By Charles Braddix

JOHANNESBURG (BP) – A team that prays together plays well together, or so it seems for Ghana’s national soccer team, the Black Stars, who qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals.

The Black Stars get their name from the country’s flag, which features a black star in its center amid three horizontal stripes – red, yellow and green.

Of six African nations who qualified for the World Cup, Ghana is the only one still in the competition.

“What I’ve noticed, more than anything, about the Black Stars, is they are a team in every sense of the word,” said writer Jeff Bradley in an article for ESPN The Magazine.

“From their pregame – and postgame, and halftime, and pre-training and post-training –  songs and prayers, to their disciplined adherence to [coach] Rajevac’s rigid system that features a single striker, they are true believers that the whole can be greater than the sum of its individual pieces,” Bradley said.

Once, while waiting for the Ghanaian team in their hotel lobby, Bradley heard singing from an upper floor. “I could feel the joy and passion,” he said. Moments later, when he asked team members about it, the response was, “We love to sing together, dance together, pray together.”

According to team captain John Mensah, the singing, dancing and praying are no afterthought. He told German news service DPN: “We are Christians and we all know how important God is. We respect God and we pray every time before the game and after the game. We praise God for what he has done for us.”

The Methodist church in Ghana honored Mensah after his 2006 World Cup appearance in Germany because of his Christian testimony during the games. A church spokesman at the time said Mensah was “an embodiment of what God has decreed for youth.”

In a published statement late last year, Mensah said he seeks God for all big decisions and is adamant that “the Almighty is in control.” He always turns to God for advice, he said.

Before each of Ghana’s 2010 World Cup matches so far, singing could be heard from the Ghanaian team as they left their dressing room and prepared to enter the field. In a sense, this is an audible and visible sign of how they yearn for a victory for Ghana and Africa.

Ghana is only the third African nation in World Cup history to reach the quarter-finals.  Cameroon did it in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. And this is the first World Cup to be held on African soil.

For the Black Stars, who are in the World Cup for only the second time, their success in the competition is not only shared back home in Ghana, but by the entire African continent. The team is eager, ready and willing to represent the continent in this global competition that comes only once every four years.

“We are extra motivated to go all out because we are not only representing Ghana. We know we are carrying the hope and aspirations of the African continent,” Black Stars defender Lee Addy told reporters at a press conference.

“Many expected the African teams to do well in the continent’s first-ever World Cup, but unfortunately five of the teams have been knocked out, leaving Ghana alone,” Addy said. “We want to keep the flag of Ghana and Africa high.”

Ghanaian fan Bernard Kholé is optimistic. “We know we are hosting the World Cup, and this is first time in doing so,” he told Baptist Press. “Indeed this is going to be the first time an African country is going to lift up the World Cup. There is no doubt about that.”

In separate interviews, Cameroonian national team players Alex Song and Samuel Eto’o both said, “Everybody must pray for Ghana.” Cameroon was knocked out of the World Cup early in the competition.

The Black Stars face Uruguay in the quarter-finals on Friday, July 2, in Johannesburg. They defeated the United States 2-1 in the round of 16.

Charles Braddix is a writer for the International Mission Board on assignment in South Africa covering the events, matches and ministries surrounding the World Cup.

By Charles Braddix

JOHANNESBURG — “The atmosphere was incredible,” said U.S. soccer fan Michael Williams from San Diego, “and that made it worth coming over, even with the loss.”

Williams was among thousands of U.S. fans at the match that knocked the Americans out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament. Ghana defeated the U.S. 2-1 in a must-win game to advance to the quarterfinals.

Team USA. finished their World Cup showing with a 1-1-2 record in four matches, scoring five times and allowing five goals.

“Of course we’re proud and disappointed,” said U.S. goalie Tim Howard, an outspoken Christian. “We’ll have to go back to the drawing board and try to figure things out.”

In spite of the disappointing loss, Howard believes that U.S. soccer has moved to a new level. “We were certainly right in the thick of it,” he said, “and I think that’s the next level for U.S. soccer. Before, it was always being the underdog, and I think if you look at the last four games we were right in the thick of them.”

