In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.

In the final, Spain, the European champions, beat third-time losing finalists the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to win their first world title.

The committee also decided not to consider Libya's solo bid as it no longer met all the stipulations laid down in the official List of Requirements.

[15][16] Franz Beckenbauer, Horst R. Schmidt, and, reportedly, some FIFA executives expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa's preparations.

Blazer stated, "I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup.

[24][25] As a result, FIFA announced a review into the use of technology or extra officials at the highest level, but decided against the widely expected fast-tracking of goal-line referee's assistants for the South African tournament.

[26] Costa Rica complained over Uruguay's winning goal in the CONMEBOL–CONCACAF playoff,[27] while Egypt and Algeria's November 2009 matches were surrounded by reports of crowd trouble.

[31] In March 2009, Danny Jordaan, the president of the 2010 World Cup organising committee, reported that all stadiums for the tournament were on schedule to be completed within six months.

[32] The country implemented special measures to ensure the safety and security of spectators in accordance with standard FIFA requirements,[33] including a temporary restriction of flight operation in the airspace surrounding the stadiums.

[61] The ceremony was presented by South African actress Charlize Theron, assisted by FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.

[62] The balls were drawn by English football star David Beckham and African sporting figures Haile Gebrselassie, John Smit, Makhaya Ntini, Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu.

South Africa became the first host nation in World Cup history to be eliminated in the first round, despite beating France and drawing with Mexico, while Ghana and Ivory Coast were the only other African teams to win a match.

The overall performance of the African teams, in the first World Cup to be hosted on the continent, was judged as disappointing by observers such as Cameroon great Roger Milla.

"[85] Blatter's call came less than four months after FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke said the door was closed on goal-line technology and video replays after a vote by the IFAB.

[72][92] South African winger Siphiwe Tshabalala was the first player to score a goal in the competition, in their 1–1 draw against Mexico, the opening game of the tournament.

[99] Manuel Neuer Philipp Lahm Joan Capdevila Carles Puyol Sergio Ramos Mark van Bommel Thomas Müller Wesley Sneijder Sergio Busquets David Villa Luis Suárez For the first time, FIFA published a Dream Team decided by an online public vote.

People were invited to select a team (in a 4–4–2 formation) and best coach; voting was open until 23:59 on 11 July 2010,[100] with entrants going into a draw to win a prize.

[101][102] Iker Casillas Philipp Lahm Sergio Ramos Carles Puyol Maicon Xavi Bastian Schweinsteiger Wesley Sneijder Andrés Iniesta David Villa Diego Forlán The sponsors of the 2010 World Cup are divided into three categories: FIFA Partners, FIFA World Cup Sponsors and National Supporters.

It was the 11th World Cup match ball made by the German sports equipment maker; it featured 11 colours, representing each player of a team on the pitch and the 11 official languages of South Africa.

The official anthem of the 2010 World Cup was "Sign of a Victory" by R. Kelly with the Soweto Spiritual Singers, which was also performed at the opening ceremony.

Tournament organiser Danny Jordaan dismissed concerns that the attack on the Togo national team which took place in Angola in January 2010 had any relevance to the security arrangements for the World Cup.

[169] NGOs, international human rights organisations, and the Anti-Eviction Campaign have publicly criticised the conditions in Blikkiesdorp and said that the camp has been used to accommodate poor families evicted to make way for the 2010 World Cup.

[173] Some groups experienced complications in regards to scheduled sporting events, advertising, or broadcasting, as FIFA attempted to maximise control of media rights during the Cup.

Affected parties included an international rugby union Test match, a South African airline and some TV networks, all of whom were involved in various legal struggles with World Cup organisers.

[178] Local vendors were prohibited from selling food and merchandise within a 1.5 kilometre radius of any stadium hosting a World Cup match.

Some local vendors felt cheated out of an opportunity for financial gain and spreading South African culture in favour of multinational corporations.

[182] Hundreds of broadcasters, representing about 70 countries, transmitted the Cup to a TV audience that FIFA officials expect to exceed a cumulative 26 billion people, an average of approximately 400 million viewers per match.

"With games airing live on cell phones and computers, the World Cup will get more online coverage than any major sporting event yet," said Jake Coyle of the Associated Press.

[185] An executive of the Nielsen Company, a leading audience research firm in the US, described the aggregate numbers for both networks' coverage of the match between the United States and Ghana as "phenomenal".

[186] Live World Cup streaming on ESPN3.com pulled in some of the largest audiences in history, as 7.4 million unique viewers tuned in for matches.