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!

Last night I attended my first ever major soccer game. The World champions, Italy, against the African Champions, Egypt, at Ellis Park. I have been to many rugby games at this stadium, but this was a brand new experience to hear the hoots of the vuvuzelas thundering across the crisp evening air, and feel the energy and excitement of the passionate spectators. We were swiftly whisked off to the stadium in a taxi; the iTransie programme supplied minibus taxis and buses from the park and ride points across the city. The taxi driver was courteous, careful and a great ambassador for the country. Once in the stadium, I was overwhelmed with pride as I became one of the 52 100 who was there to cheer on their favourite team. It amazes me how sport has the ability to unite us all, and I got goosebumps listening to Shosholoza being sung by a few thousand people. After the game, we finally boarded yet another taxi (this one had an amazing 442 000km on its odometer) and drove back to Wits, proud, and happy to be South African.