The ‘City of Roses’ Bloemfontein gave Bafana Bafana the kind of welcome normally reserved for heads of state when they landed in the Free State’s largest city on Sunday afternoon ahead of their final group game against France on Tuesday afternoon. Hundred’s of fans took time out on Sunday lunch time to greet the team which will be a huge morale booster as they need to win their final group match against France with a healthy margin to boost their chances of going through to the knock out stages.

Fans blew their Vuvuzela’s and serenaded the team with a number of favourite South African oldies as they walked through the arrivals hall at the airport, earlier on Sunday Bafana held a training session at Sturrock Park and left their team hotel in Sandton which has been their past for the past month at mid morning and headed off to the airport.

Prior to their departure for the airport the Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (OC), Dr Danny Jordaan, made time to visit Bafana Bafana and had a meeting with the team wherein he thanked them for their contribution to making the World Cup as successful as it has been.

A grateful Jordaan said “I must thank you for what is happening in this country right now. I know you might not have seen all of it but the spirit in this country is amazing. You saw some of it when you went into the streets here before the tournament. There is such an incredible atmosphere in this country and you must feel very proud about being a part of that.”

He also offered words of support to them and asked them to put their loss to Uruguay during their last game behind them, as he said “What happens in Tuesday’s match is what this country will remember. You must not dwell on what happened before.

We can do nothing about what happened in the past. Sometimes, in life and even football, we have days where nothing works. You have had that day. As players you will remember the first moments and the last moments when you are on the field. You gave us an incredible first moment.”