My Dream, Your Dream for 2010

The 2010 World Cup will mark the first time an African country hosts this prestigious tournament that makes the earth stand still for a month. The feeling is hard to describe… only when writing it using the word “beauty” can one illustrate what awaits us next year in JUNE – the beautiful game of football!

It makes one’s heart feel the joy of happiness… as we eat, drink, sleep, and breathe football eMzansi these days. President Jacob Zuma said ‘Working Together We Can’ make a better South Africa – it’s a statement that will apply to each and every South African as we must work together to ensure we host a fantastic World Cup.

A successful warm-up to 2010: The 2009 Confederations Cup was testimony to great success and, despite what many thought, we showed the world that we are capable of hosting one of Fifa’s biggest events. Even our beloved Bafana Bafana showed the hunger to win, bringing some smiles and hope to the nation throughout the event.

2010 stadiums awaiting us: The stadiums according to Fifa are 90% ready for ACTION after their recent visit to South Africa! When everyone (players and supporters) enters the stadium physically or spiritually for the first time on 11 June 2010 they’ll be having dreams like Martin Luther King Junior and Nelson Mandela! Yes like any South African, Brazilian or Spanish person, I will be dreaming of Bafana winning the World Cup. It may seem like Mission Impossible, but “YES WE CAN” like Barack Obama said before winning the USA elections… as yes I believe we can do it.

Shine your Vuvuzela and get ready: The trumpet has spiced up the beautiful game in South Africa… and also now in cricket, rugby and tennis tournaments one will at least see one Vuvuzela making the beautiful sound. South Africa is known for producing legendary music stars like Bra Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba and it was no surprise for the Vuvuzela to born in a country of historical music icons.

However, international media and other star players complained about the Vuvuzela during the Confederations Cup, calling for Fifa to ban it because it was disturbing. But Sepp Blatter told the world that to enjoy football in SA you need to enjoy their culture. So it’s 100% clear that I will be blowing my Vuvuzela come 2010 with you alongside me, wearing our Bafana soccer jerseys.

Business opportunities and job creation:
The great side – Fifa has produced thousands of jobs in South Africa from building stadiums and roads to tourism… with many people already benefiting. It’s not as big as everyone expected, but one can say having the World Cup in SA is a bonus for South Africans especially during this worldwide economic crisis.

The sad side – Unfortunately Fifa will not allow our mamas to sell our favourite dishes at the stadiums. However, it will be our responsibility as SA supporters to show the visiting supporters our culture of food. This will give them an idea of how we enjoy the game while chewing our favourite meal. It may not be the same as watching Kaizer Chiefs vs. Orlando Pirates eating Mama Moloi’s dish, but we will make the best out of it.

Expectations for Bafana Bafana: Our national team has failed in recent years to live up to expectations. However, as a South African I will put my negative thoughts aside and support the boys throughout the tournament. This will not be our first World Cup… as we have played in previous World Cups in 1998 (France) and 2002 (Japan and Korea) and our record is not GOOD or BAD, but OK after 6 games. We managed to lose 2, win 1 and draw 3 games.

Dream start for the host: In every World Cup the host nation’s dream is to start the tournament with a win. It would be good for South Africa to stay in the tournament as long as possible so the spirit of the event doesn’t die in the opening rounds of the World Cup. This has shown in recent tournaments that the longer the host nation stays… the more the event becomes spectacular.

Security, crime and prostitution: The South African government will be faced with three major issues come 2010: Security, Crime and Prostitution. It’s not clear yet whether the government will legalise prostitution or not. Crime is said to have dropped after the crime stats were released in September by the SAPS. The SAPS commissioner, Bheki Cele, has promised a clean World Cup with HIGH security all over South Africa during the World Cup. This is a great thing as we will be hosting millions of people across the globe and we don’t want any bad publicity.

Mzansi support: Is it easy to recognise a South African supporter? OK look for a person who is wearing the famous makarapa, dressed in cool home designed gear (clothes), has painted his/her face with the colours of the rainbow nation, having a written a banner probably saying “Shapa Bafana Shapa!”, blowing a plastic horn and singing our beautiful song “shosholoza”.

