By Brian Ross
SFA soccer player celebrates World Cup in native South Africa SOCCER HAS ALWAYS been a big part of South African Kylie Louw’s world. So, when FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, announced in 2004 that her home country would host the 2010 World Cup, Louw was understandably excited. She attended a large gathering to watch a live broadcast of the ceremony when FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced the decision. “The atmosphere at that was crazy,” Louw recalled this summer. “We all watched in suspense as we saw old Sepp pull South Africa out of the envelope. We went absolutely insane. I can tell you I have never hugged so many people in my life. I was jumping around like a mad person along with hundreds of other people. We were ecstatic.” Like any soccer fan, Louw was elated for the chance to watch the biggest tournament on the planet in her own homeland. For a country where apartheid rule limited chances for international competition in the past, a World
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Cup bid was seen as a double bonus and a huge opportunity. “We knew it would unify us as a nation, which it certainly has,” Louw said. “Not only that, we knew it would portray Africa in a new light. It would connect us with the
rest of the world and change their perceptions of our country, and of course boost our economy. We as soccer players knew that it would promote soccer here and help with new development and bridge relationships with other countries.” She didn’t know it at the time, but soccer would eventually provide Louw with some big opportunities of her own. By 2004, she was already affiliated with the national team training program, which is how she gained an invitation to the FIFA announcement ceremony. During the next few years, Louw would continue to excel on the field, earning a spot on the under-20 national team in 2006. Three years later, she joined the women’s national squad — nicknamed “Banyana Banyana” (The Girls) — and currently serves as the team captain. In 2009, she parlayed her success with the national team into an opportunity to play collegiate soccer in the United States, accepting a scholarship offer to play at SFA.
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