World Cup 2010

On African Soil

The World Cup 2010 will see the tournament hosted on African soil for the first time. With over 2000 African players currently playing professional football in Europe and over 40 of these in the English Premier League there could certainly be a few chants of ,"Football's Coming Home".

My memories of the World Cup in 1990 are of magazine photos of 'African' kids in oversized, football shirts and an erotic corner-flag dance that has now been copied by millions. Cameroon had made it to the Quarter Finals and suddenly everyone was watching these incredibly powerful West African players who could move a ball with unbelievable dexterity. Of course, being English, I was relieved to see them defeated against my national team!

So, other than the Indomitable Lions (Cameroon) which African 'Big Five' have qualified for World Cup 2010? U17 World Cup hosts and runners-up in 2009, Nigeria, fly their Super Eagles flag, whilst U20 World Cup winners, Ghana, field the 'Black Stars' senior team. The Elephants (Ivory Coast) and the Desert Foxes (Algeria) will also be demonstrating their instinctive style of play.

The expectation upon the players of a host nation is immense. In South Africa, for World Cup 2010, everywhere you look you see the national team's colours - in the queues at the bus stops, on motorway billboards and in every other TV advert. The pride and the determination to do your country proud does more than just put a spring in the step of the most prolific striker, it could lift a whole team.

So what will be my memorable image of the World Cup 2010? The Diski dance is a collection of dance moves (which I am aiming to have perfected by June 11th) replicating a style of play that will become all too familiar by the end of the tournament. Even if South Africa doesn't progress as far as their supporters would like, I'm sure the dance will continue in the bars and streets of every host city, long after the final whistle of the final game has been blown.

Fortunately there is a far more accessible symbol of World Cup 2010. The Vuvuzelas, the metre long horns, that when blown sound like a trumpeting elephant, are already on the lips or hips of anyone who enters the country. They are unique to and synonymous with African football and will most certainly be the loudest lasting impression of the 2010 World Cup.

Soccer 2010

Love of The Beautiful Game

As an England fan arriving in Johannesburg to witness what will be the finest display of Soccer 2010, I’m going to spend a couple of months discovering why South Africa is so passionate about football. It’s not going to be difficult to find examples of the love for the beautiful game!

In my hotel room I can watch European matches from the English, Portuguese, German, French, and Italian leagues, the Brazilian league and African league games from Nigeria, Zambia and Ghana and of course the South African Super Diski. The quality of football and the associated prestige of the European leagues have drawn many African players away from their home leagues. Four members of the Bafana Bafana squad for Soccer 2010 (Mokoena, Pienar, Van Heerden and Fernandez) currently play in the European Premier Leagues.

At the end of the school day, in Rosebank, children wearing all sorts of colours swarm around the school gates. I see many yellow shirts – some of them Bafana Bafana, some Brazil. I’m not aware of many Brazilians in South Africa, but there will always be people who support the favourites. Then of course there is Spain and England making up what is widely regarded as the top three teams of Soccer 2010. I also see many Portuguese shirts, reflecting links with the former colonisers of neighbouring Mozambique. Colonialism certainly has much to explain for Africa’s fascination for European football.

There’s no disputing that the wealth of talent in African football adds to the quality and arguably the beauty of the game in Europe. African players that immediately spring to mind are: Nayim of Ceuta who played for Tottenham; for Chelsea - formerly Celestine Babayaro of Nigeria and currently Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast; the current captain of Cameroon Samuel Eto'o who plays for Italian Serie A club, Internazionale.

One of the most famous African’s to grace the turf at Anfield was the Zimbabwean Bruce Grobbelaar. Born in South Africa, of Zimbabwean citizenship, he warmed to the fans on The Kop with his eccentric style. However, his football career started with the Bulawayo-based Highlanders FC, in what was then Rhodesia's second biggest city. As a life-long Liverpool supporter, I’ve decided to take the opportunity of being on the doorstep of Zimbabwe to make my Soccer 2010 pilgrimage to Bulawayo. It’s a beautiful drive, particularly on the Zimbabwean side, so I plan to use the luxury of time and take a break from football for a couple of days, at one of Africa’s most famous landmarks, Victoria Falls.