According to the organiser, Debray first started to take photographs with a journalistic approach and she won two photojournalism awards in 2004 and 2008. Nowadays, she favours a more personal approach 'free from the restraints of journalism' and she is mainly interested in anonymous people.

This interesting exhibition, which is to tour a number of southern African cities and towns has perhaps come at an opportune time given the fact that the prestigious FIFA World Cup will soon be coming to the African continent for the first time and there is no doubt that it is going to attract both soccer enthusiasts and lovers of photography.

It is clear that one of the primary purposes of the exhibition is to show that the French are supportive of the fact that the continent is hosting the event.

This is also a clear indication that football is a universal language spoken and understood by many or as the organisers put it, "How such a sport can gather millions of people?

That makes them so enthusiastic? Much more than a hobby, football represents an intimate personal involvement...In that Sprit of the Sport, France, South Africa and all other countries will become one."

L'Esprit Du Sport showcases, among other things, portraits of players in locker rooms after matches and practices, photographs reflecting fragility, pride, despair, fatigue and sometimes violence on and off the field, spectators, refreshment stands and referees.

As mentioned before, the 40 photographs at the exhibition were taken in both the artist's native country, France, and South Africa and she  believes that her works depict the similarities which lay between the two countries." While the artist is more interested in showing the similarities, the differences are also known to football lovers.

France like most developed countries has been always in a position to host the World Cup because of the advance infrastructure while South Africa had to work hard in order to convince the world that it is capable of doing so. Fortunately, it looks like our neighbours have succeeded.

South Africa was only readmitted into the World Cup after the collapse of apartheid and apart from doing well at AFCON they still have a lot of convincing to do to prove that they can succeed at World Cup level. On the other hand France has successfully won the World Cup in the past.

Debary's L'Espirit Du Sport will be touring within the French cultural network in southern Africa and some of the places that will be toured are the Alliance Francaise offices in Maseru, Lesotho, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, and Durban (SA), and Mbabane (Swaziland).