THE LONG WAIT IS OVER - NO ONE SPEAK TO ME UNTIL JULY 12

Yes - it's finally here. After six years of preparations, the World Cup touches down in South Africa for what will be a truly historic occasion. And for England fans who endured the heartbreak of failing to qualify for Euro 2008, it has been a long four years since Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty dumped England out of the last World Cup. That wait ends tomorrow, with their opening gamer against the USA in Rusetenburg.
In an iconic moment, Nelson Mandela was due to appear for the opening ceremony, and part of the opening game between South Africa vs Mexico, but these plans have been thrown into doubt by the death of one of his 9 great-grandchildren, 13-year-old Zanani Mandela, in a car crash travelling back from the pre-World Cup concert in Soweto last night. But the organising committee will hope it doesn't cast a shadow over the opening of the tournament many thought would never happen. It should still be an outstanding spectacle.
What can fans expect in South Africa? Well, there should be plenty of noise! FIFA say 97% of tickets have been sold for all the games so fat, and the Africans are brimming with anticipation - and they know how to party! There may be logisical problems due to the large distances between cities. It is a vast country after all! Let's look at England specifically. Their three group games take them from Rustenburg, to Cape Town and then to Port Elizabeth. So that's the north, to the south-west coast and on to the south-east coast. And as you would expect, the 2010 World Cup is going to do great wonders for the South African economy and tourism. So prices have shot up accordingly, and the quickest way to get between venues will be by way of long, arduous train journeys. At least fans will get to see a lot more of this beautiful country. Hopefully those making the long trek to South Africa will get to sample a bit of culture and heritage - the histioric apartheid landmarks, national parks and unique nature and wildlife. And there's all the beautiful beaches and modern shopping malls! Due to the large ethnic make-up of South Africa, much of their cuisine has been 'stolen' from other parts of the world - curry from India and spicy peri=peri chicken from Portugal, for example. But it would still be folly not to sample a genuine South African barbeque, with meat you're unlikely to find on these shores unless you look really hard - such as boerewors (spciy sausages). On and off the pitch this promises to be an eye opening experience.
Back in England, expect the country to ground to a virtual standstill, depending on the progress of Fabio Capello and his men. Unfortunately for Scottish fans, they will have to show a bit more ingenuity to look for potential heroes as there is no Jason Scotland, who played in Scotland at the time, playing against England (as he did for Trinidad and Tobago in 2006)! Pubs and clubs will be packed out showing the games on big screens, hoping Steven Gerrard can lead the boys to glory in Johannesburg on July 11. Let's hope we can avoid the shameful scenes in France in 1998 and Holland and Belgium in 2000, and the sitation at home isn't usually that nice whenever England is knocked out of a major tournament. If England come home victorious, then the star players would recieve instant immortality, and would be remembered in the same breath as Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst et al. But one thing is for sure - nothing brings the country together like England participating in a major tournament. There were flags flying out of windows, pubs and hanging out of cars weeks before the tournament started. There will be a massive rise in the sale of replica shirts, face paint and other paraphenalia. Those individuals who don't even like football will be out in force supporting the national team - because it's for England! Even new Prime Minister David Cameron got in on the act, wishing the boys good luck. If 44 years of hurt is ended, expect the biggest party this country has ever seen!
Over the next month, many questions will be answered - who will join diverse names such as Philip Lahm, Papa Bouba Diop, Cesar Sampaio, Jurgen Klinsmann and Francois Oman-Biyik in scoring the opening goal of the 2010 event? Will the Golden Boot winner be a likely candidate - like the last two winners of the prestigious award, Miroslav Klose and Ronaldo? Or a surprise package - such as Davor Suker, Hristo Stoichkov or Salvatore Schillaci? What controversies will we be talking about coming the 12th July - think Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona's failed drugs test, Graham Poll and his three yellow cards for Josip Simunic and favourable refereeing for South Korea in 2002? Will there be any iconic moments a la Marco Tardelli and Fabio Grosso? But most importantly, are we set to have a glorious month of excellent football? We can only hope and pray.
South Africa is ready. Are you?