Soweto, the iconic township at the heart of the struggle against apartheid, hosting Holland, the colonizers of the Cape Colony in 1652 when Jan van Riebeeck landed in Bloubergstrand with his entourage, seeking the spice route to India.

It was van Riebeeck with a little help from the subsequent waves of French Hugenot migration to the Cape Colony fleeing persecution from the Catholics in Europe that gave rise to the Afrikaner nation that went on to dominate South Africa for the next three-and-a-half-centuries and gave the world apartheid, the ideology of institutionalized white supremacy.

Not that the British colonialism, which replaced the Dutch fared any better. They too tolerated and helped institutionalize apartheid. But that is all history now, although it remains indented on the South African psyche.

"I am not supporting the Dutch team," maintained Hannes Groepe, "because the Netherlands government has not apologized for over three centuries of slavery in South Africa. I will be blowing my vuvuzela for Spain."

Hannes may live to eat his words, for the Dutch supporters in their vivid orange paraphernalia, have easily been the most colorful supporters in the month-long tournament, and in their thousands and with their strong euros have contributed significantly to the local tourism on the breathtaking Garden Route in the Western and Eastern Cape, and to the nature reserves in Gauteng.  

If there was a concurrent football fan tournament, the Dutch would have already won. Nubile blondes dressed as air stewardesses in tight-fitted bold orange skirted suits, no doubt strutting football miles. Some of them even got under the collar of Sepp Blatter when they were trying to promote a particular brand of drink illegally because the manufacturer had not signed up as an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup.

The 2010 World Cup has already been a triumph of sorts for South Africa, although President Jacob Zuma would like to think that it will benefit the dark continent as a whole. The boost to the road infrastructure in particular; the zero tolerance on crime; the general optimism and new-found confidence oozing out of politicians, corporates and ordinary citizens.

But the true light of the success of the World Cup will only emerge after the foreign fans, the officials and the players finally return to their home countries.

For the moment no one dare spoil the party. The icing on the cake will be a showstopper of a match with a goal fest from the likes of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie for the Dutch, and David Villa, Fernando Torres, Andres Iniesta for the Spanish. No one would mind even an additional half an hour of extra time.

It will probably take a day or to for the euphoria to abate once President Zuma hands over the coveted Jules Rimet trophy to the winning team and crown them 'Champions of the World' for the next four years, after which the spectacle moves to Brazil only to repeat itself.

The true wake-up call for South Africa, for FIFA and for football will then begin. Some of the inquest has already started and the debate has been more pointed especially in the more discerning parts of the local media. But the true cost benefit analysis of the World Cup will take some time to emerge.

The crucial questions are not about legacy and diversity - these are buzzwords loaded with relativism and mismatched assumptions. What has the cost been to South African taxpayers? What are they getting back in return for their investment in tax rands and the opportunity costs that may have been lost should the funds have been used in other much needed projects such as affordable housing and providing basic educational facilities and text books to schools especially in informal communities (read shanty towns)? Is FIFA 'fit for purpose'? Has FIFA become a multinational in its own right with football no longer a sport but the world's most potent entertainment and leisure brand?

Will it be business as usual for the criminals - both petty and violent ones, now that the World Cup is over and the visitors have gone? Not that they were ever immune to this so-called amnesty. Several tourists, players, journalists and others were burgled or robbed, some even in their own hotels.

A Dutch friend had his bag with wallet stolen in the prestigious One & Only Hotel opposite Cape Town's famous Victoria & Albert Waterfront. It is a pity that the security in the Hotel did not match its so-called seven-star status. It turned out that the perpetrator was not a local thief but a suspected member of a Latin American gang, most likely Brazilian or Mexican, who have converged on South Africa and for whom the World Cup was an irresistible magnet.

Only a few days previously, the owner Sol Kerzner, who has a reputation for his over-the-top resorts in Sun City and Lost City in Guateng; and lavish resorts in Barbados, Morocco and Dubai, was entertaining celebrities and guests including supermodel Naomi Campbell trying to flog off luxury penthouses in  the hotel for a mere 10 million rand each. This is the very place that the likes of David and Victoria Beckham parked for the night, and President Bill Clinton graced.

On some nights the reception area of the One & Only reads like a who's who  of the celebrities, the rich and their hangers  on. David Dein, former shareholder of Arsenal football club and probably the behind-the-scene playmaker for the power struggle to gain control of the North London club, was hosting Alisher Usmanov from Russia, Arsenal's new oligarch shareholder. And depending on the outcome of their chitchat, they could either seek refuge in the divine cuisine of the Maze or the overpriced sushi and shashimi in the Nobu.

The World Cup will soon be over. Welcome back to the New South African reality.