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
Our plan is to kick off from Battersea Park, London on a 5-month, 10,000 mile pilgrimage to Johannesburg in early 2010. The Ball, which will be announced on 4th December 2009, will immerse itself in the passion and excitement of the African continent in the run up to the World Cup. We want to share those insights and experiences with a global audience.
For 2010, we are proud to be supporting the non-profit organization Alive & Kicking by encouraging donations of their footballs to projects in Africa. The ball that they make is: “an African ball made for the poorest African communities — the very embodiment of development through football in Africa,” as James Flecker of Alive & Kicking puts it.
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 ensure that the whole African continent benefits from the impact of the greatest sporting event in the world. The Ball plans to kick off on a 5-month, 10,000 mile pilgrimage to Johannesburg and will immerse itself in the passion and excitement of the African continent in the run up to the World Cup. We want to share those insights and experiences with a global audience.
The Ball is on a quest to discover and reveal Africa’s richness and cultural diversity. Imagine a multinational team accompanying The Ball and becoming characters in the thickening plot. Someone from each African nation that The Ball travels through could join the trip and reveal the incredible diversity and depth of culture in their country. From the home of football to the Nou Camp in Barcelona; from the Sahara desert crossing to the top of Kilimanjaro; from the narrow backstreets of Marrakesh to the slums of Mathare in Nairobi a global audience can share in their emotions and experiences.
We want The Ball to celebrate the vital role that football plays in people’s lives. We’re planning to visit football projects where local people have been trained to tell their own stories by making their own videos. We want to investigate local football culture and visit festivals of football, music and dance, where young people will take part in football workshops led by our freestyle experts. Alive & Kicking will deliver balls donated by our audience to African organisations.
All of this takes place as interest in the World Cup reaches fever-pitch — as Africa prepares for its first ever 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.