U.S. coach Bob Bradley said Team USA understands “the responsibility we have as a national team to show how far the game has come in the United States, to fight for respect. … All we can do is look hard at ourselves and continue to try to move the game forward.”

This was the sixth consecutive World Cup appearance for the U.S. men’s team. They have advanced to the knockout stages in three of those tournaments, including a run to the quarterfinals in 2002.

Ticket purchases by Americans for World Cup matches, along with record U.S. television audiences and Internet usage related to the games, show that the sport’s popularity is increasing in the States.

Americans purchased more tickets to the 2010 games than any other country except the host nation, South Africa.

Williams, an avid fan of U.S. soccer since 1990, has seen interest in soccer grow over the past ten years, and he thinks it will continue to grow. “But I don’t think we should continue to look for a holy grail, for that moment that it’s going to explode,” he said. “It’s just going to continue to grow as people become more familiar with it.”

Bradley, voicing appreciation for U.S. fan support in South Africa, said, “… we know that people across the United States have been behind our team. At the moment, it’s a feeling of disappointment for the team and for all our fans that we couldn’t go forward.”

While losses, especially in the World Cup, are disappointing for both fans and teams, some of the U.S. players don’t see them as devastating.

“I am blessed to be living a dream,” Howard had said in an earlier statement. “And yet, if it all went away tomorrow, I know I would still have peace. That probably sounds crazy to most people, but that’s the kind of peace Christ gives.”

Clarence Goodson, defender on the U.S. team, agreed. “For me,” he said in a recent interview, “there’s definitely a calm and a peace in knowing that there’s Someone else who is in control.”

Read a first-person account of the U.S. team’s final game

By Melanie Clinton

JOHANNESBURG — I was a little torn. As an American who’s lived much of my life in Africa, I wanted Africa to do well in the World Cup tournament in South Africa. I was disheartened when only one of six African teams qualified for the second round of competition, but so proud of Ghana for going forward.

But in my heart, it was USA all the way. Nothing compares to that feeling of walking up to a stadium, toting the “Stars and Stripes” and chanting “USA!” alongside strangers with whom you feel a sudden sense of camaraderie simply because they, too, speak “American” and look like fools in their red, white and blue face paint.

So when the U.S. qualified for the round of 16 after Landon Donovan’s last-minute goal against Algeria, my husband, a friend and I immediately went online in search of tickets for their match against Ghana in Rustenburg. I wanted to be there to cheer them to victory, to possibly watch history being made. I, like most other Americans, was determined our boys would make it at least to the quarterfinals.

Even though they didn’t, it was still amazing to be there. The majority of the crowd was pulling for Ghana, but in my (admittedly biased) opinion, we and the Americans around us were the loudest, most passionate sections in the stands.

We watched the match from standing positions, like real soccer fans should; we belted out the national anthem at the top of our lungs, even the pitchy, hard-to-sing parts; we chanted repeatedly, “Yes, we can!” and “Go, USA!” We shouted in frustration when our team missed shots; we jumped up and down wildly when Landon Donovan made the penalty kick.

Our team had become quite adept at pulling off last-minute miracles, but after Ghana scored a goal in the first half of overtime, I resigned myself to the fact we were probably going to lose. Our team fought hard, but they couldn’t pull it off. After the match was over, we lingered till the last player left the field, hoping they’d see our flags and know we were still behind them.

The day before the match, U.S. forward Herculez Gomez, who played during the overtime portion of the game, posted this on his Twitter account: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps — Proverbs 16:9 See you in Rustenburg.”

I appreciate Gomez’s perspective. I’m not really one of those fans who prays for a team to win a match (although during the USA vs. Slovenia game I was sorely tempted). I figure God knows who the victor should be and is probably more concerned with how the win or loss shapes the character of the individual athlete than with how it makes a fan happy or devastated.

There are several followers of Christ on the U.S. men’s national team. During each game I’ve prayed for them, that they would walk with integrity whether it be in “the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat.”

In the midst of this defeat I’m hopeful. Hopeful that in four years, our team will do better. Hopeful that soccer and the World Cup will continue to increase in popularity in the U.S. Hopeful that Ghana will give Africa her “glory story.” Above all, I’m hopeful that men like Gomez, Tim Howard, Clarence Goodson and other believers on the U.S. team will use their fame as a platform to share the hope they have in Christ.

