There were many things to consider leaving Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday night after Australia’s 1-1 draw with Ghana.

Handball? Not handball? Red card? No red card? Great performance by Australia? Rubbish by Ghana?

Oh, and there was also the two or three hour drive back to Johannesburg to think about.

But walking out past the X-Ray machines in front of the media entrance (now exit), three local women who had been working there all day, sat huddled under blankets and cardboard boxes.

“Stay warm, ladies,” I said, expecting a kind of joke reply.

Instead, I received a sad plea from another of the women who was opening the lid of a nearby wheelie-bin.

“We are cold, we are hungry, we have not eaten. I am looking for something - for anything - to eat.”

Pause.

Really?

“Please, please.”

I reached into my bag and offered an apple, mandarin, and chocolate.

My long-held theory - always have snacks on hand - brought some kind of dividend.

“Thank you, thank you! I love you. No, I really love you!” said the woman. “Thank you.”

These workers were hungry for football. But maybe not in the way FIFA intended.

FYI Local workers say they are paid around 190 Rand for a day’s work, about $28. A “meal of the day” at the Stadium Media Centre “cafeteria”, cost 75 Rand, just over $10.