Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, His Excellency the President, His Excellency the Deputy President, hon Premiers, hon members of the Assembly, like every South African, I am proud of what my country has achieved in hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The significance of this international event held on South African soil transcends the beautiful game. It was about more than just soccer, vuvuzelas and the team spirit that it brought out. It spoke of South Africa's firm footing in the international arena as a noteworthy player. We did our country proud and promoted our continent. Our nation is still cheering.
It was here on South African soil that Bafana Bafana delivered a 2-1 victory over the ninth-ranked team in the world. It was here that Bongani Khumalo, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Katlego Mphela brought a nation to its feet. It was here that Ghana's Black Stars qualified in the group stage for the quarterfinals and carried with them the pride of our continent. It was here that the world came, watched, cheered and wept.
It was here that a new platform for national unity was forged. [Applause.] Never before in South Africa's history have our people been so unified. In my almost 82 years I have never seen South Africans from all walks of life, doing the same thing, at the same time, for the same reason, until I witnessed the Soccer World Cup. Standing in Soccer City, which has been called "the melting pot of African cultures", I was struck by the diversity of the spectators. Aside from our international guests, here we had blacks, whites, Indians, and coloureds; English speakers and Afrikaners; South Africans speaking isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho, Sepedi and siSwati; men and women; young and old; all gathered in one place, voluntarily.
We do not see that kind of diversity in the crowds that gather to celebrate our national days. I have remarked before in this House that our national events still fail to attract a representative group. We still see Freedom Day celebrations attended mostly by blacks; so too with Human Rights Day, Workers Day and Youth Day. After witnessing the diverse group that turned out for the World Cup, it was sad to see Women's Day celebrations again supported primarily by blacks. [Applause.] It was even more hurtful to see Cope's spokesperson being shouted down and booed by members of the ruling party, to the extent that our President threatened to walk out. [Applause.]
I had hoped to see the national unity we built during June and July spill over into a new dynamic when it comes to celebrating together as a nation. If soccer could unite us, why should Heritage Day still see us divided? I still hope to see South Africans coming together on 24 September as we did on 11 June. It is time we delved a little deeper to find what binds us as South Africans and as a nation. May the World Cup be the catalyst of that process.
Many of us in this House have expressed the hope that we might harness the goodwill that the World Cup created and somehow extend its benefits. There is a tangible fear that the World Cup fever will collapse and turn sour. We may very well hear today how much money was spent and how it could have been spent elsewhere. Well, of course, it is true that the millions we raised for building state-of-the-art stadia were necessarily channelled away from building hospitals, schools and houses. However, if we choose to step under that shadow of regret, we must be ready to relinquish the goodwill and sense of unity we have managed to create. [Applause.] Can we afford to do so? I think that would be a pity.
Already our successful hosting of the World Cup leaves us with a tremendous challenge. We have proven to our people what we are capable of and have raised their expectations for the future. We managed to pull together enormous resources in a short space of time. We managed to upgrade the infrastructure that has long been in need of attention. We relocated Durban International Airport; got the Gautrain running; raised a R3,3 billion stadium in Soweto; and hosted a million visitors with grace and aplomb. If we are able to do all of these things, our people are certainly going to ask why we are not able to address the daily challenges they face. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]