Sixteen years ago, on June 11, South Africa celebrated one of its proudest moments when the 2010 football World Cup kicked-off in Johannesburg. Within the hour of the first match, the country went into collective ecstasy as Siphiwe Tshabalala thundered the ball into the back of the net to score the tournament's opening goal against Mexico.
Halaala!!! South Africa had made it.
In the end, the match was drawn 1-1 and South Africa became the first host nation who failed to make it out of the group stage. But let's not let the facts get in the way of a good story. Especially given the significance of it today. Sixteen years later, after three failed attempts, South Africa are back at the men's football World Cup and as luck would have it, will play the opening game against Mexico, in Mexico City. Some 8,700 kilometres away in Manchester, there are a group of South Africans who know exactly what the football team is going through and cannot wait to watch them shine.
"We're sitting on the same boat, really, because nobody's giving Bafana Bafana a chance to cause an upset or actually get through the group stages," Mandla Mashimbyi, South Africa Women's coach said, referring to the fact that despite being two-time finalists, his team are under-rated at this event. So he had time to take off his cricket hat to give his expert opinion on 'the boys,' as they are nicknamed in South Africa.
"We bring a different type of football and it's something that people are not accustomed to, so I really think that we might cause an upset. So I'm giving it a 1-0 win. Worst case scenario, a draw."
There's a reason beyond hope that Mashimbyi is so optimistic: good things rub off. "If Bafana Bafana get a win today and we get a win on Saturday, that would be good for our country. And if they do get a win today, it would maybe lift the girls in some way," Mashimbyi said. "But I think living a legacy is probably the main thing for us. It's making sure that we continue to want to inspire the country in any way we can."
The national project of using sport as a way to unify the country has been running far longer than 2010 and peaked with back-to-back rugby World Cup wins in 2019 and 2023. Cricket has contributed too, first when the national women's side reached the final of the 2023 and 2024 T20 World Cups and the 2025 ODI World Cup, and then when the men's side lifted the World Test Championship mace at Lord's last year. Incidentally, the match started exactly a year ago today (June 11). So as far as serendipities go, South Africa have them all but they know World Cups are not won on signs alone.
For this tournament, they have pulled out all the stops in selection by convincing champion fast bowler Shabnim Ismail out of retirement and including former captain Dane van Niekerk in a World Cup squad for the first time since 2020. Now, they have also bolstered coaching resources with the inclusion of veteran former first-class player and current Surrey women's coach Johann Myburgh, who will be with the South African side for the bulk of the tournament: around 20 days. Mashimbyi knows Myburgh from their time together at Northerns and Titans, based in Centurion, and felt he would be a good fit for the group.
"I needed somebody with experience locally and somebody that understands our culture in South Africa in terms of how we want to go about things and how we do things," Mashimbyi said. "Johann, just for the fact that he coaches the women's team and he understands the conditions, would be the best bet for us. And I know him. I've played against him, I've played with him and I didn't want to get to know a coach when I got here. It just looked a bit easier for me to find somebody that I have known for a long time and I continuously speak to."
This is not the first time Mashimbyi has roped in a player to add something to the team. In April, South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj was part of the women's coaching staff for their T20I series against India, which they won 4-1. Maharaj has not made the trip to the tournament but India are in South Africa's group and his impact is said to have lasted.
Before South Africa even get to thinking about India, they must play serial champions Australia, who come into this event trophy-less and in transition, on June 13. Whether that means they are there for taking, is something Mashimbyi won't be drawn on.
"All I know is that Australia is a world-class team. Whether they're going through a transition or not, I don't care. I just want to make sure that our girls believe that they can beat them," he said. "Whether they're going under the radar, whether they're coming in as champions, we just need to believe that we're good enough to play against them and compete and beat them. That's what we need to do."
Mashimbyi's unfiltered way of speaking is refreshing and has, so far, served South Africa well. Having come into the job in late 2024, without prior experience of coaching a women's team, he has always maintained that he sees women's cricket simply as cricket and wants to coach it as a sport, not a gender. Similarly, he does not have the baggage of those who remember Australia as all-conquering and seems to see them through less stardust and more pragmatism. Crucially, in the true South African way, he seems to believe anything is possible.
"The beauty of it is that I've got no prior experience playing against Australia," he said. "The players are the ones that have some experience and obviously beat them in the semi-final of the last (T20) World Cup. For us, it was not about what Australia does. We are focusing on what we want to do. The only competition we have in this World Cup is how well we play every game that we actually get a chance to play. And making our players realise that teams like Australia, England, West Indies, they're trying to protect their history. We want to create history. They're protecting their legacy. We want to create a legacy."
From Manchester to Mexico City, that's what South Africans will be saying over the next few weeks.