WORLD CUP BLOG: David Beckham and a plague of vuvazelas

SINCE I’ve been here for the past two years, I’ve seen the expectation of the South Africans grow and they are very excited to be hosting the tournament. 

I think there are huge expectations that this tournament will help regenerate business and tourism in the country as well as the improved infrastructure of roads, electricity and water.

However, the legacy of the World Cup is yet to been seen. 

Personally, I don’t think the football legacy is not filtering down to the real poor and rural communities, schools can still not access even a football, or have any fields to play on, let alone have shirts, and socks or boots or shin pads.

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I would have thought if there was to be any legacy from this tournament it would be in soccer development and providing more playing opportunities for the children and helping the schools to provide that.

I think that is a shame as for the country there is no soccer development programme for girls or boys and if this tournament could leave any legacy behind i would have thought that would have been on be of the objectives.

Whilst working at the media centre, I have seen a number of familiar faces.

On Saturday, for example I was in the tunnel when the teams arrived and at the end of the game I had to collect the final match report and I was stood next to David Beckham as the players walked off the pitch. 

I have just helped (BBC commentator) Jackie Oatley and ex-England manager Graham Taylor find their car as they were lost.

We laughed about it as Jackie called the driver and he said "Oh, I just saw you all walk past.” Funny he didn’t think to get them!!

There is a saying here: “TIA”. It means “This is Africa”, and  believe me there are many TIA moments when it seems like only in Africa could this happen! 

For instance, take the directions that arrive for you to collect volunteer accreditation. I followed it, we got there and nothing.

I eventually found a phone number of someone to call for clarification and he said “Oh, yeah, it’s changed now!" So I had to turn around and drive back another 40kms. TIA!!!

Time keeping doesn’t work here, most people don’t wear a watch they just get somewhere when they get there. 

There is a bus service for us here of mini people carriers and mini buses but they don’t set off anywhere until they are full.

That’s why time keeping is tricky because most of the time you don’t know how long you have before it sets off. Oh well, TIA!

The vuvuzelas can be heard constantly, from 7am until you go to bed at night it’s all you hear...and in the stadiums the noise is massive.

I was quite disappointed with the England match on Saturday as I thought there would have been lots of football songs.

I was telling everyone here how the English supporters have lots of football songs..but I couldn’t hear any at the match—just the vuvuzelas.