Today (Sunday 16th July)was a positive day for South African soccer team Mamelodi Sundowns as they beat Scottish team Rangers 2-0 and, considering they are previous Scottish title holders, this can be seen as an amazing result regardless of whether Ranger’s players were tired from pre-season training or not. What was not so positive was the quality of the pitch, stadium and support!
With international viewers tuning in to watch the match, it is not acceptable to see a game being played in a predominantly cricket stadium on a pitch of such poor quality. An article published on BBC sport states, "...Barry Ferguson was not risked on a poor pitch". This is such poor media coverage for the team expected to host the next World Cup that is to be hosted for the first time on the African continent.
The stadium was seen almost empty and surely we as South Africans should have had more pride in our team and turn out to give them out full support. It is easy to critisize poor performances by South African teams but if we aren’t there to support them when they achieve where has there motivation gone?
Another example of inappropriate and poor organising was the Orlando Pirates vs. Manchester United where the managers were seated on plastic chairs and in contrast to the dug-outs present at the Germany hosted World Cup this is unacceptable.
Can the Local Organising Committee manage to get their act together and use the next four years to organise a truly unforgettable experience in the form of the World Cup? Or will it end in a complete and utter embarrassment for the committee and South African citizens alike? I pledge my full support to the committee and hope they can make this glorious, football crazy country proud and stunned!
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