 1 billion people worldwide.

Posted under Everything Else

In a previous article (see Is South Africa Ready for the World Cup?) we talked about the ceremony at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium commemorating an important construction milestone. This might quite logically leave you wondering how many stadiums are actually going to be involved with the FIFA World Cup.

The answer? Ten, in nine different South African cities.

Specifically, five of South Africa’s football stadiums will undergo major renovations for the World Cup: Ellis Park and Soccer City in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Mafikeng in North West Province and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein in the Free State.

New stadiums are also being built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga and in the Nelson Mandela Metro (which encompasses Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape. Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo is being completely rebuilt, as is King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban and Cape Town’s Green Point stadium.

Kings Park and Green Point stadium are being redesigned as part of the project to become multi-sport facilities (cricket? , and Green Point will include a retractable dome to protect the field from the Cape’s unpredictable winter weather.

How much will all this construction cost?  You don’t want to know. You do?  The initial budget was set to 9.8 billion rand (1.28 billion dollars), but as with just about all construction projects, it’s already apparently over budget. So it’s a big, big job and we’re certainly hoping to see beautiful world-class sports facilities that include top-notch video equipment compatibility so that those of us that don’t travel to South Africa can enjoy the games at each of the ten new venues.

Posted under 2010 World Cup