South Africa Time to be "freeze-framed" to preserve in history

With a grand closing ceremony of FIFA 2010 World Cup drawing to a close, one-month SOCCER carnival has ended. Farewell, heroes – soccer players and fans as well as TV audience around the globe.

The FIFA 2010 world cup has "feted" zealous and enthusiastic soccer fans and let the whole world hearing its voices echoing and reverberating. From whatever angles, history will surely freeze-frame in it a brief yet unforgettable passage of the "South Africa Time"(or SAT).

This is meant neither by the political and economic colors looming over the World Cup itself nor by fresh world records and soccer players' superb performance; people here only underline a new Africa refracted from SAT: an Africa of ability, vigor and potentials and pulling forces as well as an Africa that should be regarded in a brand-new light.

South African President Jacob Zuma expressed his optimism for African teams' success at the FIFA 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. "We have got everything prepared to receive adequately the honor to organize an excellent World Cup," he said on the eve of the World Cup. He could now say the facts "have proven that they can do it well" when the current Word Cup is over.

From the bidding to host the Word Cup, adequate preparations done for the World Cup and World Cup matches, South Africa has demonstrated to the world the ability of the African people. For many years, farsighted Africans have dedicated themselves to exploring answers to thorny African issues, and outsiders, however, often casted them a very doubtful glance on any claim they made, but SAT returned with a firm and resolute glance.

Kofi Anan, chairman of the African Progress Panel and a novel laureate, who is a former United Nations Secretary General, recently said that "by holding the World Cup, the continent's people will be able to stand up tall, Africa, or to change their fate, a bright future."

Six teams from Africa have competed in South Africa's 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Ghana team is the first African team to be listed into top 8, and it is the youngest team at the World Cup at 24 years, 9 months. Youthfulness "is said to be characteristic of hope, because to hope is to be ready for…" and the World Cup opens the eyes of young Ghanaians to their potential and to the promising future.

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