While Bafana Bafana’s campaign in the FIFA 2026 World Cup may have ended in heartbreak across the country, one fortunate South African is counting himself incredibly lucky after attending his third global opening ceremony and fifth tournament series.
Randburg schoolteacher Thevan Pillay, originally from Chatsworth, was one of a select group of supporters chosen by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to attend the South African national football team’s opening fixture against co-hosts Mexico at the famous Estadio Azteca.
This was far from Pillay’s first rodeo. The trip marked his third live World Cup opening ceremony, having previously witnessed France in 1998 and the historic 2010 spectacle on home soil in South Africa.
As a die-hard football fan, Pillay has lived and breathed the game his entire life. In his younger years, he played for Mobeni Heights Football Club, and he remains well known within the local football administration fraternity. He has coached school football throughout his teaching career and currently trains athletes at his Randburg school as well as the Under 13 district team.
The dream of attending a FIFA World Cup originally sparked during a casual conversation among colleagues during an inter-school staff football match.
