Safa urged to mark 2010 World Cup

German football legend Lothar Matthäus has questioned why the SA Football Association (Safa) has made no plans for a 10-year commemoration match for the 2010 World Cup.

Matthäus said such a match could be a perfect opportunity to raise funds for football development in SA‚ and could involve one of the high-profile national teams who were part of the 2010 World Cup.

The anniversary of the start of the first World Cup to be held in Africa is June 11‚ the day Bafana Bafana kicked off the 2010 tournament at Soccer City in Johannesburg with a 1-1 draw against Mexico.

Safa has yet to announce any commemoration event for either June 11 or July 11‚ the day Spain beat The Netherlands 1-0 in the final at Soccer City.

Matthäus spoke at a Bundesliga function in Johannesburg about the German legends’ association‚ of which he is chair‚ and the connections they establish worldwide.

“It’s possible‚ why not? It’s possible for SA to play against Germany. Why not?” Germany’s 1990 World Cup-winning captain said.

“Ten years ago the World Cup was here. Why don’t you have this idea in SA to say: ‘We play against a team that 10 years ago was here in the World Cup?’

“And make connections between the countries.

“And perhaps it can be for charity. No salary for the players. The money must go to the youth‚ towards development for the future.

“Because I saw 10 years ago a great atmosphere in the stadiums. I heard last week there was a great game [the Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates]‚ with two German coaches.

“Great atmosphere. But the rest of the games the stadiums are empty. This cannot be the direction for SA football.”

One could go a step further than Matthäus’s idea.

Safa have surely missed a trick not organising such a friendly annually against one of the teams who participated at the 2010 World Cup.

The international football community must surely feel some sense of debt for the gleaming‚ clockwork-run event that was put on by SA.