When people think of Africa, “great economy” isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind, but the World Cup this past summer has proved to jumpstart South Africa’s economy.

When South Africa won the bid for the Cup in 2004, people didn’t have the highest expectations, but the country spent a reported $30 billion on infrastructure for it.  This was only the beginning of jumpstarting their economy.  From the time that they found out they were hosting the Cup, South African delegates started implementing new policies on hiring new workers to fix the highways, construct a new airport, expand the existing airports, and building new stadiums. All in all, the improvements for the cup opened about 66,000 new jobs.

Security throughout the whole country also started to level out at an unprecedented rate, but the government deployed about 40,000 extra police just in case.

Lots of people made assumptions that all of the new stadiums that were being built for the Cup would go to waste after it was over, but spokesman Themba Maseko said that during the bidding process, all host cities had to submit ways that the stadiums would be used when the Cup was over to prevent that.  They also say that the 700 buses that were used to take fans to the stadiums will continue to be used.  The Cup, at least for now, has given South African residents a sense of pride and unity that will continue to flow for months to come.

The World Cup has also helped the economy for the future because now South Africa is one of the hottest spots to be.  Now that people around the world have had a sneak peek at the country, more are going to want to see it up close and personal.

Although South African residents and officials are on cloud nine right now, they know that they are going to have to work hard if they want to continue this harmony throughout the country.  Leaders need to be creative and visionary in order to keep jobs open and the unity alive.  The world is just going to have to wait and see what South Africa has in store next.