Durban, Jun 12 (DPA): Durban's large Indian community joined the party in their native South Africa Friday, to celebrate the first World Cup ever held on African soil.

With some three million people, Durban is South Africa's third-largest city. It has an Indian population of over half-a-million, with scores of thousands more living elsewhere in the province of KwaZulu Natal.

Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi himself was once a migrant to the area, and his experiences of discrimination in South Africa are believed to have been vital in his development as a civil rights activist.

India is not playing in the World Cup, but Durban's Indian community felt very much a part of the event, and substantial numbers of them attended the city's crowded Fan Fest ahead of the opening game that South Africa and Mexico drew 1-1.

"This is my country, this is where I live," said Pam, a woman of Indian descent clad in a South African jersey.

Like Pam, Zaheer vowed he would still be cheering for South Africa, even if the India of his ancestors were playing in the tournament. And he was not willing to miss a minute of the party.

"This is South Africa's tournament!" he said, as he waved the African flag.