Everyone, especially Africans must be proud of SA

| Tuesday July 13, 2010 00:00

The June 11 - July 11 tournament that every African had been waiting for, to finally condemn all the Afro-pessimists and closet racists who doubted Africa's ability to host such a tournament to the dustbin of history with other relics of an era gone by, was finally coming to end.  As the colours of the fireworks burst into the Johannesburg sky the eyes finally shifted to Brazil for the next World Cup in 2014.

The closing ceremony was sad in that the eyes of the world would no longer be on Africa.  However, this should not make us lose sight of the fact that in the last four weeks the world has learned to accept a new Africa in its psyche. This is the context in which the closing ceremony and the final game should be viewed. Everyone, especially South Africans, would be forgiven for drifting into a mild depression and hangover from this week onwards. After all this World Cup had brought to the country and the SADC region an excitement and togetherness never felt in post-colonial Africa.

However, as Africans this is no time to mourn what has been but rather celebrate what our fellow Africans have achieved for themselves and inevitably for the global community and us.

We know that this World Cup will go in the record books as one of the most successful in recent times, both from the standpoint of raw statistics as FIFA has always posted record profits, but most importantly looking at the football itself. This World Cup brought up a first-time winner, Spain. It gave the football lover the most unexpected results for games.  Football connoisseurs will also appreciate the attacking football, which finally won the day over the much more defensive approach. These need to be celebrated.

Above all, South Africa's delivery on hosting this World Cup deserves even more credit. When South Africa announced that it would build stadiums and deliver them on time, all the skeptics went to town. They thought this was a pie in the sky.  All of that has come to pass. The World Cup has been a success. This is worth celebrating.

While we could not celebrate during the tournament it is in retrospect that we are able to fully appreciate this occasion. South Africans deserve credit. South Africans also need to pat themselves on the back for a job well done. We, therefore, take this opportunity to celebrate with you for what you have accomplished, not just for yourselves but also for this continent and its people. 

                                                                          Today's thought

'The rules of soccer are simple, they are basically this; if it moves kick it, if it doesn't move kick it until it does.'

                                                                          -Paul Woosnam