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Forum A. Graham Fieggen, M.D. Professor and Head, Division of Neurosurgery University of Cape Town World Cup 2010: A South African Reflection A. Graham Fieggen “We surprised ourselves.” Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu “. . . not just for South Africa, but for Africa as a whole.” President Barak Obama W hatever one’s view about the importance of sport as a hu- man endeavor, there is no doubt that 2010 marks a notable moment in Africa’s history. A month of celebration and triumph has been followed by wide-ranging reflection, and it is a plea- sure to provide a personal perspective on this global event. THE GREAT MAN Hosting the Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup in 2010 must be seen against the backdrop of our country’s history. This event recognized South Africa’s coming of age as a nation, paying tribute to those who led the struggle against apartheid. People the world over know that one man stood out as a colossus in our transition to where we stand today—Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Once Mandela became the face of South Africa’s Soccer World Cup bid, it was clear that we would succeed, even if it did take four years longer than initially expected! Many of us were skeptical the first time that South Africa was in the running to host this event and only realized how much this meant when feeling the disappointment of seeing Germany’s name emerge from the envelope in Sepp Blatter’s hand in 2000. In hindsight, this setback was really a stroke of good fortune; the disappointment rallied the country behind another bid; the extra time allowed greater infra- structure development and the extensive construction program buff- ered the economy somewhat during the recent global economic crisis. The start of the World Cup was blighted with tragedy, however, when Mr. Mandela lost his beloved great-granddaughter, Zenani Mandela, in a motor vehicle accident on the eve of the opening ceremony. She was returning home from the official kick-off concert, and the grief was compounded by allegations over the circumstances of the accident. Zenani had enjoyed a very special place in Mandela’s life and had been at his side at many events, notably when the Confederations Cup was won by Brazil in 2009. A grief-stricken Mandela withdrew from the public eye for some weeks, but was able to attend the closing ceremony, receiv- ing a standing ovation as he entered Soccer City. Sadly, neurosurgeons see countless lives lost needlessly on roads the world over; in our country, trauma is the number one killer of children and young adults between the ages of 4 and 18, and Zenani’s death must surely focus our minds on efforts to diminish this carnage. GREAT GAMES If hosting the World Cup was a tribute to one man, the tournament that ensued was a testament to teamwork. Between the opening ceremony and the final game at the magnificent Soccer City in Johannesburg, great soccer was seen across the length and breadth of the country, including riveting semi-finals in the elegant Cape Town stadium at the foot of Table Mountain and the soaring Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Even the most hardened skeptic found it impossible not to join in the World Cup “gees” (spirit) once Simphiwe Tshabalala’s thunder- ous opening goal brought our nation to its feet. No one seriously expected the low-ranked local team, nicknamed Bafana Bafana (the boys), to progress far in the tournament, and in hindsight the fact that they almost made it to the knockout round for the first time ever, losing to Mexico on a goal difference, was a victory of sorts. After they bowed out with an emphatic win over an admittedly splintered French team, South Africans readily took the other teams into their hearts. African teams enjoyed enormous support, with Ghana in particular taking on “home team” status, but South Africa’s multicul- tural society ensured that millions of cars, homes, offices, and hospital wards were adorned with a rainbow of flags. On the field, the most striking aspect was the extent to which those who played as a team prospered, while the great individual stars had relatively little impact. Although many of the titans of the game who had From the Division of Neurosurgery, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa To whom correspondence should be addressed: Graham Fieggen, M.D. [E-mail: graham.fi[email protected]] Citation: World Neurosurg. (2010) 74, 2/3:229-230. DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2010.07.039 Journal homepage: www.WORLDNEUROSURGERY.org Available online: www.sciencedirect.com 1878-8750/$ - see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. WORLD NEUROSURGERY 74 [2/3]: 229-230, AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 www.WORLDNEUROSURGERY.org 229

World Cup 2010: A South African Reflection

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Page 1: World Cup 2010: A South African Reflection

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A. Graham Fieggen, M.D.

Professor and Head, Division of NeurosurgeryUniversity of Cape Town

orld Cup 2010: A South African Reflection

. Graham Fieggen

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“We surprised ourselves.”

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu

“. . . not just for South Africa, but for Africa as a whole.”

President Barak Obama

hatever one’s view about the importance of sport as a hu-man endeavor, there is no doubt that 2010 marks a notablemoment in Africa’s history. A month of celebration and

riumph has been followed by wide-ranging reflection, and it is a plea-ure to provide a personal perspective on this global event.

