It's time for Africa!

When South Africa was announced as the host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, many people predicted that it won’t happen and that the country would fail miserably. During the preparation for the event there were a lot of complications and many labour disputes such as the builders of the stadia downing tools because they wanted a pay increase, fortunately those issues were resolved and the stadia were ready in time for the World Cup.



Last year when I moved to South Korea I was a little happy that I won’t be in the country during the world cup because I knew that the streets would be busy and everything would be rather chaotic. However, as the months drew closer to the opening ceremony there was a lot of hype around the world which got me into a little FIFA frenzy. I even became a little more patriotic at that time. My knowledge on football was very limited so I began researching and learning the rules of the game.
A few weeks before the opening ceremony I became incredibly homesick. When I saw pictures of the stadia and of the streets lined with flags of the participating nations, tears welled in my eyes. I wished I could go home just to take a deep breath of the atmosphere.



A few expats and I came together in support of our country. On the opening day we all dressed in green and gold, pulled out our SA flags and celebrated an amazing moment in our country’s history. During the opening match between South Africa and Mexico we sang the national anthem together and we were filled with great emotion.
For the entire duration of the world cup I suffered from serious sleep deprivation due to the 7 hour time difference. One of the funniest or craziest memories from the world cup was when South Africa played Uruguay. My friends and I got up at 2am and went to a bar to watch the game. We showed up in our pyjamas and drank a ton of coffee to stay awake. Unfortunately SA lost the game due to poor judgement by the referee but it was certainly a morning to remember.



Whenever I called my family they would describe the atmosphere of the country to me. The only world on everyone’s lips was “soccer”. People had decorated their cars and homes with flags; green became the new black because it went with everything and the vuvuzela was the new “must have” accessory. I used to cut my lessons short so that I could enjoy football highlights with my students. It was certainly an awesome time to be South African because this world class event brought the different races closer and showed that Africa is not that dark after all.



I was always proud to be South African, but after the world cup that pride has gone ten notches higher.