Several countries that have qualified for the 2012 African Nations Cup, kicking off in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in January, are heading to South Africa to make use of the country's World Cup facilities ahead of the continental showcase.

The South African Football Association is forging ahead with plans to transform the Transnet/Safa School of Excellence in Elandsfontein, east of Johannesburg, into a national football academy.

The newly launched Lucas Radebe Football Festival, named after the much-loved former Bafana Bafana captain and Leeds United star, aims to develop the game, unearth hidden football talent, and cultivate life-skills among youngsters across South Africa.

The 11th of July 2011 marks exactly one year since the end of the first Fifa World Cup on African soil. It was on that day that Spain rewrote the history books when they lifted the trophy for the first time after defeating The Netherlands 1-0 at a packed Soccer City in Johannesburg.

South Africans united as never before during the 2010 Fifa World Cup - and Bafana Bafana weren't the only object of our flag-waving, vuvuzela-blasting enthusiasm. Ghana felt the love, too, as did every foreign visitor to the Rainbow Nation in its finest hour since 1994. One year later, the memories live on.