The support will play a major role in the World Cup and it will be everyone’s job to go out there and support Bafana Bafana whether they are in the stadium or not. The players will need the twelfth man to be behind them from the first to the last game. Bafana supporters including me haven’t smiled in years and this is the opportunity for the players to GIVE back to the supporters, as both need each other come 2010.

It’s quite clear that everyone is ready for the big tournament. My DREAM is for South Africa to host a GREAT World Cup and hopefully go as far as possible to make this event one to remember in years to come, one we can be proud to speak about… and share with our sons, daughters and grandchildren.

Dankie sani,
Proffesor Khumalo
proffesor.khumalo.diskioff@gmail.com

Thanks to these people as well: Baile, Mr. Know it All, Nito, Miss K, Tumisho, Thulani, Xoliswa, Mlungu, Doctor, Tebza, and all the contributors.

BAFANA BAFANA

God bless Africa… It is very sad that we find ourselves in the same situation again. It seems before any major tournament we find ourselves wanting. Bafana Bafana are not playing the most enterprising football at the moment.

The recent games have been but a disappointment. It is so painful to watch Bafana Bafana it’s not funny. Our coach has a plan, which I hope is falling into place. It would not be fair for me to talk about Mr. Joel Santana’s track record with the team more so when I would be comparing it with some past coaches we had before, not at this time.

I would secondly shy away from the debate of a foreign coach versus a local coach. This debate is quite nice more so when the team is not doing well, and the local coaches are “reportedly” doing well. I tell you if the country was to vote on this issue, a local coach will win by a very big margin. Okay, again, this is not the time for such a debate because it would not help us win the games nor make us do better come next year.

I am a South African and I feel more pain when we (Bafana Bafana) lose, more pain than Joel Santana and Jaero Leal would feel combined. This is a fact, and having said that, it does not mean that our coach and the technical team feel nothing when the team is performing as they are. I do not honestly believe that we have (SAFA) employed people who do not have the best interest of South Africans at heart. So this issue of Carlos Perreira having failed us by recommending Santana, is something that would not help us at this moment.

Our coach has been very clear that we are building and learning from these friendly games. People were quick to point out that even huge buildings do come to a point where there is the roof. Well that is true and indeed we can’t build forever. But Mr. Santana was not referring to a huge building here. He was talking about building a team for 2010, in SA, where players see it growth to leave European teams to come play at home. Where the Championship winning team would rather field a B-side in the Champions League, because its not that lucrative compared to our PSL.

I am not in any way promoting mediocrity nor defending Mr. Santana. I am simply trying to be honest to the situation we find ourselves in at the moment. We have been down this path before, and Joel Santana was not there at the time. The man had a plan for the Confederations Cup, and the plan nearly came together.

Yes we beat the bottom team New Zealand. Yes we won one out of five, but the fighting spirit, the commitment and the kind of football we displayed at the time was something to be proud of in the first phase of the building process to a successful World Cup here at home.

I am not expecting miracles, but I know we have to do well cometh the World Cup, so does Ivory Coast, Ghana and any other two countries that will fly the African flag in the very first African World cup. I again look at the quality of all the other countries that are qualifying for the coming World Cup and I know that it’s not going to be easy. The battle that lies ahead is nothing we have ever seen. That is why we need to support our Bafana Bafana and the technical team during these trying times.

Firing the coach before a major tournament has never worked for us before, will never work, and let us not even make it an option.

I am confident of Bafana Bafana and our chances at the coming World Cup. There is simply so much at stake the boys will do us proud. They will be playing on home soil. The plan of our coach will be there for us to see.

The building process would have come to the point where the roof will be there. The learning will be put to the test. This is Africa, my mother land. The support, the drums, the Vuvuzelas, the spirit of oneness and the African soil will see us through to the next round.

God Bless Africa, its sons and daughters, its players and coaches, their World Cup and the LOC.

By Baile (Diskioff manager)

baile.diskioff@gmail.com
proffesor.khumalo.diskioff@gmail.com