On 15 May 2004, the president of the Federation of International Football Association’s (FIFA), Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, announced that South Africa would host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The announcement was made in Zurich, where South Africa was represented by a delegation that included Nelson Mandela and Head of the Local Organizing Committee, Danny Jordan.
South Africa beat Morocco by four votes to win the bid.
The victory was a morale booster, as South Africa had previously lost the bid to Germany by a single vote in 2000.
