South Africa’s love affair with the Premier League means Fabio Capello’s team are home fans’ second favourite Amid the high‑end jewellery stores, boutique hotels, rare steaks and fine reds of Cape Town’s upmarket Waterfront area, thousands of England fans were last night being welcomed with open arms by South Africans who have adopted Fabio Capello’s men as their second favourite team. In the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s, cities would prepare for the arrival of England fans by pulling down the shutters and closing their bars. But this most European of South African cities, long a favourite of those following the British Lions or the England cricket team, was preparing to enthusiastically welcome a huge influx in relaxed fashion. • Follow the Guardian’s World Cup team on Twitter • Sign up to play our great Fantasy Football game • Stats centre: Get the lowdown on every player • The latest team-by-team news, features and more “We can’t wait. Bring them on, they’re the best fans. We love them. They get the best vibe going, we can’t wait for them to start with their English chants,” said Barry Nieuwoudt, manager of the City Grill steakhouse, perhaps with an eye on his bottom line. “A lot of South Africans will be supporting England. There are so many Liverpool and Manchester United supporters around here.” Outside The Dubliner Irish bar – opposite an open-air big screen where England fans mingled in the winter sun with Algerians, Hondurans and Brazilians – a policeman was insisting on being taught the correct intonation with which to chant “In‑ger-land”. Nearby, other fans enjoyed seafood and steaks and quaffed fine wine in the restaurants that line the marina. Many have based themselves in Cape Town for the duration of their stay. Perhaps for not altogether unconnected reasons, Cape Town’s stunningly located Green Point stadium will also host the biggest contingent of VIPs yet gathered. Prince Harry, Prince William, London mayor Boris Johnson and the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt – in town to variously promote England’s 2018 World Cup bid and learn lessons ahead of the 2012 Olympics – will all be in the stands tonight. Johnson yesterday visited a community football project partly run by the Metropolitan Police and with links to Charlton Athletic, and visited a nearby township. Alongside those who have followed England to every eastern European outpost on the qualifying trail are others who have chosen to combine a holiday with their first World Cup. “It’s like another world down here, it’s much more like a traditional England match venue in a European city. There’s the potential for people to gather, have a drink and then head off to the match in a way that Rustenburg didn’t allow,” said Kevin Miles, head of international relations at the Football Supporters’ Federation. “It’s a real mixture. There’s the hardcore who travelled to all the qualifiers and all the friendlies and as a consequence were always going to come to the World Cup finals. There are others who just couldn’t afford it because of the financial situation. But then you’ve got people who have got the money, tickets are easier to get and so you’ve got people who are following England for the first time.” The Football Association has sold 7,000 tickets for tonight’s match, there is expected be a similar number from Fifa’s public sale and then there will be thousands more who are ex-pats or locals supporting England in the 64,100 capacity stadium. More so than any tournament since Japan/South Korea, fans are experiencing it in myriad different ways. Spedding McMullen, 65, from Birmingham, had left his wife on holiday in Mauritius to fly down for the England game. “It was the only way I could persuade her to let me come,” he said. Alongside the committed England fans who are veterans of previous tournaments and have contributed to a rehabilitation of their image that saw them voted best fans at the last World Cup in Germany, there were many others attending their first tournament and combining it with a holiday. “We’re staying in a game reserve for a few days, then driving to Port Elizabeth. It’s been fantastic, the people are so welcoming,” said Jim Edgar, from Tunbridge Wells, who was travelling with his friend Graeme Major from Woking. “It’s fantastic to see all the different races together enjoying themselves. It’s a great atmosphere and after all the nonsense about security and everything, we’ve walked everywhere and it’s been perfect.” At the first game in Rustenburg, the crowd was dominated by England fans despite there only being perhaps 10,000 travelling supporters in the stadium. Thousands of South Africans, dressed in shiny new England shirts and tracksuits, chose to back England – some because they had family links and others because they obsessively followed the Premier League, which receives wall to wall coverage on TV. Police also threw a tight security cordon around Green Point stadium ahead of the arrival of their royal guests tomorrow. Last night they used rubber bullets to break up a demonstration of 200 stewards in a dispute linked to complaints about low pay. England World Cup 2010 Group C World Cup 2010 Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk
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World Cup 2010: Cape Town opens its arms to England supporters
