Back to the future

Back to the future

By Sonya on July 14, 2010

There are two predominant feelings at the end of the World Cup: 1) What do I do with all this free time? 2) Hot damn! We pulled it off! It may be business as usual after Sunday’s finale – children are back in their school uniforms and television is broadcasting its regularly scheduled programming – [...]

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When the world's eyes turn away

When the world’s eyes turn away

By Sonya on July 8, 2010

The white van slows down and a passenger leans out. “Durban! Anyone for Durban?” Those waiting by the side of the highway all shake their heads. Durban is on the east coast of the country. They need to go north from Cape Town towards Johannesburg, and beyond. Specifically, they need to cross the border out [...]

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Yes We Can

Yes We Can

By Sonya on July 8, 2010

You can’t find anyone in South Africa today who supported apartheid. Neither can you find anyone, anymore, who was against the country hosting the 2010 World Cup. Four South African development leaders spoke at a panel earlier this week and joined in a raving chorus about how the tournament has united, motivated and showcased South [...]

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Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

By Sonya on June 30, 2010

There’s no BP oil spill here. No travelling Queen. No tweeny vampire movie on its way to theatres. South Africa is a tightly sealed bubble of soccer. So isolated, I suspect that in the event of the apocalypse, cockroaches and Cape Town would survive. It’s kind of fun. An advertisement in an education magazine encourages [...]

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The Rainbow Bandwagon

The Rainbow Bandwagon

By Sonya on June 27, 2010

Few would have predicted these words: “It’s been a perfect World Cup.” But FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke delivered them at a press conference on Saturday, telling reporters South Africa has been the best host nation in World Cup history at the halfway point in the tournament. In the future, “South Africa will always be [...]

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Sing

Sing

By Sonya on June 23, 2010

South Africa was reborn in 1994 with a new president, new flag – and a new national anthem. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (God Bless Africa) uses the five most widely spoken languages in the country – isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English. Most South Africans will agree that the melody is very beautiful – but they [...]

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Keeping up appearances

Keeping up appearances

By Sonya on June 21, 2010

Myth: Africa is always hot. Reality: Cape Town woke up to snow streaks on Table Mountain last week. It’s counter-intuitive for World Cup visitors,  but winter officially kicks off today, June 21st. The city of Durban has sent bikini-wearing models to the streets of Johannesburg to advertise that KwaZulu-Natal is the warmest province to be [...]

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If you build it, they will come

If you build it, they will come

By Sonya on June 10, 2010

Buses and bridges and signs, oh my! The bill is in the billions, but the World Cup push is making Cape Town an easier place to get around. Cars have always been king here. There are no cyclists, and few pedestrians – especially after dark. Public transportation is limited to a commuter train that connects [...]

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Banking on a bed

Banking on a bed

By Sonya on June 8, 2010

Less than a year ago, it was common knowledge that anyone could get rich off the World Cup. One of the featured storylines on 7de Laan, a popular Afrikaans soap opera, was elderly and inseparable couple Hilda and Oubaas opening up their own B&B, for which they planned to charge exorbitant rates in 2010. It [...]

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The football mystique

The football mystique

By Sonya on June 5, 2010

The Cape Argus’ full-page colour ad unveils the Independent Newspaper’s World Cup “strikers” – the 11 sports journalists who will cover the tournament for the media group. All 11 are men. It’s not the only piece of the FIFA World Cup missing women. This is also true in the tournament’s primary areas of job creation. [...]

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Not in my backyard

Not in my backyard

By Sonya on June 2, 2010

Solomon Cedile is a community activist from Khayelitsha, Cape Town’s largest township. I caught up with him at a presentation called “Make Unemployment History” today. Against the backdrop of the city’s famous Table Mountain, he explains why he is opposed to the “World Crap.”

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On a red dirt pitch

On a red dirt pitch

By Sonya on June 2, 2010

I watched these boys in Segwashi village, Limpopo, playing soccer after school and wondered why Bafana Bafana are such underdogs when there’s no shortage of talent in the country. My friend (and translator) Ronny Mapapa groaned when I brought this up. “I was very good too when I was young, you know. I could be [...]

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World Cup's work and play

World Cup’s work and play

By Sonya on May 27, 2010

I spoke with Josias Ramollo, 28, at his home in Mankweng, Limpopo on Wednesday about working on Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane and what he thinks is ahead for the tournament. (Thank you to Ronny Mapapa for acting as a translator.) What work did you do on the new stadium? I did brick laying. I [...]

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