Johannesburg — South Africans are heart-broken, disappointed and angry about losing the 2006 Soccer World Cup bid to Germany. They are learning that the politics of soccer can be cut-throat.
It is ironic that a people who fought so hard for the vote should have been stymied by one man's decision not to vote in the final round which meant South Africa was pipped at the post by only a whisker, 12 - 11 in favour of Germany, at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
There was disbelief, tinged with dismay, around the country, where victory parties and celebrations fizzled out before they had started. Ordinary men and women stood in stunned silence in full stadia and city squares, burying their heads in their hands as the FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, declared Germany the winner.
Mr Blatter has been a staunch and outspoken supporter of the African bid. President Thabo Mbeki and government officials tried to put on a brave face. "The democratic process is sometimes painful" said one, "but each individual has a right to cast or not to cast a vote". "Let's not sulk, but live for another day" said another minister. One of his colleagues echoed that view; "It's the way the game goes, some days you win, some days you lose". "I'm devastated" acknowledged one South Africa soccer fan, "but we'll give it another go".
Gracious in defeat, President Mbeki said "South Africa's time will come" adding that his compatriots should be proud, because this was the "most systematic battle we have fought for recognition in the world". This sentiment was not widely shared among his people, many of whom feel they were robbed of the chance to host perhaps the most prestigious sporting event in the world.
They feel cheated by a voting procedure, a secret ballot among FIFA's 24-member executive, and by what some South Africans and their supporters, in and outside the continent, are calling Europe's stranglehold on world soccer which they describe as a disgrace and a scandal.
"Look at all the African players in European soccer clubs. Look at what we put into it, and what are they giving back to us?" was the disgusted comment from one South African, a refrain repeated by many who say South Africa's defeat is a clear indication of the disregard for the African continent and its soccer.
Talk of crime as a deterrent to staging the World Cup in South Africa was a feature of several local and national radio talk shows, but those who said this was a justification for a failed bid were in a minority. Others felt that the estimated 9 million rands spent on the bid would have been better used to fight AIDS and crime.
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As the impact of its defeated World Cup bid sets in, people are questioning the motives of the New Zealander, Charles Dempsey, who represented the Oceania Football Association and abstained from voting in the critical third round. After an earlier eleventh hour conversation between president Nelson Mandela and Mr Dempsey on Thursday morning, there was excitement, anticipation and confidence in South Africa, that the country's indefatigable bid team would come home with the prize.
South Africans want an official enquiry to establish why Mr Dempsey voted in the first and second rounds, yet chose not to vote in the decisive third round, after England and Morocco were eliminated. His action was condemned as unacceptable, amid much speculation about his reasons.
If Mr Dempsey had cast his ballot, either Germany would have had a decisive victory, or the Germans would have been head-to-head with South Africa, leaving the deciding vote to the FIFA president, who had made it clear he wanted to see the World Cup go to Africa in 2006. There is now talk about the southern hemisphere setting up its own soccer competition to escape what is seen as Europe's domination of the world sport.
"FIFA had a huge chance to show the world that Africa is a part of the soccer world, and it blew it" exclaimed one angry and disappointed South African. "Next time, next time" was the comforting comment from another more philosopical supporter, who added: "Let's not lower our heads, let's pick up the pieces, forget 2006 and go for 2010".
Many are saying that rotating the World Cup competition venue by continent is the only fair way to proceed.
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