In South Africa, football is not merely a sport, but an institution.

F is Football

The professional league is known as the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and is independently run. The season runs parallel to the major European leagues.

The senior national team is known as Bafana Bafana, which is Zulu for 'the boys'. South Africa has a tendency for nicknaming their national teams; the U-23 national football team is known as Amaglug-glug.

Football in South Africa is governed by the South African Football Association (SAFA). SAFA has recently become a member of the FIFA family. It was banned from FIFA in 1975 for its segregated sports practices, but was readmitted in 1992 with a standing ovation. In order for this to happen, four historically divided football associations, servicing different parts of the South African population had to amalgamate into a single unified association.

Football culture has also emerged from the passion South African fans have for the beautiful game. Makarapas and Vuvuzelas are standard accessories for the dedicated fan.

The 1990s was certainly a good decade for South African football. Highlights included:

• Bafana Bafana winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996.
• Qualifying for France 1998, South Africa's first-ever FIFA World Cup.
• Orlando Pirates winning the CAF African Champions Cup in 1995 and a year later, winning the CAF African Super Cup.
• The South African national team qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan.

E is Eleven Languages

There are 11 official languages in South Africa. These languages are enshrined in the country's constitution. They are recognised to be Afrikaans, English, Ndebele (isiNdebele), Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa), Sotho (seSotho), Swati (siSwati), Tsonga (Xitsonga), Tswana (Setswana), Venda (Tshivenda), Xhosa (isiXhosa) and Zulu (isiZulu).

There are also the Khoi, Nama and San languages that are indigenous to the ancient hunter-gatherers who roamed Southern Africa. The /Xam language of the Khoisan became extinct in the early 20 ^th century. These languages and languages used for religious purposes such as Arabic and Hebrew are also protected under the South African constitution.

Zulu is the most spoken language but most people in the larger cities also speak English. South Africa has pockets of German, Portuguese, Greek and Italian speaking peoples. All documents are written in English as well as road signs.

The influence of the many languages in South Africa has resulted in a hybrid of words borrowed from different languages used in common conversation.

The motto on the South African coat of Arms, "!ke e: /xarra //ke" is written in the extinct Khoisan language /Xam. It literally means 'diverse people unite'.

B is Big Five

The term 'big five' was historically used to denote the five most dangerous animals to hunt in South Africa. However, at present, the term simply refers to South Africa's most popular and exciting creatures: the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros.

The so-called king of beasts, the lion, is on everybody's list of animals to see. The fascination is no doubt due to the size and awesome power of this big cat, as well as its formidable hunting prowess.

A more elusive cat than the lion, the leopard, is the most adaptable of the large predators and may still be found in close proximity to man. It is able to survive in almost any environment, be it the forest, savannah, desert or mountain top.

The African Elephant is the largest land mammal and perhaps the continent's most charismatic creature. Their magnificence and apparent compassion captivates game viewers and seemingly the whole of the human imagination.

Closely related to the domestic cow, the African buffalo is one of the most successful and ecologically important mammals on the African continent. Buffalo are completely dependent upon surface water, so are absent from arid and semi-arid regions but are widespread and common in savannah, woodland and forest environments.

The final member of the big five is the rhinoceros, encompassing the white and black rhino species. Apart from differing facial features, the two species of African rhino are similar in height, averaging about 1.6m at the shoulder, but the Black Rhinoceros has roughly half the mass of a White Rhino, weighing in at a demure 1000 kg. The most noticeable difference between the two is that the White Rhinocerous has broad lips, while the Black variety has pointed lips.

Z is Zulu

Zulu culture, its history and tradition, has become an integral part of the diverse tapestry that is South Africa. The Zulus are historically descendants of the Nguni people who migrated south from the Great Lakes region around approximately 800AD. A man named Zulu ('Heaven' in the Zulu language), started to establish his own sphere of influence and settled with his family in KwaZulu, 'the place of heaven'.

Zulu's descendants, the amaZulu (people of heaven), are divided into different clans, run by chiefs. The different chiefdoms are part of the Zulu Kingdom, over which the King presides. King Goodwill Zwelithini is the current king of the Zulu nation.

Shaka Zulu, is one of the most well-known Zulu kings. His strategic battles and ruthlessness earned him nickname the 'Black Napoleon' and has been immortalized in movies such as Shaka.

Music, in Zulu culture, is also important for communication and evokes emotion and explains situations that words often are not able to do. It has made the transition to mainstream music through artists such as Johnny Clegg and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Among the early winners of the first black professional league were Zulu Royals in 1972. The club later changed its name to AmaZulu (the Zulus) and are still among South Africa's biggest and best-supported clubs.