The exit of our national team from the World Cup is in no way indicative of the country’s spirit and loyal support.
23 June 2010, Johannesburg – “Out but Proud” is the screaming headline in one of our national newspapers following the sterling performance of Bafana Bafana against France yesterday. The national team put up an incredible fight as they played their way into not only the hearts of South Africans, but that of the whole world. South Africa today stands proud to be associated with Bafana Bafana after they convincingly won their last group match.
The whole country is proud of the team because it has done what the nation expected of them as hosts. That is to play entertaining football with determination, passion, commitment and, of course, show pride in the jersey. Outplaying and beating the 1998 world champions, France, 2-1 – presently ranked ninth in the world, has exceeded the expectations of this country.
It is against this background that South Africans from all walks of life are still celebrating the victory as if they had won the world cup itself. Bafana Bafana’s brave performance in the past few weeks has ignited the first world cup on African soil to unprecedented levels. The enthusiasm and passion across the length and breadth of South Africa has served as a memorable experience for our visitors. Football may be about scoring goals, but Bafana has taught our visitors new goals that will form part of the lasting legacy of the world cup.
They have showed that there can be honour in defeat if you give your very best – the out pouring of love is testament. African humanity has shone like a beacon as the doomsayers cannot believe the united stand that the country adopted since the start of the tournament and yesterday. South Africans, sang, danced and enjoyed the good old traditional braai in a show of support that has become the envy of the world.
As the tournament continues, the message from South Africans is very clear. This is still our tournament; this is still an African world cup which must be supported. The exit of Bafana on such a high has cultivated further euphoria around this historic occasion. The incredible achievements of our team have reinforced the mood in the Rainbow Nation to continue being fantastic hosts. There is still over two weeks of the world cup left to be enjoyed. Remaining African teams will no doubt benefit from the foundation Bafana laid in garnering support for the remainder of the tournament.
However, South Africa being a rainbow nation whose love for sport is legendary, teams that take a leaf from the Bafana School of excellence and play with the same commitment and passion will no doubt win the hearts of host fans as they go for the ultimate prize.
End
About the International Marketing Council of South Africa
(Brand South Africa)
The International Marketing Council of South Africa (IMC) was established in August 2002 to help create a positive and compelling brand image for South Africa. At that time, the world was unsure about what to think of South Africa, with many different messages being sent out by various sources. These did very little to build the country’s brand and it was evident that to attract tourism and investment there was a need to co-ordinate marketing initiatives to make them more effective. This led to the creation of the IMC, whose main objective is the marketing of South Africa through the Brand South Africa campaign. There are many benefits to having a consolidated brand image, with the most important being that a consistent Brand South Africa message creates strategic advantages in terms of trade and tourism for the country in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
For further information:
Margaret Dingalo
Director: Stakeholder Relations
International Marketing Council of South Africa
Tel: +27 11 483 0122
Web: Brandsouthafrica
Kalay Maistry
Media Relations Manager
International Marketing Council of South Africa
Tel: +27 11 483 0122
Email: kalaym@brandsouthafrica.com
