The countdown has begun for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, an event, now only a year away, that could change perceptions about the whole continent and show the globe a festival of sport that reverses obstinate stereotypes of a region in constant crisis and violence.

Africans are deeply frustrated by the tendency of foreigners, including investors, to see Africa almost as one country instead of more than 50 extremely diverse nations. Meltdown in Zimbabwe can impact on investors’ perceptions of countries thousands of miles away on the other side of the continent. By the same token, a successful World Cup will not only change the way people see Africa but also encourage future mega events and the huge investment that they can bring.

So, much more is riding on 2010 than a mere sporting spectacle, albeit the most watched sports event in the world and the biggest ever held in Africa. A successful tournament, with the special atmosphere that happy, dancing and singing local supporters can bring, should land a tourist and investment bonanza for South Africa in particular, but also help the surrounding region and countries further afield.

If the tournament falls short, the reverse will be true.

Even as late as the end of last year, the negative voices were still loudly casting doubt on South Africa’s ability to organise such a huge event, suggesting everything from stadiums to transport routes would not be ready. White South Africans, many still sceptical about black rule 15 years after the end of apartheid and keener on rugby and cricket than football, were among the cynics.

But recently the Jeremiahs have begun to quieten down and it is now generally accepted that all 10 stadiums, half of them new, will be ready months ahead of the competition. This month’s eight-nation Confederations Cup –although it has little of the buzz of the bigger event — will give an idea of South African organisation and test four of those stadiums.

Still, big challenges remain and there is no room for complacency. Much work is still to be finished if the World Cup is to succeed and be the greatest edition ever, as both its organisers and President Jacob Zuma have promised.

The biggest potential spoiler is undoubtedly South Africa’s daunting reputation for violent crime. Organisers clearly see the danger — significant attacks on foreign fans would be disastrous for the World Cup.

Police are recruiting thousands of new members and will deploy 40,000 specially trained men to protect stadiums, hotels and major transport routes.

Officials point to South Africa’s highly successful organisation of many events including a cricket and rugby world cup and the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket–moved to South Africa because of security fears at home. Fans do not seem to be deterred. Ticket sales around the global are heavily oversubscribed so far.

The question is, will the giant police operation be enough to safeguard notoriously anarchic football fans, especially after they have a few drinks and decide to go for a wander? The European culture of aggressive supporters groups fighting each other is also totally foreign to the African way, so police will also have to handle that at the same time as deterring criminal gangs who may see the World Cup as a golden opportunity of their own, with many thousands of comparatively well-heeled tourists, not to mention journalists carrying expensive equipment, touring the country.

Insiders also say transport is still not adequate for the World Cup and cooperation will be needed between South Africa’s traditional minibus operators and a fleet of special coaches planned by the government–the taxi drivers have already protested against the plan, believing it will rob them of revenue. Hotel capacity is another issue and South Africa is encouraging the use of guesthouses, national park lodges and even timeshare apartments to meet the shortfall.

Officials say whatever the problems, South Africans will pull together next year to ensure the tournament brings their country unrivalled kudos, with none of the whingeing seen in Western nations about the disruption caused by big events. President Zuma himself has emphasised the economic benefits of World Cup construction during South Africa’s first recession in nearly two decades and promised a competition to remember.

So will this World Cup be the best and most joyful ever, boosting the image of Africa, or could it be a disastrous disappointment that reinforces the cynics?

PHOTO: A general view of Soccer City, also known as the FNB Stadium, in Johannesburg May 15, 2009. The stadium is earmarked to host both the opening and final soccer matches of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

It is hard to fathom what the motivation for Jean Thissen’s decision would be. He takes on the job as national team coach of Togo just over two weeks before the resumption of Africa’s World Cup qualifiers and with the very real prospect of having to do without his best player.

Thissen is the third new coach to take over at the helm of a side who are still in the World Cup race and set out at the end of this month on the final leg of the fight for one of the five berths for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

The 63-year-old, who is a former Belgian international and has coached in Gabon, Morocco and Tunisia, parachutes in to take charge of Togo’s team after Frenchman Henri Stambouli walked out last year.

But talk of taking on the virtually impossible. ‘Les Eperviers’ (the sparrowhawks) have the most daunting start to their Group A campaign, starting on March 28 against Cameroon on neutral territory in Accra where Togo are forced to play their home matches because of a ban on their own stadium in Lome.

Cameroon are hot favourites as an exciting new generation of talent bursts through their ranks.

To make matters worse, there is the strong possibility that Togo will go into the game without talismanic captain Emmanuel Adebayor.

