Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister as well as hon members, the UDM supports Budget Vote No 19. My address today is dedicated to our football. We should be proud of South Africans, from all corners, who played a part in convincing the world that we as a developing country have the ability to host a successful Fifa World Cup tournament.
However, we must concede that the road to this point has not been an easy one. It must be remembered that we had a severe lack of facilities and infrastructure for football as a result of the policies of separate development. Even today, we are still facing infrastructure backlogs in previously neglected areas.
Nevertheless, we must extend our gratitude to previous administrators - the likes of George Thabe, Bra Sticks Morewa, Abdul Bhamjee, Cyril Kobus, Mr Taunyane, Danny Jordaan of the federations league, Kaizer Motaung, Molefi Oliphant and Irvin Khoza, to mention but a few - who played a role in keeping football alive in this country despite the restrictions of apartheid.
The highlight of my encounters with some of them, in particular with Sticks Morewa, was when he tasked me to request former President Mbeki and his colleagues, in 1990, to attend a match at the FNB Stadium. The intention was to brief them about the state of football in South Africa. Indeed, President Mbeki attended and was accompanied by Aziz Pahad, among others, and the rest is history, as we all know.
Part of this history is that the South African football fraternity, under Bra Sticks Morewa's leadership, met with the top Fifa leadership and Mr Havelange, the then Fifa President, in the early 1990s on their visit to South Africa. Those efforts by Mr Morewa ultimately led to us winning the right to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
We would be making a big mistake if we didn't thank the sponsors, who, under difficult conditions, managed to nurture and assist football prior to the advent of democracy. It is because of people who resisted apartheid, such as former First National Bank CEO, Chris Ball, and Mr Fletcher, who pumped lots of funds into the Smirnoff League, that football was developed and great players were given the opportunity to play.
Finally, the initiative and vision of Abdul Bhamjee, Cyril Kobus and Mr Motaung to build the FNB Stadium has culminated in the world-class venue that we see today. This campaign, of course, would not have succeeded without the support of the democratic government, especially the hands-on role played by successive Presidents of the Republic. Thank you. [Applause.]