Bafana back where they belong ... At the Fifa World Cup

I can still recall my first reaction to hearing the official 2010 Fifa World Cup song — and, incidentally, it’s the same reaction I have to it now.

A fierce grimace befalls my face whenever I hear Waka Waka by Shakira, even though I’ve been told multiple times that it’s the best of the theme tunes and a banger of a song.

I can only shrug my shoulders and wonder why it was that a Colombian — from a country roughly 11 000km away and very much not on the African continent — was chosen to sing a song about Africa and its first Fifa World Cup.

Thank goodness Freshlyground were in the studio next to Shakira when she recorded it – or so the legend goes; they are the true saviours of 2010.

I suppose it’s also the now-old rocker in me that still rages against that song.

I hope Bad Bunny, whoever he might be, gets to sing the next theme of the 2026 World Cup … I’m sure that’ll go down a treat in Canada and Mexico, but particularly in the US. At least he’s from the latter, even though Puerto Rico seems a long way off to many Americans.

Ah, yes, 2010 — a showpiece event that promised so much, only for the goodwill and progress to be squandered in subsequent years by politicians and administrators. It was glorious … what a time to be alive.

As a country, we overcame criticisms levelled at our preparedness, infrastructure and violent crime from those who perceived themselves to be our betters, narratives that are strangely absent from the upcoming showpiece event, even though there are very real reasons to have such discussions.

Fifteen years later, and after plenty of heartache and much disappointment, South Africans can say we are going to the World Cup again. Hell, it was about time.

In recent years, we have been able to celebrate the Springboks and both Proteas cricket teams. A myriad of achievements in sports stadia around the world reflects beautiful victories by South Africans against stacked decks and tough odds.

Now, Bafana Bafana have silenced the doubters and returned South African football to where it belongs.

On June 11, 2010, I recall, it was a typical winter’s day in Johannesburg. The mercury peaked at 19°C, with crisp blue skies vaulted overhead. There was a sense of electric anticipation in the air.

That Friday, there was belief that we had managed to pull off the country’s greatest logistical challenge ever, and as I walked into some pub, bar or restaurant, a packed scene greeted me. South Africans from every creed and race were accounted for, mini-flags in hand, national colours on their breasts.

For a brief moment, the connective tissue between South Africans was as close as it could arguably ever be, and when Siphiwe Tshabalala scored that screamer of a goal in the opening match of the tournament against Mexico, the earth shuddered in joy.

It’s strange to realise that that moment will have been 16 years ago when the next edition finally kicks off. There will be an entire generation of South Africans who have never seen their nation play at the biggest sporting event in the world.

I wonder if they will feel the euphoria as we did back then.

Despite the maladministration of our game, coach Hugo Broos and his charges have achieved something remarkable — a seminal moment in our sporting history that should be enjoyed and celebrated for the rest of this year and well into next June. It doesn’t matter if you are rugby-first, or a cricket fanatic; here is another opportunity to celebrate what it means to be South African.

I know I am perhaps being too optimistic — political discourse and socio-cultural noise from extreme voices with significant reach will try to sully the moment and drive division instead of collective jollification — but I, for one, can’t wait to finally watch and back a South African team on the grandest stage of them all.

So, as we look ahead to 2026, let us savour this moment. Let us cheer every pass, every tackle, every goal, and remember that South African football has returned to the stage it rightly deserves. Forget the cynics, the critics, and the naysayers — for a few glorious weeks, our nation can unite once more in collective joy.

Broos and his team have given us that gift, and it is ours to cherish.