About The 2010 Journey
click the map to see the route in detail
Welcome to the start page of the Spirit of Football 2010 project. FIFA decided in 2005 that the 2010 World Cup finals would be awarded to South Africa, and, as a result, we're looking forward to another epic journey to rival the trip to Japan & Korea in 2002.
We have started a weblog for 2010 in preparation for the trip, so read on for some of our thoughts on how the trip will develop.
The Quick Start Guide
The 2010 World Cup is coming. The entire African continent will be proudly hosting the FIFA World Cup for the first time and will be alive with expectation and pride. The Ball 2010, our Olympic Torch for football, will again be played with in a game in Battersea Park, London and will kick off from England and visit every nation in between London an South Africa as it heads for the Opening Ceremony in June 2010.
Google Earth Flythrough
Follow the journey in Google Earth
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One Continent... One Ball...
In 2010 we want to use The Ball to help FIFA ensure that the whole African continent benefits from the impact of the greatest sporting event in the world, and to project positive messages about Africa. In Africa, The Ball will be used as a symbol for the international unity of football and in doing so will help to highlight organisations and projects that use the potential of football to promote social, health and community issues.
The Ball and its carriers will arrive in a place, where they will be welcomed by their project partners and shown the inner workings of the football–based project. They will also meet many local people who will have eagerly awaited their arrival and they will learn about the histories and traditions of football that are unique to each place.
The Spirit of Football team guiding The Ball will be documenting what they see. They will interview people from partner organisations, regional football heroes and local people and ensure that as many people as possible sign and kick The Ball. The team will be writing, filming, taking pictures, uploading online, blogging and sending their words, pictures and film to media partners in various countries.
Echoing the 2002 trip (when he found his paternal grandfather's grave in a remote village in Uzbekistan on the 2002 journey), the trip will also have a personal dimension for Christian, who will try to find his paternal grandmother's grave which is supposed to be located in a village called Tengeru at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Finally The Ball will arrive in Johannesburg in time for the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Football brings us together — domestically and internationally. It embodies not just the sporting values of rivalry and competition, but also instills the values of sportsmanship, fun, teamwork and fair play. Football has touched just about every culture on earth; it's something so positive that it can bring joy even to those people in the worst of circumstances. Football is its own language, and it is a universal one. We want to show just how fluently the people of Africa speak it.
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