FIFA invites Algeria’s Madjer to South Africa to mark Mandela’s birthday

[Al-khiyal]

FIFA has invited former Algerian football star Rabah Madjer to take part in the "Africa XI vs. the Rest of the World" game, to be held July 18th at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, El Moudjahid reported Thursday (June 21st). The match marks Nelson Mandela's 89th birthday. FIFA's President Sepp Blatter said the event will be a "90 Minutes for Mandela" tribute to the legendary South African statesman. Mandela was instrumental in the decision to bring the FIFA World Cup to Africa for the first time in 2010.

FIFA invites Algeria’s Madjer to South Africa to mark Mandela’s birthday

[Al-khiyal]

July 5, 2007 -- A glittering line-up of past and present world-class footballers - including the man many regard as the greatest player of all time, Pele - has been put together to honour former South African President Nelson Mandela, in the "90 Minutes for Mandela" match in Cape Town on 18 July.

Both men are icons of their world's, Pele in soccer and Mandela in politics. There is arguably no one held in higher esteem in either soccer or politics.

A birthday celebration

The match, to be played at Newlands, will honour Mandela on his 89th birthday when an African XI tackles a World XI.

Former Bafana Bafana captain Lucas Radebe will also be turning out, along with three-time African footballer of the year Samuel Eto'o, former European player of the year Ruud Gullit, and "The Vulture", former Spanish star Emilio Butragueno.

Eto'o, a brilliant performer for Barcelona and Cameroon, said being invited to play in the match was a great honour and pleasure. He described the former South African President as "a living symbol of the fight against all forms of racism and discrimination".

'A very important occasion'

"I am deeply touched by the opportunity to meet this great man, whom I have always admired, and for me this will be a very important occasion," he added.

Apart from Radebe, the African XI will also include two other former Bafana Bafana favourites in Mark Fish and Philemon "Chippa" Masinga.

Other African aces include Abedi Pelé (Ghana), Rabah Madjer (Algeria), Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia), and Daniel Amokachi (Nigeria).

Christian Karembeu (France), Andoni Zubizarreta (Spain), and Wynton Rufer (New Zealand) will turn out for the World XI.

Teams and ticket sales

The complete line-ups are yet to be released. FIFA will also release details on the sale of tickets within the coming days on the organisation’s website.

The proceeds from the clash will be used for legacy programmes which use soccer to develop educational, health and social programmes among the young.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation will assist in deciding how and where the funds will be used.

The first Mandela FIFA match

It is not the first time that FIFA has honoured Mandela. World football's governing body first sanctioned a match in honour of Mandela in 1999, the year he stepped down as South Africa's president, when a "Mandela XI" took on a FIFA World XI in the Nelson Mandela Farewell Game at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

South African soccer great Jomo Sono - who went on to coach Bafana Bafana at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan - coached the Mandela XI, while Englishman Roy Hodgson, then coach of Grasshoppers Zurich, took charge of FIFA's World XI.

The Mandela XI was packed with African soccer stars, including Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, Celestine Babayaro, Samuel Osei-Kuffour, Kalusha Bwalya, Hossam Hassan, Benni McCarthy, Nwanko Kanu, Titi Camara and Shabani Nonda.

The FIFA World XI included Jorge Campos, Taribo West, Sigobert Song, Branco, Dunga, Thomas Haessler, Mustapha El-Hadji, Luis Hernandez, Viorel Molodovan, Murat Yakin, Lubomir Moravcik, Abedi Pele and Jean-Pierre Papin.

Playing in front of a crowd of 40 000 at Ellis Park, the teams went into half-time level at nil-nil.

Not long after the restart, Zambia's Kalusha Bwalya put the Mandela XI in the lead. This was short-lived, however, as German midfield dynamo Thomas Haessler replied within a minute - and 10 minutes later Slovakian striker Lubomir Moravcik netted to put his team in front.

It appeared the World XI was headed for victory, but Bwalya had other plans, grabbing his brace with the game into injury time to pull the Mandela XI level and force a 2-2 draw.

"90 Minutes for Mandela"

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Cape Town, 13 July 2007 -- An impressive line-up of international and local soccer icons was announced today for the special '90 Minutes for Mandela' match on ex-president Nelson Mandela's 89th birthday at Newlands on 18 July.

Speaking at a joint media briefing in Cape Town today, South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee CEO, Dr Danny Jordaan confirmed the list of past and present world-class footballers, including Brazilian football legend Pele, three-time African player of the year Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), former World Player of the Year George Weah (Liberia) and former European player of the year Ruud Gullit (Holland).

"This game is a celebration of the life of one of the great African icons, one of the greatest personalities of the 20th and 21st centuries. As we move towards preparing for and hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup we celebrate Madiba's birthday in recognition of his personal contribution and sacrifices to help South Africa and the African continent host its first World Cup. Nelson Mandela stands apart from most of the world's political leaders as someone who has a unique grasp of the role and contribution of sport in nation building and the creation of a new society. That many of the world's greatest footballers are coming to Cape Town to pay tribute to Madiba is very special," said Dr Jordaan.

