Publications
Partners
Port Elizabeth - With a little more than half the 2010 Fifa World Cup already history, it seems soccer fans in Port Elizabeth retain their enthusiasm for the game.
Hundreds of fans again turned out at the St George's Park fan fest to watch the first round of 16 match on Saturday, in which Uruguay beat South Korea two-one.
Once again the atmosphere was festive, despite the crowd being much smaller than at previous games, particularly Bafana Bafana's fixtures and the Brazil-Portugal match on Friday.
According to the Fifa fan fest news update, over 100 000 visitors have turned up at St George's Park so far.
On Friday, just under 6 000 fans watched the much anticipated match between Brazil and Portugal end in a tame 0-0 draw on the giant big screen.
Self-proclaimed football fanatic Zingiswa Mnikina of Port Elizabeth said she had "adopted" Brazil after Bafana Bafana’s early exit.
She was still hoping to see the suspended Kaka in action.
"I was so disappointed when he got yellow-carded again. Brazil is really missing his flair," she said.
However, Brazil's solid defence was one of the reasons why she rated them as the favourites to lift the cup on July 11.
Good defence
"It’s very important to have a good defence in tournaments of this stature and [Friday} they showed that there are no holes at the back." Mnikina’s said Bafana had acquitted themselves "very well" of their task, but she had a message for their outgoing coach Carlos Parreira.
"It was a mistake to under use a player like Siyabona Nomvete. He would’ve taken a lot of pressure off during the early part of the tournament." Christian Simpson, from Walmer in PE, said he had come for the football and the "awesome vibe", while Grahamstown student Danielle Rijs said she was at the fan fest for both the football and the entertainment.
Popular SA rock band Just Jinger was on hand at the fan fest on Friday to entertain fans after the Brazil-Portugal match.
On Saturday, three stars from the soapie "generations" also mingled with fans at the fan fest.
Thabiso Mokgethi (Sam), Siphiwe Mtshali (Zamani) and Sipho Ngwenya (Ajax) were at St George’s Park as part of the SABC's promotional activities during the day.
"Umhlobo Wenene" presenters Pastor Nozewu, Sibongile James and Luyanda Gidane also made an appearance.
