South Africa's People South Africa is an amazing place and is referred to as the Rainbow Nation. It is well known for diversity in different cultures and people. In South Africa, there are eleven official languages spoken. The two main languages are Afrikaans, spoken mostly by the white people of South Africa and the other is South African English. The population of South Africa is roughly 49 million. Three quarters of the population is black, 15% is white and the remaining 10% is a mix of different cultures. About a quarter of the population is un-employed, and lives on less than $1.25 US a day. The black people of South Africa are divided into four main ethnic groups. These are called Namely Nguni, Sotho, Shangaan-Tsonga and Venda. The two sub-groups are called Zulu and Xhosa. Most of the coloured population live in the Northern and Western Cape provinces. A General Overview of the World Cup The Fifa Soccer World Cup is hosted by a different country every four years. The World Cup began in 1930 and has occurred every four years, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II. It involves 32 teams, who qualify over a time period of three years prior to the next World Cup. Amongst the 18 tournaments which have been held, only seven national teams have won. Brazil have won it five times, and is also the only team to have competed in every World Cup. Italy, have won four titles, and Germany have won three. Uruguay and Argentina have both won twice, and England and France both winning once. The World Cup is the most viewd sporting event in the world, with a bigger T.V audience than the Olympics. It is said that an estimated 715.1 million people watched the Grand Finals of the 2006 World Cup, when Italy beat France. Originally, in 1982 the World Cup consisted of 24 teams, and in 1998 32 teams were introduced. The strongest teasm, are really all from either South America or Europe. For instance, all the quarter-finalists in 2006 were all from these two continents. Some of these teams include Brazil, Argentina. Italy, Germany and France. 198 nations enetred qualifaication for the 2006 Cup and in 2010, for South Africa a record 204 teams attempted qualification. The current trophy for the World Cup was designed by the Italian designer Silivio Gazzaniga. The trophy is 36 cm tall, made of 18 carat gold and weighs 6.175 kg. The description of the trophy said by Gazzaniga was: " The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world". |
Bafana Bafana Bafana Bafana is South Africa's official team. They are ranked 88 worldwide, by Fifa. Bafana Bafana is in Zulu, and means 'the boys, the boys'. They are controlled by the South Africa Football Association. South Africa is the very first African nation to be able to hold the World Cup. After many years of being banned from Fifa, they finally returned in 1992. They're head coach is Carlos Alberto Parreira. South Africa has had many great players over the years. They're biggest win in history, was in 1955, when they beat Australia. Some of they're date back to Gordon Hodgson, Bill Perry, Jomo Sono and Pule 'Ace' Ntsolengoe. Some of they're recent stars include Shaun Bartlett, Subosiso Zuma and Steve Pienaar. The final squad is as follows: Goalkeepers: Brian Baloyi, Itumeleng Khune, Rowen Fernandez Defenders: Matthew Booth, Siboniso Gaxa, Morgan Gould, Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth, England), Bryce Moon, Bongani Khumalo, Innocent Mdledle. Midfielders: Lance Davids, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Teko Modise, Steven Pienaar (Everton, England), Macbeth Sibaya, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Benson Mhlongo, Elrio van Heerden (Blackburn Rovers, England). Strikers: Bernard Parker, Katlego Mphela, Thembinkosi Fanteni (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Katlego Mashego. Economy and Infrastructure Jacob Zuma, South Africas President quoted " “the country’s transport, energy, telecommunications, and social infrastructure are being upgraded and expanded. This is contributing to economic development in the midst of a global recession, while improving conditions for investment.” It is said tha an estimated 450,000 tourists are expected to visit for the World Cup. An average of $5000 will be spent by each tourist which all adds up to an extra $2.25 billion that will boost South Africa's economy. And, because of the World Cup, South Africa now has two brand new, modern air-ports in Cape Town and Durban. They also now have expanded and re-furbished highways, and better public transportation systems. One of these systems is the newly built Gautrain, which connects Johannesburg, Pretoria and Tambo International Air-port. This costed R25 billion, making it the most public-private partnership ever in South Africa. Around R286 million has been put in to South Africa's health care, now with 24 hour emergency service. R17.4 billion, $2.2 billion has been funded to different provinces by the Government, which was for construction and re-vamp their stadiums. Stadiums The World Cup, will be hosted in ten world-class South African stadiums. Five of the stadiums underwent major renovation for the World Cup. These included Soccer City, Ellis Park and the Royal Bafokeng,in Rustenburg. New stadiums were built in Mpamalanga, and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Peter Mokaba Stadium was re-built, along with Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. In Cape Town, Greenpoint Stadium had a retractable dome to keep the heat inside, because of the cold and unpredictable weather.  |