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool and City of Cape Town's Mayoral Committee Member for Sport and Amenities, Grant Haskin appealed to Cape Town residents and other football fans to pack the stadium. "Madiba deserves no less," said Haskin. SAFA Western Province President Vernon Seymour appealed to residents to fill the stadium, to make the Madiba match a success and thus ensure that Cape Town's gets its share of major matches.

Rasool said: "The '90 minutes for Mandela' match is a celebration of Madiba's life and it is also an opportunity for the people of the Western Cape to show their appreciation for him. This international icon was imprisoned here for 27 years, in the last years of his incarceration he was driven around Cape Town and surrounds, he made his first public speech after his release here at the City Hall and was elected the first President of a democratic South Africa in Parliament here. We want our people to come out in their thousands to support this tribute to Nelson Mandela and show the world that Cape Town will be a great host city for the 2010 World Cup. Let us turn this match into a fitting tribute to Madiba and his shining example for our vision of making the Western Cape a 'Home for All'."

The game, which will serve as a tribute to the legendary South African statesman on the occasion of his 89th birthday, will see an Africa XI meet a Rest of the World XI. A special televised message from Mr Mandela will be broadcast. A significant international media contingent has already applied for accreditation to cover the match and events.

The City and Province challenged private companies to support this fundraising event for Nelson Mandela Foundation charities by buying tickets to host employees, customers and members of the community.

At the media briefing details of the event, supporting programme and celebrity visits were announced. Cllr Haskin announced that the City would contribute R500 000 to the staging of the event. "The City will carry the costs for the security, traffic management, clean-up and other staging costs for this welfare event which is usually a cost for the organisers. Cape Town is keen to retain and expand its position as a premier sporting venue and destination," said Cllr Haskin.

The present and past player line-up include 1998 FIFA World Cup champion Christian Karembeu (France), three-time African player of the year, Abedi Pele (Ghana), Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia), Daniel Amokachi (Nigeria), South African stars Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, Doctor Khumalo and Philemon Masinga, Andoni Zubizarreta and Emilio Butragueno (Spain), former Argentina and Real Madrid star Fernando Redondo, Hossam Hassan (Egypt), Rabah Madjer (Algeria), Ivan Zamorano (Chile) and Wynton Rufer (New Zealand).

Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sport Minister Whitey Jacobs said: "The Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport is thrilled to have been afforded an opportunity to show respect to one of the greatest statesmen, Nelson Mandela, by actively participating in the organisation of this sporting event to give the whole world just a glimpse of our collective expertise in staging major events ahead of 2010. This match gives that platform to showcase our organisational ability and we are certain that our local fans will not disappoint us."

Tickets for the game, organised by FIFA together with the South African Football Association (SAFA), the South African Local Organising Committee (SALOC), the Nelson Mandela Foundation and FIFPro (the international federation of professional football players), are available from Computicket and Shoprite Checkers at R30 and R50, with suite tickets costing R120.

The proceeds of the match will benefit legacy initiatives for young people in South Africa by using football to develop educational, health and social programmes, including Nelson Mandela's 46664 global HIV/AIDS campaign.

The match and events will also promote FIFA's 'Say no to Racism' campaign led by Tokyo Sexwale, himself a former Robben Island political prisoner.

A list of the teams follows, as supplied by FIFA.

List of players and coaches who have confirmed their participation:

COACHES:

Africa XI

MANGA Jean - CMR
SONO Jomo - RSA

Rest of the World XI

HODGSON Roy - ENG (current Finland coach)
LE ROY Claude - FRA (current Ghana coach)

GOALKEEPERS:

Africa XI

BADOU Ezaki - MAR
SONGO'O Jacques - CMR

Rest of the World XI

ZUBIZARRETA Andoni - ESP

DEFENDERS:

Africa XI

EGUAVOEN Owen Augustine - NGA
FISH Mark - RSA
KESHI Stephen - NGA
KHUMALO Doctor - RSA
OBUA David - UGA
TATAW Stephen - CMR
UCHE Okechukwu - NGA

Rest of the World XI

BAYA Zoubaier - TUN
KAREMBEU Christian - FRA
MABBUTT Gary - ENG
M'BOMA Patrick - CMR
MUNTUBILE Santos - COD
RADEBE Lucas - RSA

MIDFIELDERS/ATTACKERS:

Africa XI

ABEDI PELE - GHA
AMOKACHI Daniel - NGA
BWALYA Kalusha - ZAM
ETO'O Samuel - CMR
HASSAN Hossam - EGY
LUALUA Lomana - COD
MADJER Rabah - ALG
MASINGA Phil - RSA
OMAN BIYIK Francois - CMR
OLIECH Dennis - NGA
SIASIA Samson - NGA
WEAH George - LBR

Rest of the World XI

ALI DAEI - IRN
BUTRAGUENO Emilio - ESP
CHAPUISAT Stephane - SUI
FOFANA Youssouf - FRA/CIV
GUERRERO Julen - ESP
GULLIT Ruud - NED
KIM Joo Sung - KOR
MANTORRAS Pedro - ANG
LEONARDO Nascimento de Araujo - BRA
PELE - BRA
REDONDO Fernando - ARG
RUFER Wynton - NZL
ZAMORANO Ivan - CHI

TEAM COLOURS:

Africa XI

White/White/White

Rest of the World XI

Black/Black/Black

Soccer star line-up announced for Madiba game in Cape Town