World Cup-Bound Americans Raring to Go, With Some Trepidation About South Africa

May 14, 2010— -- Taryn Buckley of Gainesville, Fla., and Marckle Myers of New York City travel in different circles but share some distinctly common traits: a love of soccer, trips planned to next month's World Cup in South Africa and a few nagging concerns about navigating a country that's relatively short on infrastructure and long on social ills.

Myers is the more anxious of the two, even to the point of losing some of his enthusiasm for the 8,000-mile, three-week trip as his departure approaches. "I brought my tickets before considering the location of the trip," he said of his first World Cup. "I have found myself wishing the [sponsoring] FIFA people looked into the capacity of the country to deal with all the football tourists' needs.

"I will admit I'm a little apprehensive about the trip. I'm still going but, frankly, cannot wait until I'm back ... not a great way to start a vacation," the 46-year-old antique prints dealer said, adding that he would have planned sooner had he known of the costly transportation and housing logistics.

Hardcore soccer fan Buckley, who attended the 2006 German World Cup and readily recalled the ease of mobility there, is more confident but still uneasy about South Africa's ability to coordinate travel among nine cities for hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world, including 100,000-plus from America.

"How easy will it be to get around to all the popular sites once we get into a major city?" asked Buckley, 24, a University of Florida instructor and Ph.D. student in health education and behavior who is already planning to attend the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

She, her husband and her father will soon find out, when the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world debuts June 11 for a month-long run on a continent that has never hosted an event of such magnitude and complexity. For all its cultural, geological and panoramic blessings, South Africa has struggled mightily to manage the post-apartheid era, and snagging the World Cup has been a generally welcome diversion from crime, racial strife, rampant HIV/AIDS infections and other difficulties.

But many South Africa-bound Americans remain unbowed, even those with legitimate concerns about transportation, housing, security and travel costs. They are not only comfortable with the idea of South Africa as host city but resoundingly confident in the government's ability to keep them safe, entertained, informed and connected.