On travelling with Bafana Bafana over the years
I was so happy when I received an invitation from SAFA to travel to Cote d’Ivoire for the Africa Cup of Nations. But this is not the first time that I have had this great opportunity to travel with Bafana Bafana – this is my 18th trip, if I’m not mistaken. The first trip was in 1992 when we travelled to Zimbabwe with the South African Football Supporters (SAFS) to watch Bafana in the Afcon qualifiers. At the time, we had just been readmitted into international football after spending so many years in international isolation due to apartheid. Zimbabwe beat us 4-1 at Harare Stadium and that was an eye-opener for me. Unlike now, back then there were no supporters’ delegations – you just had to get your own passport, make your travel arrangements and go on your own. I didn’t have anyone assisting me with travel arrangements, like now. Before, you had to go on your own. All in all, I have travelled to 12 African countries and six countries abroad. I also went to Egypt in 2006, 2013 and 2019 Africa Cup Nations tournaments, which was memorable. I’ve also been to Ghana three times and Zimbabwe four times.
When we qualified for the 1998 World Cup, I was also part of the South African supporters’ delegation and that trip was organised by Castle. That was South Africa’s first ever World Cup. I had a great experience in France and I learnt a lot about how supporters from other countries behave during matches because you must remember that it was the first time that South Africa had qualified for the World Cup, and that is where I learnt that as supporters, we have to sit as a group. Everything about the seat numbers and where to sit the supporters, that is something I learned at the 1998 World Cup. You know how things are in South Africa, supporters arrive late at matches, some arrive during the match, at half-time and we normally move around because we don’t pay attention to seat numbers allocated to us. But there at the 1998 World Cup, people were very disciplined when it came to seat numbers and arriving early at the venue, so it was a new experience for me. It was also the first time I met President Nelson Mandela. He watched the first match when we lost 3-0 to France and spent some time with us just chatting about sport and life in general. That World Cup in 1998 will always be in my mind for so many reasons. Football can give you a chance to meet so many great people around the world, and for me to be part of it was very nice.
