The FIFA World Cup ™ South Africa 2010 is the nineteenth edition of the World Cup and the biggest sports spectacle ever held in Africa. This edition of the tournament will be held primarily in South Africa between June 11 and July 11, 2010. It is the first time this tournament is being played in Africa and the fifth time in the Southern Hemisphere.

204 of the 208 national associations attached to the FIFA registered to participate in the classification process conducted surveys between mid 2007 and late 2009 to determine the 32 teams in the NCAA Tournament. [1] The championship will consist two phases: the first, will be formed in eight groups of four teams each advancing to the next round the top two in each group. The 16 qualified teams will face later in qualifying matches until the two teams will meet in the finals to be held at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. Previously, the host country hosted the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 in the cities of Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg.

Nelson Mandela was one of the main promoters of the candidacy of South Africa to host the world cup. In the 1980s, the idea of conducting a tournament in Africa in response to growth and development of football in the continent began to grow and was reflected in the progress of Selections of it in various international tournaments. Europe and America had always organized the tournament since its inception in 1930. For the election of the headquarters of the World Cup 1994, Morocco came within three votes of defeating the United States and then returned to submit nominations for the Cups of 1998 and 2006, without achieving successful results. In this last election, South Africa submitted its bid with the backing of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, but efforts were in vain: Germany won the event in a close and controversial vote (just by one vote).

After the defeat of South Africa, FIFA leaders decided to establish a criterion of "continental rotation" that would ensure that the next event would be hosted in Africa, the last great continent that had not hosted the event (Asia had already organized in 2002). FIFA nominations allowed only six countries in Africa and expressed their intentions.

Along with South Africa and Morocco, candidates in previous elections, there were new candidates like Egypt, Libya, Nigeria and Tunisia. Nigeria left the race in the beginning without officially submitting an application to FIFA. Libya, on the other hand, announced that if elected it could not allow Israel to participate in the tournament, being disqualified, and nevertheless persisted with his application to the final. FIFA rejected the possibility of a global partnership between two nations, as Tunisia (thought of a partnership with the Libyans) withdrew days before the vote.

Three candidates were left with real possibilities; however, the fight was mainly between South Africa and Morocco. The Moroccans were presented as a bridge between the West and the Muslim world and a close alternative to Europe, while South Africans based his candidacy on economic development and experience in conducting sporting events (such as the Rugby World Cup and cricket). On May 15, 2004 the election was held in the Swiss city of Zurich. Morocco had the support of Belgium, Spain, France, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey and the votes of the African Football Confederation, but those ten votes were insufficient to offset the 14 votes received by the other American representatives who voted for South Africa; Egypt did not receive any preference. The South African victory was sealed with Nelson Mandela, a leading figure in South Africa's bid, lifting the World Cup trophy as a representation to host.