Soccer World Cup South Africa 2010: Playing the Security Game

This research paper examines the security challenges facing South Africa as the host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, specifically distinguishing between the risks of criminality and terrorism. While the author acknowledges South Africa's capability for rapid reaction, they warn that the country's counter-terrorism intelligence is compromised by politicization and complacency.

• Global perceptions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup were influenced by a lack of knowledge about South Africa and a tendency to conflate the country with other African nations, such as Angola, leading to widespread security concerns among soccer followers.
• The document identifies two distinct dimensions of security risk: criminality and terrorism. Criminality is linked to South Africa's high violent crime ratings and porous borders, where an estimated 10,000 undocumented migrants enter weekly, making a crime spike during the event appear inevitable.
• South Africa's primary vulnerability in counter-terrorism is a lack of proactivity in intelligence, which the author attributes to the politicization of intelligence services and a sense of complacency following the successful hosting of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
• To mitigate security risks, the author argues that South Africa must urgently professionalize its intelligence services by removing political appointees, conducting vulnerability wargaming, and improving cooperation at national, regional, and international levels.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2010). Soccer World Cup South Africa 2010: Playing the Security Game. https://saiia.org.za/research/soccer-world-cup-south-africa-2010-playing-the-security-game/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Soccer World Cup South Africa 2010: Playing the Security Game. 2010. https://saiia.org.za/research/soccer-world-cup-south-africa-2010-playing-the-security-game/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Soccer World Cup South Africa 2010: Playing the Security Game |date=24 February 2010 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/soccer-world-cup-south-africa-2010-playing-the-security-game/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2010soccer, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Soccer World Cup South Africa 2010: Playing the Security Game}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2010}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/soccer-world-cup-south-africa-2010-playing-the-security-game/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }