In 2007 the South African Post Office issued a miniature sheet, commemorative envelope and a special canceller to celebrate the hand over of the FIFA World Cup event by Germany to South Africa on 9 July 2006.

Designed by Michelle Beukes, a second year student at the Open Window School of Visual Communication, the miniature sheet firmly places the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa by featuring an African wild dog standing on a soccer ball.

Both the animal and the orange sun behind it have a distinctly African look and feel. The miniature sheet surrounding the stamp features the outline of King Proteas, the national flower of South Africa.

This miniature sheet is the first in a series to be issued each year in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

On the 22nd of July 2008 Cabinet approved of the entire stamp programme which includes a series of stamps celebrating South African Bird Series, Taxi Hand signs and the 150th Anniversary of the South African Railways, as well as stamps to mark South Africa’s hosting of the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

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