"No country should be allowed to tarnish the image of African soccer," Steve Tshwete, the minister of sports, said on Thursday.

"African soccer is emerging very quickly," Francisco Maturano, the coach of Colombia, said earlier in the week week.

He is one of the longest serving and highly-rated coaches in South African soccer having won several major trophies with Supersport United in recent years.

They were founded in 1994 and currently play in the Vodacom League, the third tier of South African soccer.

To those familiar with African soccer, Nigeria's success in its first World Cup comes as no surprise.

In 2004, a match-fixing scandal rocked South African soccer.

"Five or 10 years from now, he said, "African soccer may be the best in the world.

No matter what Cameroon does, the team's success has alredy had a profound impact on African soccer.

"There is also starting to be a big difference between African soccer and Asian soccer because so many Africans are playing for professional teams in Europe."

Then came the greatest moment in South African soccer - so far.