Africa’s turn to lift World Cup trophy – Rhoo

Johannesburg football fans flocked to the Empire Venue in Parktown to welcome the Fifa World Cup trophy to South African shores.

This is part of a worldwide tour to drum up support for the Russia 2018 showpiece that begins on 14 June.

The trophy’s world tour journey began in Russia and has been to several Asian countries before touching down on the African continent in Mozambique, then to South Africa in Johannesburg and later Cape Town.

South African football heavyweights Dr Danny Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association (Safa) and its CEO Dennis Mumble, and Bafana Bafana legend Lucas Radebe were on hand to welcome the trophy to South African shores when it landed at OR Tambo International Airport.

In Parktown, Radebe, a former Leeds United skipper and Kaizer Chiefs star defender, told fans of the beautiful game that ‘it was Africa’s time in 2010 to host the spectacular now it was Africa’s turn to lift the trophy’.

“My money is on an African country,” he said.

“Africa’s Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana are all waiting in the wings to bag the trophy this time around. We all know how big the Fifa World Cup is and for us to have an opportunity to relive the 2010 excitement is something to be cherished,” added the man who was popularly known as Rhoo during his career at Amakhosi.

The trophy is made up of solid gold and weighs 6,142kg, which explains the heavy security around the trophy.

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