Hoping to quiet critics of bringing the first World Cup to Africa, South African President Thabo Mbeki promised on Friday that his country would be prepared to host the world's biggest sporting event in 2010.
He likened doubters to those who believed the country would never rid itself of racial apartheid.
"The same skeptics are now doubtful about the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa," Mbeki said.
"We will host in 2010 the most successful FIFA World Cup, and we'll keep that promise," he said.
And he went a step further, predicting an African country will win its first World Cup in four years.
"One of the outstanding features of the 2010 World Cup is that the cup will stay in Africa," Mbeki said.
He also suggested the World Cup would uplift Africa, the way Germany's victory in the 1954 World Cup helped heal the wounds of war.
"Germany became someone again. I'm quite convinced that this is what the 2010 World Cup will do for us as South Africans," he said.
Speaking at the ceremony in central Berlin, telecast live to South Africa, Mbeki was joined by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
The launch, called "Africa's Calling," also served to unveil the 2010 World Cup logo, an abstract silhouette of a soccer player doing a scissors kick above the words: "South Africa 2010."
Annan called soccer a "great leveler," saying that national governments would improve if their behavior was watched as closely as fans watch soccer.
"With that kind of public scrutiny, good government would not be an option," Annan said.
Looking over at Blatter, Annan noted that the UN had 192 members, and FIFA had 207.
"The World Cup makes us in the United Nations green with envy," he said.
Annan echoed Blatter, saying this was he best-ever World Cup.
"Their team will not be playing on Sunday, but they have already won," Annan said of Germany.
"They won by organizing the best World Cup ever," he said.
Blatter, who pushed for the first African World Cup, reassured his African colleagues of FIFA's confidence.
"The whole world trusts you, the FIFA family. They say `Yes' to South Africa. We trust South Africa," Blatter said.
"It will not be the same World Cup we have here in Germany. But it will be an African, a South African World Cup. There will be a lot of drums around and other music," he said.
Blatter pushed for the entire continent to chip in.
"We will make sure that the South African World Cup will be a World Cup for everybody," he said.
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