ABSTRACT
The chapter presents the findings of a case study of a developing country's experience of hosting a sport mega-event of the scale of the Football World Cup (FWC) for the first time. When President Mbeki used the February 2003 State of the Nation Address (SONA) to publicly declare the governments support for the South Africa Football Associations (SAFA) ambition to host the 2010 FWC he presented it as an opportunity for South Africa, and the wider African continent. South Africa's foreign policy expectations for the FWC fell into two distinct categories. They related, to status and influence within the international community and, to specifically regional ambitions. The foreign policy priorities set out had a strong regional orientation and included consolidating national and regional relations with the developed world and accelerating the implementation of regional development projects, such as the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).
