Cairo: Gateway to Africa

In the World Cup’s (the actual trophy) journey to South Africa, the first stop after leaving FIFA headquarters in Zurich is Cairo, Egypt. Subsequently, the trophy will travel around all of the continent’s capitols, reaffirming what many have said that next year’s tournament is not just South Africa’s World Cup, but the whole continent’s. However, that doesn’t include Somalia on the Horn of Africa. That is, because, well, it’s Somalia. And the Coca-Cola sponsored Fifa outfit would not want to go there unless “peace breaks out” according to CNN newsman Ben Wedeman. This is interesting because we all know that Coke is fearless when it comes to Africa. In fact, Coke just may be the strongest authority in Mogadishu. (It is after all probably the largest employer on the continent)

That the Cup’s first stop on African soil is in Egypt offers a potent piece of symbolism. Egypt is, in many ways, the world’s gateway into Africa. Thas has been the case historically and continues to be so today.