HE GREAT MAN

osting the Fédération Internationale de Football Association Worldup in 2010 must be seen against the backdrop of our country’s history.his event recognized South Africa’s coming of age as a nation, paying

ribute to those who led the struggle against apartheid. People the worldver know that one man stood out as a colossus in our transition tohere we stand today—Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Once Mandelaecame the face of South Africa’s Soccer World Cup bid, it was clear thate would succeed, even if it did take four years longer than initially

xpected! Many of us were skeptical the first time that South Africa wasn the running to host this event and only realized how much this meant

hen feeling the disappointment of seeing Germany’s name emergerom the envelope in Sepp Blatter’s hand in 2000. In hindsight, thisetback was really a stroke of good fortune; the disappointment ralliedhe country behind another bid; the extra time allowed greater infra-tructure development and the extensive construction program buff-red the economy somewhat during the recent global economic crisis.

The start of the World Cup was blighted with tragedy, however, whenr. Mandela lost his beloved great-granddaughter, Zenani Mandela, inmotor vehicle accident on the eve of the opening ceremony. She was

eturning home from the official kick-off concert, and the grief was

From the Division of Neurosurgery, University of Cape Town,Cape Town, South Africa

o whom correspondence should be addressed: Graham Fieggen, M.D.E-mail: [email protected]]

1

ORLD NEUROSURGERY 74 [2/3]: 229-230, AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

ompounded by allegations over the circumstances of the accident.enani had enjoyed a very special place in Mandela’s life and had been atis side at many events, notably when the Confederations Cup was wony Brazil in 2009. A grief-stricken Mandela withdrew from the publicye for some weeks, but was able to attend the closing ceremony, receiv-ng a standing ovation as he entered Soccer City.

Sadly, neurosurgeons see countless lives lost needlessly on roads theorld over; in our country, trauma is the number one killer of children

nd young adults between the ages of 4 and 18, and Zenani’s death musturely focus our minds on efforts to diminish this carnage.

REAT GAMES

f hosting the World Cup was a tribute to one man, the tournament thatnsued was a testament to teamwork. Between the opening ceremonynd the final game at the magnificent Soccer City in Johannesburg,reat soccer was seen across the length and breadth of the country,

ncluding riveting semi-finals in the elegant Cape Town stadium at theoot of Table Mountain and the soaring Moses Mabhida Stadium inurban. Even the most hardened skeptic found it impossible not to join

n the World Cup “gees” (spirit) once Simphiwe Tshabalala’s thunder-us opening goal brought our nation to its feet.

No one seriously expected the low-ranked local team, nicknamedafana Bafana (the boys), to progress far in the tournament, and inindsight the fact that they almost made it to the knockout round for therst time ever, losing to Mexico on a goal difference, was a victory oforts. After they bowed out with an emphatic win over an admittedlyplintered French team, South Africans readily took the other teamsnto their hearts. African teams enjoyed enormous support, with Ghanan particular taking on “home team” status, but South Africa’s multicul-ural society ensured that millions of cars, homes, offices, and hospitalards were adorned with a rainbow of flags.On the field, the most striking aspect was the extent to which those

ho played as a team prospered, while the great individual stars hadelatively little impact. Although many of the titans of the game who had

itation: World Neurosurg. (2010) 74, 2/3:229-230.OI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2010.07.039

ournal homepage: www.WORLDNEUROSURGERY.org

vailable online: www.sciencedirect.com

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J

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878-8750/$ - see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

2010 www.WORLDNEUROSURGERY.org 229

Page 2: World Cup 2010: A South African Reflection

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A. GRAHAM FIEGGEN WORLD CUP 2010: A SOUTH AFRICAN REFLECTION

2

een fêted by the press in the build-up to the tournament just did nothine, David Villa, Wesley Schneider, Thomas Mueller, and Diego For-an showed breathtaking skill. Forlan in particular was magnificent,eading Uruguay to unexpected success, and was deservedly winner ofhe Golden Boot. Sadly for us, his brace of goals in Uruguay’s 3-0rubbing of Bafana Bafana put an end to our hopes of progressingefore his team went on to break millions of African hearts when Ghanaapitulated on the brink of victory. Most would agree that Spain was aorthy winner, showing us just why this is called the beautiful game,

legantly passing the Jabulani ball with stereotactic accuracy.

