Tournament News
Madiba determined to be at opener
2010-06-04 14:49
Email | Print
Pretoria - Nelson Mandela is determined he will attend the opening game of the World Cup in Johannesburg in a week's time because it would realize his dream, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Friday after meeting the former president.
Speculation is intense over whether the 91-year-old, South Africa's most famous citizen, will be well enough to attend any of the World Cup games. He is not suffering from a specific illness but is reported to be very frail.
Blatter revealed he had a brief meetng with Nelson Mandela on Thursday, and the icon had said he wanted to be at next week's opening game.
"All I can say is that he (Mandela) is convinced that he shall be at the opening," Blatter said. "He wants to be there because he wants to live up to his dream."
"We just cross fingers that his dream will be realized ... and he will honor the opening and the kickoff to this World Cup."
On Thursday, African National Congress (ANC) spokesman Jackson Mthembu said Mandela will make a rare public appearance at next week's tournament opener, between the host and Mexico, and the July 11 final.
"Madiba will grace both the opening and the closing of the World Cup," Mthembu said, using the traditional clan name by which Mandela is affectionately known in South Africa.
"We are very honored to have an icon of Mandela's caliber to grace this important event. We are very happy that Madiba will come. The Madiba magic will add to the excitement."
A spokesman at Mandela's foundation would not say if Mandela would attend next Friday's match, saying they do not disclose his schedule ahead of time for security reasons.
Mandela has strong links to sport in South Africa after he famously appeared at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final wearing the green and gold jersey of the Springboks, the country's national rugby team.
Blatter handed over the World Cup trophy on Friday to South Africa's vice president Kgalema Motlanthe, who said the glittering prize will remain in Africa.
Motlanthe, acting in place of President Jacob Zuma who is on a state visit to India, took charge of the World Cup on the steps of the Union Buildings in the capital Pretoria.
At the Union Buildings around 50 members of the presidential staff, wearing colorful scarves and hats, watched the trophy handover and blew on their vuvuzela trumpets.
Motlanthe, who had a yellow South African football shirt on, said Africa's first World Cup marked a turning point in the history of the competition. He backed the country's national team to win the tournament and keep the trophy in Africa.
"It is not only the first time that Africa hosts it but it is also the first time the trophy actually remains on the continent of Africa," he said as the crowd cheered.
The World Cup later appeared in Soweto, the famous, sprawling township on the southern outskirts of Johannesburg, where it was put on display at a community center hall. Fans, mostly groups of noisy schoolchildren, were allowed one minute next to the glistening gold trophy to take photos before being hurried along.
Nearby, Johannesburg city officials unveiled a giant poster of Mandela smiling and holding the World Cup trophy. The image, captured in Zurich in 2004 when South Africa won its bid to host the tournament, will hang from the city's Mandela Bridge throughout the tournament.
City mayor Amos Masondo, who unveiled the poster, said "We all know that Nelson Mandela, South Africa's icon, and the staging of the 2010 World Cup cannot be separated."
People then danced and sang in the winter sunshine as music blared over loudspeakers. The bridge, one of the landmarks of downtown Johannesburg, was closed to traffic for most of the day.
South Africans were also celebrating the last "Soccer Friday" before kickoff, where they are encouraged to wear soccer shirts to work.