At the UK’s Prospect magazine David Goldblatt has as good a defense of South Africa’s hosting the World Cup as any I have seen. I have been an ardent defender of South Africa being prepared and capable and am pleased to see Goldblatt’s piece so aggressively and capably tackle one of the most pernicious critics in particular. And let’s don’t pretend that race and racism do not play a role in all of this. Rarely has a country hosting a major sporting event seen the development of a narrative of preordained failure emerge so quickly and persist so vehemently. Goldblatt’s defense is an island of sanity in a storming sea of anti-African insanity.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: South Africa is going to do a fine job hosting the World Cup next year. In fact, the irony is that those who are seting the bar so low (and hoping that South Africa fails to clear it) are merely setting 2010 up to surpass all expectations and to thus create the foundation to recommnece talk about Cape Town hosting the Summer Olympics. Remember that Cape Town was a finalist, losing out to Sydney for the 2004 Games. A successful World Cup will propel Cape Town to the shortlist for future Olympics.