History teacher, anti-apartheid activist, Member of Parliament and consummate sports politician, Danny Jordaan has been the driving force behind the organisation of the event.
At times, he waged almost a one-man crusade to bring Africa its first World Cup, travelling hundreds of thousands of miles, cajoling FIFA executive committee members and selling the message of the country's capability.
"He's been the face of this World Cup, going to almost every country in the world and sacrificing his personal life for the country in the process," Kirsten Nematandani, the South African Football Association president, told Reuters.
The strong feature of South Africa's organisation was the almost slavish buy-in from the government who opened the coffers to pay for massive infrastructure improvements and provided all the guarantees required by world football's governing body.
Jordaan's close relationship with the country's leaders, forged during his membership of the first post-Apartheid Parliament, was vital to open doors and ensure commitment from the executive and legislative branches of government.
"The resilience of the bloke was incredible," said David Davies, who was chief executive of the Football Association at the time England were rival campaigners for the 2006 finals.
"He never stopped. Lobbying is a 24/7 task when you are involved in one of those bids and he never seemed to take a break," Davies told Reuters.
Jordaan's relationship with the committee chairman Irvin Khoza has always been frosty and became even more acrimonious last year when the two went head-to-head for the leadership of the South African Football Association.