So goodbye for now, Team USA. You may be leaving the World Cup stage, but you’ll be in our hearts for a long time to come!

By Evelyn Adamson and Melanie Clinton

Several members of the U.S. National Team playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ are not shy about discussing their faith. Four of them told us what faith means to them.

CLARENCE GOODSON, Defender

“Definitely you carry that around, your personal beliefs and faith, everywhere you go. Just because you step onto the field doesn’t mean that you put that aside and put them in the locker until you step off the field. So that’s what I try to carry around with me all the time and behave in such a way that those who don’t know Christ come to know Christ because they know me.”

“We had a Bible study just before the game the other day and it was Psalm 23 and there’s a verse in Psalm 23 – “my cup overflows” – it spoke about that and how fortunate we are as Christians, as Americans, and all the things that we have, and you travel to the game and you see the ghettos and how less fortunate others are and how important it is to give back.”

“For me there’s definitely a calm and a peace in knowing that there’s Someone else Who is in control and all you have to do is do your best and God will do the rest. I absolutely think that it’s a very good thing to just sit back and sort of focus on something else for a minute and know that we are blessed and we are fortunate.”

RICARDO CLARK, Midfielder

“I’ve grown up to always have faith in whatever I do – on the field, off the field, it doesn’t change, or I try not to make it change. Everyday is a struggle with faith sometimes, but I try to have that foundation there, and it’s helped me throughout everything; gives me courage, gives me strength in the good times and the bad times, on and off the field, and I try to push on through.”

BRAD GUZAN, Goalkeeper
“I obviously have a big belief in Christ, and I think for me it allows me to go out and enjoy what I do everyday. It allows me to play to the best of my ability. And like I said, it ‘s a relationship that allows me to have fun, and I think it’s definitely helped me get to where I am today.”

“I am religious, but at the same time I try to go out there and be a good professional and play with the best of my ability. In saying that, I think I feel confident when I go out there and just try to enjoy the game and enjoy the moments that I’m in.”

HERCULEZ GOMEZ, Forward

“I’ve learned that there are things that are not in my hands and you’ve got to leave them in God’s hands. He has a plan for you. I definitely thank my lucky stars everyday that He has put me in the right path, and there’s a quote that I remember growing up where says for a rich man to get into heaven it’s as hard as it would be for a camel to get through the eye of a needle, so it kind of makes me think like this is great, but there’s still more out there; this isn’t all there is, you still gotta do a lot more.”

For a detailed story on Tim Howard, starting goalie for the U.S. squad, go to http://worldsoccerjourneys.com/features/tim-howard-man-of-faith/.

By Jeffery Aaron and Charles Braddix

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa — More than 37,000 people, mainly Portuguese fans, braved the freezing temperatures at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to watch the highly-anticipated game between Portugal and Côte d’Ivoire (also known as the Ivory Coast).

Snow had fallen earlier in the day in the nearby mountain range. Temperatures had dropped. Fans wrapped themselves in Portuguese and Ivoirian flags for added warmth.

There is a large Portuguese population in the Cape region of South Africa and many of them came to cheer on their team. One lone section of orange, in the sea of red and green, danced and sang the entire game to cheer on Côte d’Ivoire.

“The Ivory Coast is playing a tight game — showed great control and sharp passing,” says one Côte d’Ivoire fan.

After halftime, when injured Didier Drogba started his warm-up, the crowd went wild. One of the most famous African players, Drogba played the last 25 minutes of the game.

Among Côte d’Ivoire’s most energetic players was outspoken Christian Emmanuel Eboué, a defender and midfielder who also plays for Arsenal in England’s Premier League.

Eboué made his first appearance for the Côte d’Ivoire national team in a September 2004 match against Sudan. He then played in two World Cup qualifiers as Côte d’Ivoire won its first-ever World Cup berth for the 2006 event in Germany.

“I was pleased to learn that the WC would be held in South Africa,” Eboué said in an earlier interview with 2KPlus. “Because in the first place, it’s in Africa. That’s it! We will try our best to fight because there will be Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Africa who will participate in this World Cup. Therefore we will try to fight to bring honor to Africa.”

