Crowds come out to boost BB

I wonder how many had a feeling of irony though, that a team that is generally supported by the black population of the country should be paraded through the one area of the land that has the most white CEOs per square kilometre. But perhaps that was the point, instead of taking the team through the streets of Soweto, Alex or Tembisa, the organisers chose to parade them to a new audience.

Anyway, it was a great sight and a credit to the country and the levels of support the side have been able to generate over the last few months, in no small part due to their 12-match unbeaten run.

Ghana goes for a gamble?

Ghana decided to switch hotels on Wednesday, leaving the Roode Vallei Hotel in Pretoria for Sun City. Word on the street is that Sun City was always first option for Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac all along, but the Ghana FA opted for the cheaper option in Pretoria.

The Serbian coach finally got his way though in what is an embarrassment for the Roode Vallei establishment. You would think that taking your players to a gambling/entertainments mecca such as Sun City carries some sort of risk though too!

Aussies put the boot in over pitch, and this is a first BB would not want

In two other embarrassing incidents, Australia and Serbia have changed their training facilities after declaring themselves unhappy with the pitches.

Finally, let's hope that history repeats itself when Bafana Bafana takes on Mexico on Friday at Soccer City. It has been well-publicised that no host nation has ever gone out in the first round of the tournament.

But also, no host nation has ever lost the opening match of the tournament when they have been involved in it. There have been seven such fixtures, producing five wins for the hosts (Italy 1934, Brazil 1950, Sweden 1958, Chile 1962 and Germany 2006) and two 0-0 draws (England v Uruguay 1966 and Mexico v Soviet Union 1970).