The World Cup and Racism

The World Cup in South Africa will highlight the history of racism and the legacy of apartheid in South Africa. In many ways, the tournament is an indication of how far South Africa has developed since its apartheid days. At the same time, racial tensions still remain high both politically and economically and a lot of work still remains. Even though apartheid has been formally abolished, it seems that South Africa is still somewhat segregated along racial lines. For example, soccer is followed primarily by black South Africans whereas the white South Africans prefer cricket or rugby. It is possible that hosting the tournament and the inevitable nationalist frenzy will bring South Africans closer together as they continue their reconciliation efforts.

In addition to soccer and the games, The World Cup will be a "teachable moment" about how South Africa is continuing to work through its apartheid legacy and therefore address the broader issue of soccer and race. Racism continues to be a significant problem in soccer especially in Europe. A number of African players, such as Cameroon's mercurial Samuel Eto'o have often complained about the racist slurs they hear from the terraces and on the field. Furthermore, Eto'o maintains that black players are treated differently by the clubs than their white counterparts. Eto'o stated in a recent newspaper interview, however, that he believed that the World Cup, especially if the African teams do well, will have a positive impact to battle racism in the sport. Though I fear that racism, especially on the European continent, is more pervasive and entrenched, I do hope that Eto'o optimism prevails and that one outcome of this summer's tournament is more awareness of the history of racism and a commitment to work towards a more tolerant environment in soccer.