The newly crowned African Footballer of the Year pulled a hamstring playing for Arsenal in the English premier league just weeks ago and is supposedly sidelined for some time to come. Arsenal with its galaxy of stars is noticeably poorer for his absence, so imagine what a blow the injury is to Togo’s hopes.

Thissen also takes on a job where his employers have unrealistic expectations, believing Togo can qualify for the 2010 finals.

It was nothing short of a minor miracle that Togo qualified for the last World Cup in Germany but their limited player pool and poorly run administration mitigates against it ever happening again.

That they have got this far in the 2010 qualifiers is solely because of the impetus of Adebayor’s return to the team after yet another of his tiffs with authorities.

So why then take on the job? Thissen could see himself as pioneer, keen to work in difficult climes; he could be an eternal optimist or he may just need a job. One thing is sure: He is going to need to be a miracle worker.

Picture: Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor reacts after missing a shot on goal against Liverpool in London December 21, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

One cannot fault Tunisian clubs for seeking perfection but you’d think a little more patience is needed if they are ever going to achieve their dream of continental dominance.

Take the case of Etoile Sahel. They have just fired their Swiss coach Michel Decastel for “indifferent results”.

Indifferent by their definition, is second place in the league and qualification for the final of the African Confederation Cup, the continent’s equivalent of the UEFA Cup. (more…)

French politicians were outraged after the Marseillaise was booed by the large contingent of Tunisia fans before Tuesday’s friendly at the Stade de France.  

Sports minister Roselyne Bachelot said that France matches must be stopped if it happens again and French Football Federation chief Jean-Pierre Escalettes was summoned by President Nicolas Sarkozy for a meeting.  

Escalettes, however, warned of potential security problems if the threat was carried out.

“You can’t take a decision like that without having guarantees in terms of security,” he said. “You can’t throw 50,000 people out on the streets without having planned it in advance.”  

A much easier solution, perhaps, would be not to play national anthems at all. (more…)

You can understand why the French rarely invite any of their former colonies over for so-called friendly internationals. On Tuesday night they again faced a barrage of abuse in their own backyard, with the vast majority of a sell-out crowd at Stade de France coming to support Tunisia against Les Bleus.

When Algeria played at the Stade de France in 2001, the game was eventually called off midway through the second half after Algerian supporters invaded the pitch. The match against Morocco last year earned notoriety after the jeering during the singing of La Marseillaise.

For the north Africans it remains a singular honour to be invited to play in France and Tunisia made little of securing a berth in the last phase of Africa’s World Cup qualifying last Saturday in the wake of all the excitement of the trip to Paris.

Of all their former colonies, France have only ever hosted Algeria, Cameroon, Morocco and Tunisia in the Stade de France. And it took decades before they sent an invitation. The Ivory Coast played a game in Montpellier but Senegal, who beat France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, still await an invitation, even though they are one of the few countries in Africa where French influence still pervades. (more…)

Footballers. If we aren’t reading about their exploits on the pitch, more often than not we can read about their exploits off it. Much is speculation and the rest can’t be mentioned before the watershed, but as I recently read, it’s not always bad.

West Ham United striker Craig Bellamy is more used to finding himself in hot water rather than hot weather, but following a recent trip to Sierra Leone, the Wales international has formed the Craig Bellamy Foundation there.

Bellamy’s 600,000 pound football academy is set to include 14 new leagues, 68 new boys’ teams and employ 141 managers and coaches.

So it’s not all fast cars, big houses and sordid parties after all then? In fact, if the media turned their focus away from the usual suspects, they would see a whole host of top players participating in worthwhile causes.

Portsmouth’s Nwankwo Kanu formed the Kanu Heart Foundation after having surgery on a hole in his heart during his early playing days. His charity arranged treatment for 250 African children with heart problems in 2007 and hopes to help 1,000 more this year.

Reading’s Bobby Convey regularly visits the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Lion Ward to spend time with sick children. He is not contracted or sponsored to do this and did the same thing earlier in his career while playing in the U.S. 

England international Frank Lampard is involved in a range of cancer charities, and has become an enthusiastic backer of Chelsea’s latest initiative with CLIC Sargent, Kick for Children with Cancer.

Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper about footballers ‘bad press’, Lampard said, “…People forget that we are young lads growing up. We all made mistakes. Life’s about learning from them. So many players I have come across are down-to-earth lads who want to help out.”

So should we give footballers a break? Or should more players be putting some of their efforts and mountains of cash into worthwhile causes?

Do you know of any players worthy of a mention? Let us know.

Neil Maidment, London

PHOTO: Wales’s Craig Bellamy in action against San Marino in a Euro 2008 qualifier Oct 17, 2007. REUTERS/Daniele la Monaca

Four of the leading contenders in Africa’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers remain rudderless less than a month away from the start of the road to 2010.

The Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia are all among the favourites for a place in the finals in South Africa in two years’ time but find themselves scampering for a coach with their opening group qualifiers four weekends away.

Media reports say the Ivorians are talking to Jean Tigana, the former France international whose origins are African but has never worked on the continent before.

Last month the Ivorian Football Federation decided they would no longer need the services of the German Uli Stielike, even though he had helped them through an unbeaten, and frankly impressive, run in the qualifiers for the 2008 African Nations Cup finals in Ghana.

Tigana, 52, last worked at Besiktas more than a year ago but has been linked with a number of jobs since. Born in Mali, Tigana’s managerial career has also taken him to Fulham in England and to a championship winning spell with Monaco in Ligue 1.

Once appointed he would have just a few weeks to prepare for the opening qualifier against Mozambique in Abidjan on June 1, on paper an easy-looking tie but in reality a potential banana skin for the highly-fancied Elephants.

Tunisia were due to name Jacques Santini as their new coach earlier this week but that has been put on hold because of a sticking point over who is going to pay his tax bill once ensconced in the job.

Newspaper reports on Monday said the Tunisian Football Federation has twice met Santini in Paris but the proposed contract had still to be signed.

As time runs out before Tunisia open their qualifying campaign at home to Burkina Faso on June 1, Santini’s appointment could be delayed as his agents and Tunisian officials quibble over 5,000 euros a month the coach wants to help pay his tax bill.

Santini is to receive a basic salary of 33, 000 euros a month, as well as housing and transport allowances and frequent free flights back to France, according to the state-run La Presse newspaper.

He is set to replace another Frenchman Roger Lemerre. The Tunisian Football Federation had first sought to replace him with the Etoile Sahel coach Bertrand Marchand but their negotiations broke down over his contract.

Morocco have twice postponed a planned announcement of the successor to Frenchman Henri Michel, who was fired after their first round exit at the Nations Cup finals in Ghana in January.

In March they were due to choose between six local coaches but cancelled a planned news conference. Last Thursday they again called off the previously-scheduled unveiling of the coach and have still to shed any light on who will take charge of their first World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in Casablanca on May 31.

Lemerre, who has just ended a six-year spell in Tunisia, is the hot favourite with Morocco’s press reporting numerous flights in and out of Casablanca’s Mohamed V airport in recent weeks.

Senegal, who have a tough opener against Algeria in Dakar on May 31, have just received FIFA’s permission to overhaul the leadership of their football federation and would presumably seek to get those structures sorted out first before looking to employ a new high profile coach.

Henryk Kasperczak, the former Polish World Cup campaigner, quit during the Nations Cup finals in Ghana and his assistant Lamine Ndiaye took charge of the last match in the tournament against South Africa. But there is no word on who leads the Lions of Teranga later this month.

Mark Gleeson covers African football for Reuters

PHOTO: Former Besiktas coach Jean Tigana wearing a T-shirt with the words: “Kids, We believed. We won the Cup for You” after his team won the Turkish Cup in Izmir May 3, 2006. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

A disaffected relationship between a coach and his employers would ordinarily lead to a end of that relationship, either through resignation or dismissal.

In Cameroon, however, it is not that simple. A web of entanglement between the state and football means we’ve arrived at the ridiculous situation where the national coach Otto Pfister has been effectively handed divorce papers but continues in his job.

The Cameroon Football Federation recently decided it no longer wants anything to do with the German coach, but they are not able to fire him.

Pfister was employed last November as coach of the team to replace Jules Nyongha, even though the local had successfully qualified Cameroon for the 2008 African Nations Cup.

The decision to hire a new coach, even though the team seemed to be performing well, was taken by both the federation and the country’s sports ministry. But because the sports ministry pays the salary of the coach, the final choice of Pfister was made by government as opposed to the Federation.

The choice of Pfister was not accepted by the Federation, who publicly stated its objection as the coach arrived in Yaoundé for contract discussions with the sports ministry.

In the end, though, political pressure on Federation president Mohamed Iya was such that he dropped his objections, and Pfister went on to take Cameroon to a surprise place in the Nations Cup final, where they lost to Egypt.

Now that the celebrations have fizzled out, and in spite of the Nations Cup achievement, the Federation wants Pfister out. But because they don’t directly employ him, they can’t fire him. So, perhaps for the first time in soccer, they have divorced the coach instead.

Mark Gleeson covers African football for Reuters

PHOTO: Cameroon coach Pfister celebrates a goal against Ghana in the African Nations Cup semi-final in Accra, February 7, 2008. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko