Lessons from Old Trafford

For reigning Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester United, the Vodacom Challenge is little more than a walk in the park.

It provides Sir Alex Ferguson and his coaching staff an opportunity to try out new talent and start gearing the side for next season. But for South Africa, hosting the most popular club side on the planet provides an extraordinary opportunity to gauge what’s wrong with the local game.

For starters, despite its formidable financial growth in recent years, our own Premier Soccer League remains the poor cousin of the hugely popular and well-oiled leagues around Europe which have, incidentally, become a breeding ground for African talent. The growth of satellite television has often resulted in local fans choosing the Bundesliga or Series A over local offerings.

However, millions of these armchair fans have now joined die-hard Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates fans — surely the most formidable spectators on the continent — to celebrate this beautifully packaged event.

Blacks, whites, coloureds and Indians have come together to breath new life into the local game. With next year’s Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup looming fast, this is surely a sign of things to come. This unity will stand Bafana Bafana (who fortunately qualify automatically) and the rest of the African qualifiers in good stead.

If South Africa can match the outpouring of public support that Germany (2006) and co-hosts South Korea (2002) enjoyed, then the 2010 World Cup will also be remembered for all the right reasons.