War, famine and the desperation of poverty - some of the words frequently associated with Africa. With the football World Cup just days away, the continent now has the opportunity to put  its best foot forward.

Much has been written questioning Africa’s ability to host an event of such magnitude, but, to be fair, there have been few opportunities to prove otherwise. South Africa now has a four-week window to counter  the  prejudices.

History of football in South Africa

“Over many decades of minority rule, South Africa’s authorities wielded every kind of law and policy they could think of to maintain a segregated society that kept blacks down. Yet one sport confounded every strategy - soccer” - David Crary

During the 1860s, when soccer in South Africa was in its infant stage, the game was predominantly played by white soldiers and civil servants in the areas of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. In the early stages of the 19^th century, the game was taken up by members of the black community.

After the formalization of the racial segregation in 1948, soccer in South Africa became more of a political tool then a game, with white teams playing black teams regularly in a bid to earn supremacy. Despite such rivalry, the social integration within football was quite apparent. While the majority of South African whites have roots in Britain, Portugal, Greece and the Netherlands, many were open to interracial competition either as players or fans. White people at the time helped black soccer teams find places to play at a time when black people were prohibited from being in urban areas.

Football become professional in South Africa in 1971, with the formation of the Nation Football League which later became the National Professional Soccer League and now known as the Premier Soccer League.  Following the league's inception, South African football produced a range of elite black footballers - like Stephen ‘Kalamazoo’ Mokone and Albert ‘Hurry Hurry’ Johnson who went on to play for Cardiff City and Leeds United respectively. So great was the influence of such footballers that, as Tony Karon of Time.com puts it, "the great black stars of the apartheid era had become heroes to youth South African fans of all races.”

Being reinstated in 1992, following the suspension from FIFA in 1961 because of the country’s segregation policy, the country hosted its first international match with a team representing the entire nation against Cameroon. Within the space of six years, South Africa qualified for its first World Cup, in France 1998.

Will the World Cup change South Africa?

There is little doubt that the World Cup will change the face of South African football. The professional game in the country is already going through a massive development, with money from the television rights and sponsorship deals flowing into the country. It is quite a contrast from the 1960s, when the lack of money meant that tournament winners were given an ox, which was often slaughtered and eaten on the touchline.

With a five-year contract with Premier Soccer League worth close to £120 million in place, the clubs are looking to bring in foreign players and coaches, especially from Brazil and Germany. There is even a current international from Latvia competing in the South African league.

Moreover, preparing for the World Cup has massively boosted the creation of new infrastructure in South Africa. No longer do the league games have to be played in less than adequate soccer stadiums. Many of the same venues that will be used as training venues by the participating national teams during the World Cup will be used by Premier Soccer League clubs, meaning improved training facilities and the development of the sport at a grass roots level.

In terms of the economy of South Africa, this World Cup will make more money than any other in the history of the event. With a total of $3.3 billion already being raised from television and sponsorship revenues and more to follow from tourism, revenue from this World Cup is expected to outstrip Germany 2006.

Who will pay the bill?

Even though the event has already raised $3.3 billion, with the figure estimated to hit somewhere close to $4 billion, FIFA will pocket the vast majority of the money raised in South Africa, although it is also responsible for a large amount of investment in South Africa's infrastructure for the tournament.

With the organizer spending close to $1.12 billion on building new stadiums and renovating existing ones, it is expected that many of these stadiums will never be able to recoup the money spent  on them as the capacity massively exceeds the means and needs of the local football economy. David Goldblatt compares the situation in South Africa with that of Portugal: “In Portugal, which built 10 stadium for the 2004 European football championships, Augusto Mateus , a former economics minister, argued that the most sensible thing to do with these buildings is to pull them down and start again”

Danny Jordan, the chief executive of South Africa’s organizing committee, defends such criticism. He insists that the World Cup will leave more than new stadiums and happy memories. The money invested in transportation, security and the innovation and development of the nation's broadcasting and technological infrastructure will benefit the country in the long run. However, for that to happen the nation has to efficiently utilize the exposure gained from an event of much magnitude.