By President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa
Dear Fellow South African,
In just under two weeks’ time, Bafana Bafana will participate in the opening match in this year’s FIFA World Cup against Mexico.
They carry with them the best wishes of more than 62 million South Africans who will be cheering them on at every stage of the tournament. Bafana Bafana are taking part in the World Cup for the first time since we hosted the event in 2010.
At a send-off dinner hosted by the Presidency last week, we congratulated the team going to the World Cup. Football is defined by camaraderie, teamwork and sportspersonship. The efforts of all the players in qualifying for the tournament deserve credit and recognition.
I call on all South Africans to rally behind our team and show their support. Let us wear the team colours and fly the flag.
It has been a long and difficult journey to transform the fortunes of Bafana Bafana. Credit must go to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, the South African Football Association, the leagues, clubs and sponsors for their commitment to developing local football over many years. The coach and the players deserve our collective recognition.
Efforts are ongoing to professionalise the sport, develop new talent and promote football as a recreational activity for youth in communities across the country.
Bafana Bafana will be ambassadors for our country and what we stand for. The diversity of the squad and technical team is a reminder to the world that we are a united nation of many races, languages and cultures.
We are a land of opportunity where a young person born into difficult circumstances is able to represent their country at the highest level of international sport. The transformation of sport in South Africa is a reflection of the values of respect, tolerance, fairness and inclusivity that underpin our constitutional order.
As we know from experience, sport has a tremendous capacity to unite people across the barriers of geography, race, gender and class. We remember the iconic moment at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final when President Nelson Mandela walked onto the field wearing a Springbok jersey to congratulate the Bokke.
That moment has been immortalised in writings, memoirs and film. It captured the spirit of the times, when South Africa’s democracy was barely a year old. The country was energised by the team’s victory, but more so by what it represented to a new nation that was emerging from a deeply divided past.
As I told the Bafana Bafana squad last week, the people of South Africa expect them to bring the trophy home. Yet regardless of how Bafana Bafana fare in the tournament, their participation is as rich with meaning as the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Much like the national squad, the country has emerged from a prolonged period of difficulty and now looks to the future with hope.
Our democracy has matured and is flourishing, our Constitution has been the supreme law of the land for three decades, and we have embarked on a National Dialogue to chart a new course for our country. We are seeing the signs of an economic recovery and growing confidence in our economic prospects.
So as we cheer our team on from the stands, at fan zones and in our homes, we should also cheer ourselves on as a country. We should celebrate how far we have come in building a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.
And like Bafana Bafana, we should keep working and striving until we have achieved a country in which all our people can thrive.
For 90 minutes, as they play for our country, we will not be divided by language, race, province, club or circumstance. For 90 minutes, as they play, we will simply be South Africans standing together behind our national team and behind our flag.
One Team. One Nation. Behind Bafana. Behind South Africa. United by our Flag, inspired by our Team. 62 million cheering voices. One Dream.
