Johannesburg – South Africa was back in the days of passionate support for Bafana Bafana, World Cup local organising chief Danny Jordaan said on Thursday.
He was asked at a media luncheon in Sandton what he thought the turning point in this support was after years of doom and gloom about Bafana's prospects as one of the lower-ranked nations in the world.
"I think you need to look at the appearance of the Blue Bulls in Orlando last week and the tremendous reception they got," Jordaan said.
This was followed by the national team's friendly draw against Bulgaria, and a much higher-ranked team.
"If Bafana Bafana can give a convincing performance against Colombia (ranked 34th in the world) then you will really feel the turnaround," Jordaan said.
Bafana Bafana is scheduled to meet Colombia in a friendly at Soccer City on Thursday night.
Asked about international visitors' complaints about noisy vuvuzelas at stadiums, Jordaan defended the horns as "instruments of joy and celebration".
However, it had been made clear that the first vuvuzela to be thrown onto the pitch or any use of the musical instrument as a weapon would result in its immediate banning from stadiums.
He was asked at a media luncheon in Sandton what he thought the turning point in this support was after years of doom and gloom about Bafana's prospects as one of the lower-ranked nations in the world.
"I think you need to look at the appearance of the Blue Bulls in Orlando last week and the tremendous reception they got," Jordaan said.
This was followed by the national team's friendly draw against Bulgaria, and a much higher-ranked team.
"If Bafana Bafana can give a convincing performance against Colombia (ranked 34th in the world) then you will really feel the turnaround," Jordaan said.
Bafana Bafana is scheduled to meet Colombia in a friendly at Soccer City on Thursday night.
Asked about international visitors' complaints about noisy vuvuzelas at stadiums, Jordaan defended the horns as "instruments of joy and celebration".
However, it had been made clear that the first vuvuzela to be thrown onto the pitch or any use of the musical instrument as a weapon would result in its immediate banning from stadiums.