Madiba: SA ready and willing

2004-05-14 18:49

Zurich - Give South Africa the World Cup, it is ready, Ghanain football great Abedi Pele told Fifa on behalf of the South African 2010 bid committee in Zurich on Friday.

Opening South Africa's 30-minute presentation former president Nelson Mandela who told Federation of International Football Associations (Fifa) president Sepp Blatter and his 23 fellow selectors South Africa was "ready, willing, able capable and passionate" to host the 2010 extravaganza.

"You, my friends, have it in your hands to make this a reality," Mandela added.

A short film insert told the audience at Fifa House in Zurich, Switzerland, that soccer has historically been the one uniting passion of all South Africans.

It was a powerful agent for change.

President Thabo Mbeki, speaking after Mandela, said in a finely crafted speech, that nothing would energise South Africans as much as the knowledge that they were to host the 2010 World Cup.

"We held our third democratic general elections exactly a month ago. In a real sense, these peaceful, free and fair elections were a referendum about our first 10 years of freedom, and a plebiscite to decide the agenda of our second decade of liberation," Mbeki said.

SA has made decisive advances

"...The millions we represent said that by 2014 they want to see a South Africa that has made decisive advances in the national effort to build a society of which all humanity would be proud. They said they want to see an African continent that has taken a giant step forward towards its renaissance.

"...Nothing can serve to inspire our people and all Africa to achieve these humane goals as much as would the knowledge that the 2010 Soccer World Cup would come to our shores.

"Nothing could ever serve to energise our people to work for their and Africa's upliftment than to integrate among the tasks of our second decade of democracy and the African renaissance as our successful hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup," Mbeki said.

Bid chief executive Danny Jordaan concluded the South African presentation by seeking to assure Blatter and his executive that South Africa had the ability to host a world class World Cup.

He added that the country in the last decade had hosted 11 major events and had in every case provided a safe and secure environment.

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- SAPA