Yes we can! Confed Cup boosts Brand SA

Global votes of confidence

It was US coach Bob Bradley who spoke for many when he concluded: "We have had an amazing time in South Africa. The way people have treated us like friends, their passion for the game, the security personnel who actually smile, the organisation - in all those ways it's been a great experience and to a man in our squad everyone would say they can't wait to complete the task of qualifying and get back here next year."

None other than the chairman of the 2006 FIFA World Cup LOC, Franz Beckenbauer aka The Kaiser, joined the chorus of congratulants when he gave his assessment of Bafana Bafana's sterling performance against Brazil, saying that "they could have beaten Brazil. They played a perfect tactical game... If South Africa get a finisher then they'll be one of the favourites to win the World Cup. They really impressed me a lot."

Bafana brand ambassadors

As evidenced by the collective euphoria that gripped South Africa when Bafana rose to challenging both five-times world champions Brazil and the world's top ranking team Spain, and coming close to victory, the hosting team is key to elevating the 2010 football tournament to a nation-building catalyst.

In fact, if there is one single lesson from the previous three editions of the FIFA World Cup, it is that a winning hosting team is the key to producing a truly memorable event and uniting people across the barriers that so often create divisions:

• Healing old divides: Prior to the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the host nation France was riddled by xenophobia and labeled “the most racially troubled country in Europe”. Even the French team, which was composed of many players from immigrant backgrounds, was subject to verbal attacks from right-wing politicians.

  This all changed when the French team reaped one victory after another and eventually lifted the world cup trophy. Says Tom Sancton, Paris bureau chief of Time magazine at the time: “The soccer team did more to promote racial tolerance in France, and pride and a sense of belonging amongst its immigrant population, than anything the government could have ever done.”

• Boosting civic pride: Sandwiched between economic giant Japan and rising superpower China, Korea, the 2002 FIFA World Cup hosts, had always shouldered an inferiority complex. Said bleached-haired midfielder Kim Nam II on the eve of Korea's 2002 debut: "We want to show the world we are a team, and a nation, that can compete with the best, and win."

  Throughout Korea's fairytale wins, the entire country erupted in delirious rapture, with people crying and cheering wildly while others were left literally speechless. Says Sue Park, who runs her own public relations company in Seoul, "We've never been proud of our country before. We've had so many political problems, corruption, wars, even being divided between North and South. But today, I am so proud to be Korean."

• Restoring the feel-good vibes: Before the 2006 FIFA World Cup kickoff, the German team was labeled the “worst performing German team of all times”. By playing a new brand of football, going all out to score goals and win games, and advancing to a previously unimaginable third place, the German team truly won “the world cup of the hearts” and was key in uplifting the collective psyche.
  Concluded Germany's Spiegel: “Long considered a dour and gray nation of moaners, the soccer tournament has unleashed a torrent of feel-good vibes from Hamburg to Munich that has stunned the locals probably even more than all the foreign visitors from around the globe. Germans - long shy about expressing positive attitudes toward their country in light of their difficult history - have experienced four weeks of unabashed fun and pride decked out in the national colors.”

It was Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena who put the finishing touches to a truly remarkable team performance when he said: "I'm sure the supporters are proud of us and I have to say thank you to them because they their support has given us an extra player in football terms. I have said it in all my interviews that we need support and they did so. We did pay them back so now it's about moving to the World Cup together as a country."

Ke nako! Now is truly the time to wear the shirt, fly the flag and support Bafana Bafana all the way - in word, deed and prayer!

For more:

• Poll: Has the Confed Cup contributed positively to Brand SA? So far, Bizcommunity.com readers have overwhelmingly given host country South Africa the thumbs up. What's your vote?