South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup Initiative

The International Human Rights Group is already starting to prepare for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.  Surprisingly enough, mission organizations have been gearing up for this event for over two years.  A lot of work goes into making sure that thousands of missionaries are properly housed and prepared for outreach.

The World Cup is most likely the most watched and most personally visited sporting event on the planet.  Soccer, football to the rest of the world, is the biggest sport around the world—everywhere except America.  Because of the popularity of the sport there are hundreds of thousands of people who will come to cities across South Africa to enjoy the festivities that surround these major sporting events. 

That means that this is a prime opportunity for Christians to share their faith.  The people of South Africa and the visitors who will come here are looking to interact with people from different cultures.  They are not hurried.  They are not heading to work or out shopping.  They are literally milling around looking for the opportunity meet people from other cultures.

What that means is that when Christians approach these fans they are ready and willing to talk, even about spiritual matters.  It means that the large outreaches to the local communities will literally be able to share the Gospel message with thousands of people—everyday. 

To the IHRG this means that the need for legal protection is greater than ever.  It means that we have to begin working to clear the way for the presentation of the Gospel.  It means that we have to begin educating FIFA executives and their attorneys.  It means that we must begin work with mission organizations and the organizers of the overall outreach to educate the missionaries coming as to their rights. 

We will begin by traveling to South Africa early next year for an initial visit to get the “lay of the land.”  We will meet with key organizers and start preparing them with written documents for the missionaries explaining just what they can do when they are in public places presenting the Gospel.

Then we must get a legal letter explaining the rights of Christians during the tournament to local leaders, police officials, city officials, and FIFA officials.  All of this sounds simple, but we will need to follow up making sure that everyone understands the legal principles involved. 

Finally, we will be in South Africa during the World Cup to monitor events to guarantee religious freedom for everyone there.