Eboué said concerning his faith: “I believe very much in God – one God. He holds me. By His grace, I am in good health. By His grace, I am where I am today.”

Over 25,000 Bafana fans energize the Port Elizabeth Fan Zone as South Africa plays Mexico in the opening match.

By Jeffery Aaron

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa – In a sea of yellow and green, one lone Mexican flag flew among hundreds of South African flags.

In Port Elizabeth, located on the coast of the Indian Ocean, more than 25,000 people gathered to watch yesterday’s opening game between Mexico and South Africa on a big screen. They blew their vuvuzelas and sang national songs on the St. George’s Park cricket field and its surrounding stadium seats.

Faces were painted with the South African flag, and fans donned the yellow and green scarves or jerseys of Bafana Bafana, the South Africa national team.

One fan said he’s proud of “The Boys” for scoring the first goal of the tournament. Another says Bafana can be proud of the draw – she is.

“I very much enjoyed the game; they played good,” said Didi, who jumped up in awe and jubilation when Bafana scored the first goal. “To draw against Mexico is a win for us.”

Didi danced and sang along with everyone else in the stadium for more than five minutes after Siphiwe Tshabalala scored.

“I thought [the fan park] was fun,” said IMB missionary Boyd Hall. “I enjoyed the energy and excitement. I think [Bafana] played well. They came back in the second half and went crazy.”

Jeffery Aaron, a writer for IMB’s Global Communication Team, is spontaneous and never knows what he’ll say next.

By Charles Braddix

JOHANNESBURG – “Say I was there,” proclaimed billboards across the country.

Well, as of today, I can say it – “I was there.” Nearly 90,000 of us gathered in Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the opening match between South Africa and Mexico. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. But for me, the game was much more than just a tied soccer game.

I arrived at the stadium six hours early. Crazy, I know, but how many times does one get to go to the World Cup? Probably only once. Others arrived before me; thousands of others. What was interesting was to watch the mix and mingling of different cultures. Of course, fans of Mexico and South Africa were. But there were also Brazilians and Swiss and Argentines, among others.

As the hours ticked down and crowd grew larger, the mix grew more and more interesting and the atmosphere grew more and more exciting. It was festive and party-like — “carnival,” my Latin cohorts would say. There was an ocean of flags waving in the breeze and a cacophony of sound blasting from the infamous vuvuzelas, the local trumpet-like horns used at soccer matches to intimidate the opposition and encourage the home team.

This may sound weird, but during that six-hour wait for the most anticipated sporting event in the world to officially kick-of, I had thoughts of heaven. “Huh?,” you may say, but really, I thought of heaven. Think about it – every language, tongue and tribe making a joyful noise. A stretch, I know, but that’s what I thought of.

Well, finally, the seconds on the big screen ticked down – 5, 4, 3, 3, 1 – and the 2010 FIFA World Cup officially commenced.

And I could then say, “I was there.”

mullen_tom/flickr

Joyful South Africans stand united as the event they’ve awaited for six years finally kicks off.

By Melanie Clinton

JOHANNESBURG – On June 11, South Africans awoke to the blaring noise of the vuvuzela.

Revelers hit the streets as early as 3 a.m., blowing joyfully on the plastic, horn-like noisemakers that have become synonymous with South African soccer.

The opening day of the FIFA World Cup, the world’s largest soccer tournament, had finally arrived.

It’s a party that’s been building up for weeks. Flags of the 32 nations are everywhere – in the hands of street vendors, hanging from apartment windows, and fluttering from the antennas of seemingly every car on the streets. Every Friday, businesses allow employees to don yellow and green jerseys in support of Bafana Bafana, the national soccer team. And the week the 31 other teams started arriving in country, they were greeted with hundreds of flags decorating the highway to and from the airport, including the flag of their own nation. Read more…

By Charles Braddix

What is considered by many to be the world’s most anticipated sporting event — the FIFA World Cup™ — is set to kick off in just one week. Opening ceremonies and the first match are slated for June 11.

This is the first World Cup tournament held on the African continent and is expected to draw a cumulative global television audience of over 26 billion. The month-long tournament will consist of 64 games held in 10 stadiums throughout the country.

