Amongst the many issues which threaten to cause problems during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the inferior roads, the stadiums not being built on time and the high crime rates, prostitution has reared it’s not bad from a distance but ugly up close head. Some corners are calling for it to be legalised in areas like Durban for the duration of the tournament, presumably to avoid the problems of having large numbers of foreign football fans breaking the law and also to make this type of “entertainment” more controllable and therefore safer.

Obviously there has been plenty of opposition to the suggestion with Thokozani Hlatshwayo, the president of the African Nazareth Democratic Movement (ANDM), slamming the very idea as being “against the word of God”. To which Blatter replied “I have no problem with it at all as long as each brothel is restricted to five foreign prostitutes.” (For legal reasons we have to point out that this was our friend Billy Blatter and not the FIFA President who would probably have said something far more outrageous.)

The high risk of AIDS, if not the fact that they have a wife back home, should be enough to deter any visitors from hiring the services of women with questionable morals but the reality is that it won’t. Putting your head in the sand is no way to deal with a problem and while not exactly refreshing, as we don’t want to be seen condoning such activities, it is surely a positive that the politicians of South Africa are openly discussing a subject which most other politicians only deal with when they’re off the clock.

It’s all very serious stuff just to accommodate a few randy football fans who can’t make do with the pay per view porn in their hotels but going to such extreme lengths to ensure the safety of those who will be making the trip to South Africa raises the question as to whether the country is capable of hosting such a big event? Sep Blatter claims to have a contingency plan in place just in case it becomes necessary to move the tournament to another country. Hopefully that option won’t be needed but the fact that such a possibility is even being discussed casts bigger doubts over FIFA’s choice. Is it more important to be politically correct or to be realistic and practical? Will the 2010 World Cup descend into an orgiastic farce of violence, hookers, half built stadiums and stranded fans? Or are these just uninformed irrational ramblings?

Any thoughts?

This entry was posted on 5:12pm Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 5:12 pm and is filed under Football, Sportsbook. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. By commenting on this site you agree to abide by our terms and conditions.

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