Photo by Felix Masi

South African vendors and entrepreneurs welcomed the announcement that the FIFA World Cup would be hosted by their home country. Many saw it as a chance to capitalize on the influx of tourists to the region and an opportunity to improve their standard of living.

One woman, Linda Nomathemba, started to dream that she might one day be able to afford a house for herself and her five children. She set up a kiosk in 2006 on the grounds of the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg and within months had established a bustling trade selling home-cooked food to passersby.

Linda had set her sights on 2010 when the stadium would be full of hungry soccer fans. She watched as the South African Football Association (SAFA) house was built and saw the stadium take shape over the years. With no canteen in the stadium, she had lunchtime queues at her kiosk, but it was nothing compared to the queues she imagined during football matches.

With only four months until kick off, Linda and her fellow vendors were served eviction papers and given notice to vacate the area. With no time to build another business, Linda’s dreams of lifting her family out of poverty have been dashed.

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