WITH 20 days to go before the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the Local Organising Committee believes that the Rainbow Nation has finally embraced the tournament.

WITH 20 days to go before the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the Local Organising Committee believes that the Rainbow Nation has finally embraced the tournament.

"This is wonderful and a big thank you to South Africans across the spectrum," said Local Organising Committee chairperson Irvin Khoza yesterday.

"I know that some time ago I complained that I was not feeling the vibe that the World Cup is coming to our country and Africa for the first time.

"Now I can proudly say I'm feeling it, it is here with us. It is so good to see that many South Africans are proudly flying the national flag at their houses and (on their) cars.

"Some of the people have painted their cars in the national colours. The Fly The Flag and Football Friday campaigns are doing very well. We are also seeing more people wearing the Bafana Bafana jerseys on Fridays. It is important for all of us to rally behind our national team."

Khoza once more urged South Africans to support the other five African countries who will take part in this 32-nation tournament.

The teams are Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Algeria.

"When we were bidding for this World Cup, we made it clear that it will be an African World Cup, so it is important for all of us to go and rally behind the other teams from the continent."

Khoza said the best way for South Africans to market their country was to offer memorable hospitality to the visitors.

"Word-of-mouth marketing is a far better method of promoting of something than placing adverts in the newspapers, on radio and television," he said.