Kaizer Chiefs players in the South African World Cup Team have become house hold names around the world with their performances for Bafana Bafana during the World Cup opener against Mexico, Siphiwe Tshabalala in particular has stolen the headlines with his amazing goal during the game which ended 1-1.

His composure and finish has been complimented by Holland and Real Madrid play maker Rafael Van Der Vaart who said of the goal, “it was a great goal a very good touch and a nice finish”. The international media have been digging out as much information on Tshabalala as possible many of the well known international press agencies have been amazed by quick and quiet his rise to stardom.

It is not just Tshabalala who has been grabbing the headlines Amakhosi goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune’s rise to stardom has also caught the attentions of the foreign press, with a lot of focus being put on the way he overcame social adversity to become a national hero.

In the build up to the World Cup and during the competition whenever the Chiefs players have been put in front of the media they have handled themselves well and their friendly nature has won them friends amongst the foreign press.

Itumeleng Khune was quizzed by a French Radio Station recently about his love for cricket as a boy, the in-depth research carried out on the Chiefs players demonstrates that their names are being mentioned in households around the world.

The colorful and friendly personalities of all three of the Chiefs players in the Bafana Bafana squad has seen them become marketable commodities to sponsors as well, a diving Reneilwe Letsholonyane decorates a number of billboard’s around the country advertising Vodacom’s support for Bafana Bafana.

Visitors to Johannesburg are treated to an image of Itumeleng Khune and Siphiwe Tshabalala which is emblazoned at night in neon lights on a huge sky scraper in the Johannesburg CBD, alongside the images of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo and England striker Wayne Rooney as part of the ‘Write The Future’ advertising campaign being run by Chiefs technical sponsors Nike.

While the World’s attention is on the country a number of local and international endorsement and publicity opportunities will open up to the Chiefs players, and all of this comes about with the territory of being FIFA World Cup hosts.