90 Minutes for Mandela
90 Minutes for Mandela was a charity football match held on 18 July 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa, to mark the 89th birthday of Nelson Mandela.[1] Football stars past and present, such as Samuel Eto'o and Pelé, took part in the game. The match ended in a 3–3 draw between an African XI and a Rest of the World XI. Africa played in an all-white strip, while the Rest of the World team played in an all-black strip. A few hours before the game, Sepp Blatter granted honorary membership of FIFA to the Makana Football Association, a football league set up by prisoners on Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned.[2][3]
Mandela did not attend the match, he did, though send a message via video. Proceeds of the match will go to programmes supported by the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Before the game an official match shirt was presented to Mandela with the number 89 on the reverse.[4][5]
Match result
The match, played in front of a crowd of 35,412 ended in a 3–3 draw between an African XI and a Rest of the World XI. Iván Zamorano, Ruud Gullit and Julen Guerrero scored for the Rest of the World with Abedi Pele and Hossam Hassan (2) scoring for the Africans.[6]
Squads
Over 50 players were selected to appear in the match, to represent the two teams.[7]
Africa XI
The Africa XI was coached by Jean Manga-Onguene of Cameroon and Jomo Sono of South Africa.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Rest of the World XI
The Rest of the World XI was coached by Roy Hodgson of England and Claude Le Roy of France.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Nelson Mandela Farewell Game
FIFA organised a similar all-star match on 17 August 1999 to honour Mandela when he stepped down as South African president, which was held at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in front of a crowd of 40,000 between a Mandela XI, which featured, among others, Lucas Radebe, Mark Fish, Celestine Babayaro, Samuel Kuffour, Kalusha Bwalya, Hossam Hassan, Benni McCarthy, Nwankwo Kanu, Titi Camara and Shabani Nonda and a FIFA World XI which included, among others, Jorge Campos, Taribo West, Rigobert Song, Branco, Dunga, Thomas Häßler, Mustapha Hadji, Luis Hernández, Viorel Moldovan, Murat Yakin, Lubomir Moravcik, Abedi Pele and Jean-Pierre Papin. That particular match ended 2–2.[8][9]
References
- "Pelé agrees to play Mandela match". BBC News. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "Football match marks Mandela 89th". BBC News. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "Fifa honours inmate footballers". BBC News. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "Legends meet Mandela". BBC News. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "Support '90 Minutes of Mandela". Cape Times. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "Stars turn on style for Mandela". FIFA. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "Stars named for Mandela match". BBC News. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "Match for Mandela: Stars named". FIFA. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
- "90 minutes for Mandela". South Africa Info. 6 July 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.