DREAM | What it was like for Joburg boy to be SA’s ball carrier at the World Cup

Luca Human-Maré from Johannesburg got to live the dream of many 10-year-olds on Thursday when he walked out as the official match ball carrier for the Bafana Bafana vs Czechia match in Atlanta.

It has been months of build-up and excitement for the boy from Linden and his mom, Liani Maré, who found out in January that they would be heading to the World Cup in the US.

And when the big day came, he was all smiles as the cameras caught his big moment.

“It felt amazing, it was like a dream come true. I couldn’t believe I was standing with the players and walking out with the match ball and giving it to the referee,” Luca told News24 via voicenote.

Luca was chosen as part of a Kia competition, an official partner of FIFA, to head to football’s greatest showcase. Through a social media competition, Kia South Africa invited children between the ages of 10 and 14 to share videos showcasing their passion and “gees” for football – and Luca dribbled through the opposition to be the lucky chosen winner.

His day on Thursday started with Kia chaperoning him to the game, walking out onto the pitch to see the stadium, and meeting some of the players.

Asked for his highlight after South Africa drew 1-1, Luca said: “I shook all of the Bafana Bafana players’ hands and some of the Czechia players and made history with the three female referees for the match!”

His mom, Liani, also got to join in and met a few famous faces herself along the way, including national superfan Mama Joy.

“The vibe before the time was electrifying. There were so many South Africans fans, and there were about 67 000 who attended,” she said.

“The fact that Bafana came back to get that penalty right in front of us, the spirit was great. Even people who weren’t South African