Today is the day we have all been waiting for, when our team runs onto the pitch at the magnificent showcase of soccer in Soweto. We have listened to the countdown from 1000 days ago, we have worn our yellow jerseys on ‘Football Fridays’, we have watched with trepidation as construction crews ripped apart our road system and dug great gouges in the earth, we have cheered in the streets as our boys have driven past, we have been whisked to the airport on the mighty Gautrain and now we smile with pride as we drive through the sleepy early morning streets with our beautiful flag flapping from our car. Today is the day.

Today is not just the day our national team plays the opening game against Mexico, its the day where we can look back on all that has been achieved, we can hold our heads high as the world looks on, impressed. We can believe in our future, we can revel in the unity of our nation. Once again, we can dream of a wonderful future for our land.

Good luck Bafana Bafana, good luck. Ke nako

20 days from now, South Africans will watch with pride as their  players run onto the pitch at the Soccer City Stadium for the opening game against Mexico - and the Vuvus will go wild!

You may have a good knowledge of the intricacies of the game, and be tempted to argue with the ref’s whistle from your privileged position on the couch, but how much do you know of the history of the Beautiful Game?

Did you know that Soccer was first played in Johannesburg in 1888,  two years after gold was found on the reef?   Although very competitive, it was mostly amateur soccer.

• In 1896 Indian Football Clubs united to form the Indian Football Association.
• 1937 – Orlando Pirates, 1947 – Moroka Swallows, 1971 – Kaizer Motaung’s All-Star XI became Kaizer Chiefs.
• In 1958 the South African Bantu Football Association affiliated with FASA and FIFA and subsequently recognised FASA as the sole governing body of soccer in South Africa.
• In 1959 Orlando Stadium in Soweto opened.
• In 1965 Moroka Swallows won their first national championship in the South African Soccer League.
• In 1983 Jomo Sono bought Highlands Park, a historically white club and renamed it Jomo Cosmos.
• In 1985 the National Soccer League (NSL) was launched.
• In 1989 the First National Bank Stadium (Soccer City) with a capacity of 80 000 opened at Nasrec.
• In 1991, four historically divided and entirely separate bodies united to form the non-racial South African Football Association (SAFA) in Durban.
• 1990 SAFA was accepted back into FIFA.   Domestic soccer was re-organised along non-racial lines at last.
• In July 1992 South Africa re-joined international football by hosting the first fully representative international soccer match at King’s Park Stadium in Durban.   The South African team (dubbed Bafana Bafana – the boys), defeated Cameroon 1-nil.
• Three years later Orlando Pirates won the African Champion’s Cup.
• The following year SA hosted the African Cup of Nations and the national team became champions of Africa after beating Tunisia 2-nil at the FNB Stadium.   The Premier Soccer League was launched the same year.
• In 1997 South Africa qualified for the 1998 World Cup with a 1-nil victory over Congo at the FNB Stadium, but the team lost in the first round of the World Cup in France the next year.
• On 15 May 2004 South Africa won the bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• In June 2009, South Africa successfully hosted the Confederations  Cup

Let celebrate being part of history, and embrace with pride,  our national team.

Good luck Bafana Bafana!