Reneilwe Letsholonyane's childhood dream of participating in a Fifa World Cup™ came a step closer this week when he was selected by Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira to be part of the final 23 man South African squad that will do duty for the hosts at the tournament, which kicks off on June 11 at Soccer City.

The dreadlocked midfielder, who had an outstanding season for the Amakhosi, revealed to kaizerchiefs.com on Thursday that transferring two seasons ago helped him achieve a place in the national team.

"I feel that coming to Chiefs at the time I did helped give me the opportunity to get into the national team," explained Letsholonyane before adding: "At Chiefs you are competing at a high level for a place in the team and you have the pressure from the media and the fans. The conditions when you play at Chiefs are very similar to those at the national team and when you are able to up your game under those circumstances, it helps you understand what you need to do when you play for the national team.”

Letsholonyane believes he has adapted well and fitted in without difficulty into South Africa's World Cup preparations. "Game by game my confidence has been growing and I am enjoying being here.”

Reneilwe, who will celebrate his 28th birthday two days before the World Cup kicks off, concluded his discussion with kaizerchiefs.com at Bafana Bafana's World Cup base camp in Sandton by letting us into a small private moment. "When we were told by the coach in the early hours of Tuesday morning, after returning from Polokwane, who the final 23 were, I immediately picked up the phone and called my parents. I knew I would wake them up but this news was important and they had to be the first to know.”

Although he woke them up, Reneilwe's parents were delighted to hear that he will, in all likelihood, make an appearance at the first World Cup on African soil.