A majority of the 32 teams who qualified for the event have already arrived and named their final squads of 23 players. So far five-time Cup winner Brazil has drawn the most attention. Over 10,000 gathered at the team’s training site this week to watch them work out.

In the opening match, the host team, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, will face Mexico’s El Tri in Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium, built to resemble the traditional African pot called the calabash. The match will begin immediately following the opening ceremonies.

“All the stadiums are in a state of complete readiness and most pleasing is the pristine condition of the playing surfaces — fitting for the world’s superstars who will soon be gracing them,” said Dr. Danny Jordaan, CEO of the World Cup’s Local Organizing Committee.

Team USA hit the ground ready to roll on May 31. They face Australia on June 6 in what is termed an international friendly. This allows both sides to see their teams in action before the official opening of the World Cup.

The United States’ first official match is against soccer powerhouse England on June 12, followed by games against Slovenia on June 18 and Algeria on June 23.

“It’s going to be a great World Cup,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “Of course so much attention has been put on the first match against England. It’s a tremendous opportunity for us. The spotlight on that game is huge. It has already generated amazing interest in the United States.“

FIFA reports that so far Americans have purchased more tickets than any other country. Between 130,000 and 160,000 tickets have already been sold to U.S. fans. This is more than twice the number of tickets sold to English and German fans combined.

It’s not only hardcore soccer fans who are gearing up for the World Cup, however. Those involved in Christian ministry plan to take advantage of the event to share the Gospel.

“The world is coming to South Africa,” said IMB missionary Wade Coker, a mission strategy leader in southern Africa. “There is such a passion for the sport, that whenever the World Cup takes place every four years there is a lot of focus on it; it’s on the world stage. We want to tap into the passion they have for that with the passion we have for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Plans are to share the Gospel with the hundreds of thousands of fans who will be attending the games, some from countries that have no missionary presence. In addition, efforts will be made to use the event as an avenue to evangelize and plant churches in some of South Africa’s major urban centers.

“One of the joys for us here is that people will see South Africa and want to pray for it,” said IMB missionary Kurt Holiday, a strategy leader for the urban areas of South Africa and Namibia. “There will be a hunger because of what they see and they will want to come and experience it.”

Holiday said volunteer teams and prayer support are essential for ministry. “We will have the ability to use soccer to get into areas where it is normally not easy to get into, to be welcomed and have a platform,” he said.

Text by Melanie Clinton
Photos by Derek Clinton

On May 22, St. Andrews School for Girls, a 108-year-old school in Johannesburg, presented “Celebrate 2010,” an event featuring the cultures of eight World Cup nations.

The school presents a play annually, but this year it was bigger and better than ever — a joint effort between grades 0-7. “We wanted a whole-school event, and with it being 2010 and South Africa hosting the World Cup, we just wanted to get into the spirit of that,” said deputy head Barbara Heymann, who organized the event.

Each grade drew a country name out of a hat, and throughout the term studied the country in their classes.

In addition to learning about World Cup nations, St. Andrews students are competing in soccer matches (although soccer is not normally played at the school) and collecting balls to donate to underprivileged communities.

For the whole story, click through the images below:

Watch the Grade 7 girls demonstrate the Diski Dance below. Then join the fun and submit an entry in our Diski Dance competition on Facebook!

JOHANNESBURG—In just 100 days, soccer fans from around the world will converge on 10 South African venues to watch 32 nations battle it out for the prestigious World Cup. Up to 500,000 international visitors are expected at the month-long event, which begins June 11. This is the first World Cup to be hosted by an African nation.

Organizing officials from FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) are currently in South Africa checking on preparations as well as the progress on stadiums being built for the event.

“In how many countries around the world can you see a stadium of the quality of Soccer City?” asked Jerome Valcke, FIFA general secretary. “Very few, I can say.”

South Africa will compete against Mexico in the opening match June 11 in Soccer City stadium, located in the Soweto township on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

The United States, which qualified for the World Cup by defeating Honduras in October 2009, plays against England June 12. This matchup pits two teammates from the Los Angeles Galaxy against each other in their World Cup opening games — midfielder Landon Donovan for the United States and midfielder David Beckham for England.

The Americans also are slated to play Algeria and Slovenia in the first round of matches.

Favorites to win this World Cup include Spain, Brazil, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England.