The World Cup finally came to an old continent and the country chosen by FIFA – the governing body that runs the football league in the world – was South Africa.
For many people may go unnoticed, for some, an event of this magnitude done in the country is very much important. Is it means that its represents much for Africa as a continent, for his people, and quite clearly for some people who have suffered brutal discrimination in the flesh, the loss of friends and loved ones killed inhumanely, and that still bear the wounds exposed during the endless years in tireless freedom struggle of a people, have the right to see a free country where blacks and whites could walk side by side.

Just as an example, recall that the Apartheid left South Africa out of international competitions for over 30 years. Because of its racist policies, the country was unable to participate in international tournaments for over 31 years – between 1961 and 1992. The ban has caused enormous damage it fully hit the careers of many athletes who have never been able to defend their country in World Cups, Continental Championships or Olympics.
The midfielder Vusi Lamola – nicknamed ‟the Computer “- considered one of the smartest in the history of South African football, thanks to his speed of thought, until now regrets not having had the chance to shine at international matches.

“If it was not the apartheid, I would have had the chance to play abroad in places like Europe or even in Brazil. The lack of opportunity affected me forever “- he declared.

When apartheid was implemented as a state’s policy in 1948, South Africa had four leagues꞉ one white, another black, another brown and another one Indian, and on in the national squad, only whites could play. This rule lasted until 1956 when it was extinct but in practice did not work.

In a new charge against racism, FIFA suspended South Africa in 1961 to take part in any international competition. At that time the country went through a delicate political moment and a year before, 69 blacks were killed and 180 wounded during a protest in Sharperville when police opened fire against demonstrators. Then the black movement known as an African National Congress (ANC) was banned and thanks to this episode, ANC may intensify its struggle against apartheid. This movement for a period of time was only peaceful.

In 1962 the UN approved a resolution condemning apartheid and calling for member countries to cut diplomatic relations with South Africa.
In 1964, the political leader Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison where he stayed for 27 years, leaving the bars only with the end of apartheid and then, was elected the first black president of the country.
In 1976, FIFA decided banned South Africa of his members because at that time, the country experienced a wave of violence. The trigger was a student protest in Soweto against the obligation to study the language of the whites, the Afrikaner, which was promptly smashed by the police, which generated a new wave of revolt and more violence, resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people across the country.
Lamola reminds that the time, football was “more than just a sport.” In fact this sport turned out to be a form of protest. “We were brutally oppressed and we used the games against the whites to show that we were capable and we should not keep being discriminated.”

Most of his career, between 70 and 80, was wearing a black and yellow shirt of Kaizer Chiefs, the most popular team of the country, appeared in the neighborhood of Soweto, the center of the black resistance against racism. Today his life is divided between an evangelical church, where he is pastor, teaches soccer to kids in Soweto and also, comment matches in a radio called radio 2000, one of fifteen public radio stations of South Africa.

Lamola today says he is happy “to see the country once again among of the world football league.” “This is really a way of saying that Apartheid did not come to stay forever, and that the sport does things that politicians cannot do, it means break the barrier that kept us isolated for such a long time,” – he said happily.
Lamola, for the Cup itself is a success by its ability to unite the country even more. “Winning or losing does not matter at all, what really matters is we are been heard as one nation, one voice” – he completed.