Mandela backs South Africa for 2010 World Cup

Nelson Mandela today threw his full weight behind South Africa’s bid to stage the 2010 World Cup, insisting the tournament would finally bury the memories of the international isolation of the apartheid years.

The former South African president visit to FIFA headquarters here in Zurich today reinforced his country’s position as virtual certainties to win the vote in May next year.

Mandela lavished praise on FIFA president Sepp Blatter and on football for the sport’s role in freezing out the apartheid regime. Football was one of the first sports to ban South Africa and the country was reinstated to FIFA in 1992.

With the cricket and rugby World Cups having been staged in the country in the last eight years, Mandela said being awarded the football tournament would allow further barriers between the races in South Africa to be broken down.

Mandela said: “When the rugby World Cup was played in South Africa in 1995 it united both black and white.

“I remember one of our top businessmen, a billonaire, stopped at a roadblock after the final next to a car full of Africans from Soweto. They looked at him and said to him ‘Why are you so sad? – we have won’.

“These were people who had been against rugby because they regarded rugby as apartheid applied to sport and that changed the picture altogether.

“We achieved a great deal by winning that World Cup and to have the soccer World Cup would spread the message that South Africa is now part of the global world, especially to those people who were not as alert to the fact that the rugby and cricket World Cups have been played in South Africa.

“An international game played in any country has immense economic benefits. It would the spirits of many people especially. It would make all of us feel that we are no longer part of apartheid where we were boycotted by the entire world.”

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was officially on a visit to Europe as part of his activities as head of the Mandela Foundation. However, with South African bid leader Danny Jordaan in attendance there is no doubt the meeting with Blatter had more than one purpose.

Mandela’s extravagant praise for Blatter clearly delighted the FIFA president, and the pair exchanged gifts.

“He has outstanding principles and was very courageous at a time when many people were hesitating to criticise the apartheid regime and he has been one of the voices which has spoken very clearly against racism,” said Mandela, before handing over a silver-topped ornamental ostrich egg.

Blatter’s gratitude was obvious, with him saying: “This is a great day for FIFA, it is also an historical day. He is a living legend of democracy, anti-discrimination and anti-racism.”

Mandela, who met members of the England squad in May before an international against South Africa, opted for diplomacy when asked if he had any favourite players.

“Sports icons are like head of states – I never identify anyone I admire. I don’t admire people just because of their position, but people committed to social-economic issues especially eradicating poverty.

“I respect a human being who gets up not knowing how they are going to feed his or her family.

“Sport can play a role in ensuring that people who come from very humble quarters can rise and become great. I admire people who can say I raised myself by my own bootstraps to a position of hero.”

It has been decided as part of FIFA’s new rotation system that an African country will definitely stage the 2010 World Cup, with Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Libya bidding against South Africa.