With just 30 days to the World Cup at the time of writing, all state-of-the-art stadiums raring to go, and 90 percent of tickets sold - chiefly purchased by South Africans, followed by British and American citizens, tension and excitement are running high. At the tip of everyone's tongue is a question that has plagued the nation from the start: Will the World Cup be a budren or a boon? We spoke to six informed "everyday" South Africans about their views on the World Cup and its impact on South Africa.

The cost of stadiums - an estimated 750 percent above previously estimated budget, featured prominently as did the notion of the Cup as a catalyst for development as well as the vehicle lending to South Africa's debut as a destination of note.

Those against South Africa hosting the 2010 Cup stated that prioritizing expenditure and contracting large volumes of public debt for stadiums and other requirements as opposed to housing, education and other basic needs could not be justified at present.

Those in favor of the Cup advocated the government's long-term vision of enhancing South Africa's brand generating greater revenue through tourism and investment.

Both sides believed that the Cup itself would act as a unifying agent, the former, through collective resistance and the latter, the spirit of sport.

Yes

Noloyiso Nowele

Cashier

I think, honestly, the World Cup is going to come and go. But while it is here, we must make the best of the opportunity. It is a very interesting event for our country to host, and a great way to introduce South Africa's beautiful people, cultures and cities to the world. We are very capable; achieving the Cup and building all the infrastructure in time was not beyond us. We hope that people will come to see us, invest in us, visit our cities.

I do wonder about the costs of the Cup. How much did it take away from people who need housing and water? But at the same time, all the jobs and attention that will come will generate more for us in terms of the future. They say that government must make lots of money from tickets, so that is worrying because the government has tried to make the tickets cheaper for ordinary people to purchase. I also wonder whether the bigger companies helped to pay for the Cup and all the buildings. The government was not supposed to spend billions on new stadiums, and this takes money away from other projects. But I believe that overall the Cup is a good thing for us.

Andrew Gendall

Private gym owner

There is no doubt that the World Cup is going to launch South Africa's tourism industry to another level altogether, boosting the country's economy directly and indirectly through the the legacy of Cup. This is especially important during the recession even if the global side-effect is reduced short-term tourism.

As South Africa is a very separated country - both in terms of sports as an activity and in recreation spaces, as well as racially - as we can see in sports like rugby, the Cup will provide us with a unifying agent, bringing people together as only sports can. Think about the Rugby Cup in 1995 and the impacts it had on the nation - priceless. Soccer can do the same, as Nelson Mandela had said. Initially, though it was a waste of money to construct new stadiums rather than revamp stadiums like Kings Park in Durban, but having seen Moses Mabhida, I can say that there is no way Kings Park could have turned out in that way. It is a world-class stadium with state-of-the-art facilities, a platform that will represent us on equal footing to the world, and cement our place as the capital of Africa.

James Ndlovu

Security guard

I definitely believe, whatever the others are saying, that the World Cup is going to change South Africa forever. We are now visible. Not long ago, you must remember, we were a country oppressed. Now we are a country that can compete with anyone, anywhere. Even if the costs are very high, we must think of the benefits.

This will increase tourists coming to the country. People will see what we are, and what we have accomplished when no one said we could. But we did it despite all the talk of a "Plan B" [moving the Cup to another country]. Who can take away from us the fact that we are now a country in Africa that can stand up and be amongst all "first world" countries in our accomplishment to host a great event that even the "first world" countries are so desperate to host?

It will improve jobs and many good things for all of us, when the world hears of what we can do. What I believe is very simply: it is also that the World Cup will change how South Africans see themselves - we will have more pride now.

No

Fatimah DeLange

Artist

I believe that any sporting event of this nature is a wonderful catalyst for unification within South Africa and a great launching pad for the country. Sport - especially sports like soccer that have become part and parcel of cultures in developing countries due to the lack of "specialization" required. But the financial weight of the Cup was financed at the expense of other issues that should have been prioritized - for example, the one quarter of South Africans living in squatter camps. This does not mean that I don't support the Cup, but the country should have aimed for a future date when more pressing needs were realized, or recruited some of the multinationals to help finance the cost.

FIFA exacted the development of new stadiums in fancier areas that will not contribute to the development of poorer areas, so this type of an event exacerbates the inequality between the wealthy and the poorer areas. What is even worse is that the government has shown their commitment to something as trivial at the end of the day as a grand soccer match when the same amount of money and effort could not be spared for the safety and health of the country's citizens.

Oliver Meth

Social advocacy researcher

The World Cup is a great heist of lies, in taking what is beloved - soccer - and manipulating it to suit the interests of a capitalist system and marginalizing the working class. It represents a unique opportunity for ordinary South Africans to reconsider the viability of selling their hard-earned democratic rights for one moment of history. To avert being trampled by FIFA is almost unavoidable. We should stand up and voice our dissatisfaction; the South African state is not about to provide for us, it never has. In Durban, alone, resistance to market fundamentalism is growing rapidly. Unrefined relations are forming between communities facing evictions and water and electricity disconnections.

This is a time when communities should express their anger and use the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup as a platform to push the idea that if we can host the World Cup and build some of the best stadiums in the world, then all other service delivery should also be accomplished in 9 months.

Sheila Mogaddam

Housewife

South Africa is a very beautiful country, but one that has been ravaged by poverty, illness and crime. When poor people cannot afford or have access to clean water, diseases like cholera spread. The government's first duty is and was to provide human rights for citizens, not to host a Cup when the country is filled with squatter camps. That money could have changed South Africa for the better if the government had invested in its people. The Cup is a wonderful event. But was South Africa ready? The government committed to FIFA, and accomplished all of FIFA's demands. Why could they not do the same for South Africans? Many South Africans want to leave because of the crime. How much does the government spend to reduce crime? Not as much as the World Cup. Wy should we think about tourists when most South Africans cannot come back home because of the level of fear they have?