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18<br />
each other. A nation that does not bury its past but<br />
embraces it and everyone. The whole idea was not<br />
that a new nation was being born but that an old<br />
one was being healed and improved through harmony.<br />
In his acceptance speech, Pienaar said that the<br />
trophy had been won not only for the 60,000 fans<br />
present at Ellis Park for the final but all 43,000,000<br />
South Africans.<br />
The <strong>Gateway</strong> <strong>Chronicle</strong><br />
Whilst there are numerous factors that alleviated<br />
racist mindsets in South Africa, the significance of<br />
the 1995 World Cup mustn’t be misrepresented.<br />
Through his interactions with the team, Nelson<br />
Mandela helped to restore the black fans’ faith in<br />
their national team and simultaneously relieved any<br />
fears the whites may have of a black president. The<br />
world cup presented a unique opportunity to showcase<br />
unity on a world stage but also to a nation that<br />
needed unity after so many years of discord. This<br />
was the opportunity for a whole country to get behind<br />
one national force and the world cup provided<br />
the ideal vessel for this. It was the perfect propaganda<br />
campaign that appealed to all races and the fact<br />
the Springboks went onto to win the tournament<br />
only served to ameliorate the concord and goodwill<br />
that always leaves a hazy glow around a country following<br />
a world cup victory. The sweet aftertaste of<br />
the success would be set to continue as the rainbow<br />
nation flourished in the post-apartheid years.<br />
Arthur Roberts L6IMS
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