fifacup2014bzil[Tuesday December 28,2010]
World Cup highlights SA football year
2010 was an outstanding year for South African football – and sport in general – but picking out the highlight is easy. It doesn't belong to any individual sportsman or woman or team, but to the country as a whole for the hugely successful hosting of the Fifa World Cup, played in Africa for the first time.

Fifa President Sepp Blatter declared the event "near perfect", and gave it a rating of nine out of 10.

Contrary to the stories of some doom mongers ahead of the playing of football's showcase event, the World Cup proved to be a massive success and, as the tournament progressed, South Africa and South Africans changed the perceptions of people from afar, leading to many football fans making a late move to join in the festive atmosphere of the tournament.

Stadiums
One thing that truly stood out about the World Cup was the world class standard of the stadiums, which surpassed any World Cup previously.

Johannesburg's FNB Stadium, known as Soccer City during the event, displayed the iconic African image of a calabash, while Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium dominated the city's beautiful beachfront skyline with its stunning arch, and the Cape Town Stadium impressed with its warm intimacy.

It was not just about those three stadiums, however, it was about all of them and another reason they shone was because of the fantastic support of local fans alongside the traveling hordes of overseas supporters.

There had been fears about the level of support that South Africans would give the event, but those worries proved unfounded as the nation took the World Cup to heart and the South African flag flew proudly throughout the event, buoyed by the very successful "Football Fridays" campaign.

Vuvuzela
And lest anyone forget, the World Cup introduced a new word to the English language: vuvuzela. The droning plastic trumpets became the sound of the World Cup, loved by some, hated by others.

Spain were crowned worthy champions after beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final. No team could live with the Spaniards' splendid passing game