Four years later South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup legacy lives on

Four years after the final whistle was blown at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, FIFA’s pledge to ensure that South Africans would be long-term recipients of the financial rewards of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has become a reality.

As of September 2014, R82 million has been disbursed for a variety of projects in the areas of football development, education, capacity-building and health. At the same time, the Legacy Trust has generated R72 million in interest, in line with the trust’s aim to become a self-sustaining source of funding that will continue benefiting South Africans, and particularly the country’s football community, over the long term. A total of R450 million (then USD 65 million) had originally been invested in the 2010 Legacy Trust following the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The legacy trustees, under the chairmanship of SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan, on Thursday November 13 reviewed the achievements of the first grants awarded since January 2013, and also discussed the next public application windows at the fifth board meeting held at the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria – the base camp of the Argentina squad during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The High Performance Centre is one of the beneficiaries of the trust and focuses on developing women’s football on a professional level, as showcased by future and present members of the South African women’s national team, Banyana Banyana. In general terms, one of the trust’s main focuses is on young players’ football development.

One of the next major projects, which was approved in principle by the trust, was the purchase of the location for the new technical centre for SAFA, which will be announced in due course. The technical centre will be a hub of South African football development and will include top technical training facilities for all national teams, while providing access to education for young players.

“The results of the Legacy Trust presented today show that we delivered on our promise that the 2010 FIFA World Cup would establish sustainable long-term human and social development initiatives through football in the host country. Legacy must be measured in the long term and must be thoroughly planned. The Legacy Trust is a perfect example of this. At FIFA, we are satisfied with the process and the results so far, but the most important thing is for it to continue. I am particularly pleased that, in the shape of the future technical centre, we have been able to identify an iconic project that will lead to success, both on and off the pitch, for South Africa’s football community and as such fulfil our goal to develop football for all,” said trustee and FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.

The chairman of the 2010 Legacy Trust, SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan, said he was happy to report: “Tremendous progress in South African football for the period 2013-2014. Our u.17 and u.20 junior national teams qualified for the CAF Youth Championships in Niger and Senegal respectively, while Banyana Banyana qualified for the African Women’s Championship in Namibia. Young players from the junior teams have now moved up to the senior national team (Bafana Bafana), such as Ayabulela Magqwaka, Dumisani Msibi, Rivaldo Coetzee and Fagrie Lakay. These players progressed through the u.17 and u.19 development leagues, which were all funded by the Legacy Trust. The u.13 and u.15 boys and girls leagues are also being strengthened on a national basis, through funds from the Legacy Trust,” said Dr Jordaan.