There are many official tags, tokens and logos that define sporting events around the globe. This year’s 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is no different. We have the official FIFA [1]logo, the official FIFA mascot [2] (Zakumi), the official FIFA trademarks and now – the official dance!
Not only is this year’s world cup the first to be hosted on the African continent but it’s the first world cup to have an official dance inspired by moves from football pitches all around South Africa.
Dispatch 24/7 [3] explains the Diski thus:
The dance is based on the unique way in which South Africans play soccer, “rhythmically, somewhat showy, but never boring” according to those in the know.
Goal.com [4] goes further:
Diski is common South African township slang for the game of football, and the Diski Dance is a uniform routine that showcases the nation's passion for the sport. The dance is based on what Wendy Ramokgadi, the choreographer of the Diski Dance, calls ‘our own township football style’.
“The whole idea was that we needed to come up with something that is truly South African. Our country's football is rhythmic and so all the moves that we use in the dance are those same moves that are used on the South African football pitch, moves you can only find in our country,” said Ramokgadi.
“The Diski Dance is one of the things I am most proud of, I really am excited about it. When these people come to our country, let them come and feel the rhythm of Africa.
South African President Jacob Zuma also got in on the act, as reported by 2010gifts.com [5]:
President Jacob Zuma had the crowd in stitches as he tried to learn the Diski dance.
It seems that the Diski is also capturing the imagination of people across South African shores. Matt Harding, of Where in the World is Matt fame, seems to have mastered the Diski moves perfectly. Here he is in this charming video: