Get sun, fantasy, Makarapas and support our team
The Bafana Bafana team has noticed the support it is getting from its fans, so keep it up South Africa, as fans flock to Durban's Suncoast Casino, follow the Makarapa Adventure Challenge that kicks off on Friday, 11 June 2010, or support them online in Fantasy Football.
Carnival time in Durban
On Friday 11 June, the pre-match festivities kick off with the Hyundai Goodwill Ball Carnival hosted by official transport provider, Hyundai SA. This is the culmination of the international Hyundai Goodwill Ball Road Shows, which saw 32 giant inflatable balls traversing the globe for fans to sign messages of goodwill in support of the participating teams. Standing 4m high, the 32 giant balls will be paraded in Durban from 10.30am on Friday, leaving Destination Market (the old Amphitheatre beachfront market) to wind their way to the finish spot at the Suncoast Casino at noon. The public is encouraged to wear their green and gold with pride and join in the festivities of the parade before the historical opening ceremony and big match.
Fans can add a little culture to their visit, by viewing the Suncoast Zone art exhibition, where the works of leading artists from each of the 32 participating nations will hold pride of place throughout the soccer spectacle. It is open for free public viewing until 31 July, from 10am to 10pm. This is the first time in the 80-year history of the World Cup that fine art on this scale has been recognised as official licensed products by FIFA - another proudly South African first for 2010.
Chase the Makarapa
The Emirates 'Chase the Makarapa', 30-day reality adventure series, where participants from across the globe will compete against each other in SA's beautiful cities race, kicks-off in Jozi on Friday, June 11 and continues to Rustenburg, Nelspruit, Durban, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Jeffrey's Bay, Cape Town, Kimberley and Soweto. Visit www.supersport.com/makarapa for more information on the contestants and their adventure routes.
Fantasy Football
Deloitte has invited the world to take part in its free, online Fantasy Football competition for a replica World Cup trophy and the kudos of being named the world's best Fantasy Football team manager. The South African office will capture the experiences of their staff and the atmosphere at the World Cup games and upload videos and photos to the fantasy league site daily. Roving 'Green Dot' reporters from Deloitte will do this by attending matches and providing up-to-date feedback on the site through social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.
"As this will be the first World Cup to be enjoyed through social media, we're making sure players on the fantasy league can stay up to date with real World Cup experiences, through the "Live from South Africa" page. This will be updated by the minute by Twitter streams from @DeloitteSA," explains marketing director Andre Hugo. "Players will also be able to monitor their fantasy team's progress throughout the competition and switch players in and out of their team on the website throughout the World Cup."
Players must register their teams before 11 June on http://deloitte.fantasyleague.com/ and join the South African contingent.
Passion is noticed
Two days ahead of the first whistle, the nation came out onto the streets in its masses to support the national team. This visible support for the national team is the foundation for a world cup campaign to be proud of and Bafana Bafana greatly appreciates the support everyone has given them at the start of the historic 2010 FIFA World Cup on African soil. "This is the biggest show of public support for our team in the history of the professional game. Today we are proud to be South African and we are committed to flying our flag as we prepare to enter this competition," says SAFA CEO Leslie Sedibe.