OCAL FLAVOR, CONTINENTAL DELIGHT

he frantic hum of vuvuzelas (the plastic trumpet replicating a tradi-ional kudu horn), colorful makarapas (customized miner’s helmets),ulsating music and the diski dance ensured that this was unmistakablyn African World Cup. Our country adopted the African teams as broth-rs, a transformational step for a nation that had grappled with theemon of xenophobia just two years ago. One of the World Cup’s mostaptivating experiences was the thronging fan walk from Cape Towntation through the usually deserted city center to the stadium; jubilantan parks such as this enlivened our urban spaces again.

HALLENGES

n reality, this World Cup was 16 years in the making; Danny Jordaan,ireless Chief Executive Officer of the local organizing committee, hasisted the goals set at the outset as nation building, increasing tourism,ebranding South Africa, building infrastructure, and generating in-estment. These were emphatically achieved. Although some of theuilding blocks were in place, new stadiums had to be constructed andgreat deal of teamwork was required off the pitch, spanning all sectorsf society. Simply hosting the World Cup on African soil does not meanll is well in football on the continent (including of course the hostation); an incisive analysis in The Africa Report noted the followinghallenges that need to be addressed before African football is restoredo its former glory:

Moribund leadership

A domestic game unable to compete with the lure of foreignfootball

Poor and decaying infrastructure

Corruption

ESSONS FOR NEUROSURGERY

hese four menaces continue to beset many other aspects of life on ourontinent, not least health care. Such challenges need to be met beforeomplex specialties such as ours have any chance of making a contribu-ion to health for all. Reflecting on the World Cup, I believe that there arehree achievable ways in which we as a group of professionals can makedifference:

Drawing an analogy with foreign-based football players, perhapsAfrica’s greatest health care resource is the large number of well-trained and highly respected neurosurgeons of African descent liv-

ing elsewhere. There were usually very good reasons why these in- 1

30 www.SCIENCEDIRECT.com WO

dividuals made their move abroad, but it would be tremendous ifways were found to utilize this resource in developing the sort ofhealth care system in which neurosurgery can flourish. Some aredoing so already, but not enough.

A number of neurosurgeons in developed countries have estab-lished meaningful links providing neurosurgical care in various cen-ters in the developing world, ensuring that there is a training com-ponent that builds local capacity is mandatory for long-termsustainability; perhaps some sort of coordination of these variouswell-intentioned efforts might multiply the impact.

The World Cup has shown the developmental potential of mega-events if intelligently planned and executed; perhaps major neuro-surgical congresses could play a similar role.

EGACY

n attempting an honest evaluation of the World Cup, one needs to lookeyond the exhilaration of the games and try to assess the real cost.overnment spending on a prestige project such as this was alwaysoing to be controversial in a country facing such stark socioeconomichallenges, not least grappling with the reality that over five millionitizens are living with HIV. Despite the fact that upward of $6 billionas spent on stadiums alone, virtually all of the revenue generated by

he tournament accrues to Fédération Internationale de Football Asso-iation, ostensibly to further develop the game globally as well as fundarious other worthy initiatives, such as the 1 Goal education campaign.t is hoped that the money that will be paid over to the South Africanootball Association (some $100 million) is actually used to develop theame and not to line the pockets of officials.

I believe that we have seen a number of tangible results that will leavelong-lasting legacy. Crime was controlled as never before, and al-

hough it has not gone away, the police have shown their capacity to acthile the justice system was able to mobilize very effective temporaryorld Cup courts. Enormous investment in mass transport and urban

enewal will ease the daily lives of millions of South Africans. Civilociety will hold government to these new standards—if we could pullhis off, surely we can rehabilitate our hospitals and schools. The great-st tribute we can pay to Mandela is to ensure that this was not just aemporary makeover, but an opportunity to bring meaningful change tohe lives of the people of this country.

Perhaps the most significant legacy will be enduring changes inerspective. A stronger bond has been forged between South Africansnd their continent, and those abroad have reason to see Africa in a newight. Massive problems remain, but this could well prove to be anmportant turning point. In the words of Danny Jordaan, “now . . . theres no difference between being African and being world class.”

onflict of interest statement: The author declares that the article content was composed inhe absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as aotential conflict of interest.

itation: World Neurosurg. (2010) 74, 2/3:229-230.OI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2010.07.039

ournal homepage: www.WORLDNEUROSURGERY.org

vailable online: www.sciencedirect.com

878-8750/$ - see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

RLD NEUROSURGERY, DOI:10.1016/j.wneu.2010.07.039