Photo essay taking a close look at the ingrained love of The Beautiful Game in South Africa at a grassroots level, with the 2010 soccer world cup in South Africa, to see just how much this event means to locals. Soccer is played mainly by the majority black population, but the World Cup has brought the nation together. It is used as a tool by community members to keep youths out of trouble and off the streets and it is played just about everywhere. The passion for the game is especially evident where it is played barefoot on sandy pitches where grass is a luxury not known and the field lines in the sand are drawn with sticks. But scoring a goal here is just as important as scoring in the world cup final with young kids emulating their heroes by running around the field celebrating wildly.
