Let this be the beginning of reclaiming our lost pride

BACK at creche many moons ago we used to play games and sing songs. Today I’d like to sing one song I think most of us sang. So sing along if it tickles your vocal cords:

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap, clap)

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap, clap) Why are we doing this? We are singing this song because we are in a happy space, thanks to all of our SA Football Association national sides.

For donkeys years, we’ve been beating the drum of development, but our calls have fallen on deaf ears.

For far too long our national teams have treated major continental competitions like alligator-infested raging rivers, an enter-at-your-own risk kind of no-go zone.

Not any more. The tide is turning. The wave is pushing us to a happy space.

When you survey the lay of the land of the national teams, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The under-17’s, Amajimbos, played a dramatic 2-2 draw in Egypt last week. Coach Molefi Ntseki’s boys were leading 2-0 at half time in Egypt.

Hello! This is no small feat. Rowdy, crazy crowd, lasers and all. Our young guns were leading 2-0 at halftime in Egypt.

The little Pharaohs came back hard. But our boys stood strong.

Having won the home leg 2-1, Amajimbos advanced 4-3 on aggregate.

That sweet result secured their spot in the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Junior Championships to be hosted by Niger in March.

The top four teams will qualify for the 2015 Fifa U-17 World Cup in Chile.

Amajimbos are following in the footsteps of their bigger brothers Amajita, the U-20s who, also in September, booked their berth in the Caf Youth Championship with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Cameroon.

It will be the first time since 2009 that South Africa will turn up at the tournament. Semifinalists in that eight-team event will qualify for the 2015 Fifa U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

What about women’s football, I hear you ask? Hold up, the ladies have got this with both hands.

Banyana led the way back in May when they qualified for the African Women’s Championship.

They were in no holiday mood when they travelled to Comoros and crushed their hosts in their back yard. The 13-0 walloping was so emphatic that Comores withdrew from the competition.

Vera Pauw’s Banyana start their AWC campaign against Cameroon in Windhoek on Sunday. The tournament will also be used as qualification for the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup, with the top three qualifying for the finals in Canada.

Bafana Bafana enter a crucial week with back-to-back Africa Nations Cup qualifying clashes against Congo. Six points from those two matches, plus the four they already have, will be enough for them to qualify for 2015 Afcon in Morocco.

The pieces of our national teams puzzle are coming together. They paint a perfect picture. These are exciting times for our national teams. We are competing and qualifying on the pitch not as hosts. This is what we want to be known for, South Africa, a land of gallant competitors, not a location of world- class facilities. Let this be the beginning of reclaiming our long lost pride.

Call it an evolution, a revolution, any -tion for that matter — I don’t care. What I care about is that for once, I am writing a happy piece, a commendation, not a damning condemnation.

A sweet salutation not a vile vilification.

Let’s sing:

If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap clap)