Former South African President Nelson Mandela poses with the FIFA World Cup trophy at the offices of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg in this handout picture taken May 6, 2010. [Agencies]

JOHANNESBURG - The once inconceivable notion of a World Cup played on African soil, in ultra-modern stadiums beamed live to soccer fans in all corners of the globe will become a reality on Friday.

When South Africa's players line up at the 90,000-seater Soccer City stadium to face Mexico in Friday's opening match, the continent, the host nation and the soccer world will witness a pivotal moment in their respective, intertwined stories.

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The occasion, 16 years since South Africa emerged from apartheid into a democratic nation, will vindicate the vision of FIFA president Sepp Blatter who stood by the young nation when cynics said the World Cup should could never go ahead here.

It will also realise the dreams of Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of the local organising committee, who has spent the last 16 years of his life working towards this moment.

It could herald the start of social changes in South Africa, a country of astonishing natural beauty whose past and present has been scarred by the darker side of the human spirit - warped politics, heinous crime and deep-rooted poverty and injustice.

As Jordaan told Reuters in an interview this week: "For me it will be a dream come true. It's a great moment in the World Cup's 80-year history.

"People said no African country could ever deliver this event.  But we are showing that we can't just match what others have done but that we can do even better. Now the doubters are the believers."