The 2010 FIFA World Cup got off to a perfect start in South Africa as record crowds turned up to watch the opening round matches. A sell out crowd of 90 000 watched the opening match between Bafana Bafana and Mexico while the average attendance of first round matches was more than 50 000, giving South Africa the second highest World Cup attendance figures of the past three decades.
The atmosphere has been tremendous with raucous vuvuzelas adding a distinctive flavour to this colourful and noisy display of typical African hospitality.
Initial fears of crime and security concerns were also unfounded as no major incidents were reported while a few isolated cases were swiftly dealt with by the special World Cup courts that have been established throughout South Africa.
On the field of play, there have been some fantastic performances, notably by Germany who beat Australia 4-0; Argentina, who beat South Korea 4-1; and Portugal who thrashed North Korea 7-0.
There have also been some major shocks with pre-tournament favourites Spain losing 1-0 to Switzerland, while minnows New Zealand held world champions Italy to a 1-1 draw.
South Africa, and Africa at large, can feel proud of this World Cup, which has caught the imagination of fans throughout the world.
On the local front, Namibia’s national rugby team excelled to win the IRB Nations Cup in Romania for the first time in its history. Namibia maintained an unbeaten record after beating Romania, Scotland A and Georgia along the way, to lift the trophy, which will be a great impetus a year before the next Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
In boxing Paulus “The Hitman” Moses relinquished his WBA lightweight world title to Miguel Acosta of Venezuela after being knocked out in the sixth round. Although it was a disappointing result, Moses received praise from Acosta’s camp for a courageous performance and the chances of a rematch could well be on the cards.
Namibian boxing promoter Nestor Tobias also received praise from Don King’s representative at the fight, Teddy Singleton and more international fights could be on the way.
The 2009/10 soccer season came to an end with African Stars making history by winning the League and Cup double for the first time since independence. It was a great season by the Samba Boys who also won most of the individual trophies on offer. Goalkeeper Max Mbaeva won the NPL Player of the Season award while Stars’ coach Bobby Samaria won the Coach of the Season award.
Stars midfielder Rudi Louw won our own MTC Player of the Season award after receiving the most votes from our panel of judges and our readers.
There is a lot more to read in the July issue, ranging from the WHS School Sport Festival which continues to grow from strength to strength, to the Namibian Rugby Premier League and Global United v African Legends soccer exhibition match which was staged in Namibia to raise awareness about global warming and climate change.
We also have our regular features like “They said it,” Sport Science, the Nashua Sporting Calendar and the Local Sport Shorts.
Helge Schutz