Superstars to play for Madiba
African XI set to take on Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo in December
THE South African Football Association has given the green light to a match of international megastars who will strut their skills in honour of ailing former president Nelson Mandela.
The names of the superstars who will hit South African shores for the Fifa XI against the Africa XI game earmarked for December have not been confirmed.
But the Sunday Times believes the organisers are pulling out all the stops to bring the cream of the crop of world football to descend on the southern tip of Africa and play for South Africa’s first democratically elected president, who turns 95 on Thursday.
Top of the list of drawcards is fourtime world footballer of the year Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Brazilian sensation Neymar.
Legendary Jomo Sono and Mandela’s grandson Ndaba are part of the organising party.
They have enlisted the assistance of former Fifa technical director Walter Gagg, a close ally of Fifa president Sepp Blatter, to help with securing the appearance of Barcelona stars Messi and Neymar as well as Real Madrid’s Ronaldo.
“Gagg is very close to Blatter,” said a source close to the negotiations. “He is semi-retired now but continues to be of service to Blatter in an advisory capacity.
“Contact has been made with some of the big names and most have expressed interest in participating in the Madiba match.
“Only the best in the world will constitute a Fifa XI.”
No venue has been identified for the game, which was originally billed for Mandela’s birth month of July.
“But,” said one of the organisers, “we felt that we were going to encounter problems with securing the release of players because clubs are busy with their pre-season preparations around July and August.
“After further consultation it was felt December would be ideal timing. We want to bring out the best of the world stars against the best of Africa for Mandela. He is the greatest man ever to set foot in this world.”
The founding father of South Africa’s democracy has been battling ill-health at Pretoria’s Heart Hospital since June 8.
The match is but one of many sporting activities lined up to celebrate the former president’s life.
The events will kick off with the Nelson Mandela football invitational, which will see Manchester City take on SuperSport United at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria this afternoon.
Action will then move to Durban, where City will play against AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Thursday.
Durban will also host the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge in which Bafana will host African champions Nigeria on August 14, also at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Last week Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula announced the Nelson Mandela Sport Day.
In a first for South Africa this initiative will see Bafana and the Springboks play at the same venue in one day against Burkina Faso and Argentina respectively on August 17.
Safa chief executive officer Dennis Mumble said the football controlling body in the country had given its blessings for the Fifa XI versus African XI match.
“Our requirement is any event organised in football must comply with the Safety and Security at Sports and Recreational Events Act.
“There are also Caf and Fifa regulations governing the hosting of international matches, such as making sure there is proper insurance for match organisation and the technical organisation such as international referees of repute.
“Our goal is to make sure the organisers abide by these rules.”
Mumble also expressed Safa’s best wishes for Mandela.
“We wish him well and hope he will recover fully. As an organisation we also look forward to continue doing things in his name to give effect to his ideals,” said Mumble.