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ssrmagazine.com“FABRIC OF A REAL MAN”
I
t seems like for most of his life Nelson Mandela
has had to pay a price for his accomplishments.
However, the reward of Friday June 11, 2010
was priceless. South Africa was on its way to
hosting a successful FIFA World Cup.
After working tirelessly to bring the FIFA World
Cup to South Africa, Mandela had to miss the
opening day proceedings. The 91-year-old
activist cancelled his appearance due to the
unfortunate death of his 13 year old great-
granddaughter Zenani Mandela the night before.
Zenani, (God rest her soul), was involved in an
automobile accident while travelling home from
the pre-World Cup concert in Soweto. She was
one of nine great-grandchildren of Nelson Mandela.
Alternately, Mandela’s image was shown on the jumbo screen at Soccer City Stadium. There was
a statement issued by the Nelson Mandela Foundation which gave the reason for the anti-
apartheid activist absence as "inappropriate" for the former South African president, to attend the
opening ceremony.
There was a heavenly madness at Soccer City, as the Mandela Foundation continued to deliver
the message on behalf of the absent and grief stricken Nelson “Madiba” Mandela. There were loud
cheers when his image appeared on the screens to the message of hope from him in song.
There were also chants of “Madiba Madiba” (the name which Nelson Mandela is fondly called)
from all areas of the stadium, and in the ecstasy of the moment I could not help but think that
Mandela may have gotten his last big wish as the message was conveyed.
"We are sure that South Africans and people all over the world will stand in solidarity with Mr.
Mandela and his family in the aftermath of this tragedy," added the statement.
"We continue to believe that the World Cup is a momentous and historic occasion for South Africa
and the continent and we are certain it will be a huge success." it concluded
That evening set the right tone for the rest of the tournament and in spite of the unfortunate
setback the continent of Africa was transformed into a cultural revelation and South Africa’s
Bafana Bafana team did not disappoint by scoring the first goal of the tournament in a 1-1 draw
with Mexico, and winning its last group match 2-1 against France.
Ghana proved that the continent of Africa teams are not far away from a FIFA World Cup and the
seeds that Mandela sewed are beginning to bear fruits. There is a noticeable increase in African
players in Europe and other league overseas.
Mandela was able to attend the closing ceremony at Soccer City and though there was no African
team participating in the final that day, his curtain call at the biggest sporting event in the world
meant that Mandela has successfully fought another good fight. For us at SSR Magazine Nelson
‘Madiba’ Mandela will remain “
the fabric of a real man”.
A file photo of, (from left),Thembela Mandela,
Zenani Mandela, Mbuso Mandela and Nelson
Mandela. Zenani was killed in a car accident on
Friday June 10, 2010. (Debbie Yazbek)