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Bafana Bafana arrived in Bloemfontein on Sunday (15 November) to a festive atmosphere. The South African senior men’s national team is in Bloemfontein to prepare for their friendly international match against Jamaica on Tuesday (17 November). The clash takes place at Vodacom Park, starting at 20h30. The national team was welcome with song and dance by traditional dancers as well as the Siwelele Group which turned the hotel foyer into a music festival. Dressed in Bafana Bafana regalia, the Siwelele singers had the players singing along to a variety of songs.

Speaking on behalf of the Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Municipality, Councillor Kedibone Choene, who is in the Sports, Arts and Culture portfolio, welcomed the squad to the 2010 Host City. “I would like to extend a very warm Free State and Mangaung welcome to you all to our beautiful city. We are pleased to have been given the honour of hosting the second match since the return of our dear friend, Coach Carlos Parreira. I trust that your stay here will be a happy moment with the return of glory to the Bafana Bafana family,” said councillor Choene.

Bafana Bafana are in Bloemfontein following a hard-fought goalless draw against Japan, who are 40th on FIFA world rankings. The match was played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (14 November).

“Let me take this moment and congratulate the team for the good performance against Japan on Saturday. Although it was a draw, we know the visitors have been scoring goals in their previous matches and therefore you were able to silence their scoring abilities. This indeed was a very good start after several losses. You need to be proud of your achievement on Saturday and I believe this is the beginning of the glory that we saw during the FIFA Confederations Cup. We need to remain mentally positive and build on the success of Saturday for the match against Jamaica on Tuesday (17 November). We believe that this match will give South Africans a win that we have been waiting for,” said Choene.