December 6 – As the world’s leaders unanimously paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, who died yesterday, aged 95, so the leaders of world football have added their personal tributes to a man who changed the world and whose inspiration is a driving force behind a determination to change football culture and attitudes.
The news of his passing was made in a statement made by South African President Jacob Zuma broadcast on national TV. “Our nation has lost its greatest son,” he said, going on to praise the Mandela family for sacrificing so much “so that our people could be free”.
Jeffrey Webb, President of CONCACAF and chairman of the FIFA Anti-Racism and Discrimination Task Force, said in a statement: “As a token of respect and admiration to the inspiration he has infused during my personal journey, I would like to pay tribute to Madiba’s legacy.
“A man whose existence has inspired such universal admiration on his life-long quest for undeniable heightened human values.
“The world should hope to see more heroes like him, able to touch countless hearts with his fervent passion for an altruistic cause, while spreading words of wisdom with selfless humility for the sole good of human kind. Let us never forget what a natural leader of such great stature looks like.”
Mandela’s inspiration was referred to repeatedly at the recent Sports Summit hosted in the Cayman Islands by CONCACAF and where Tokyo Sexwale, who spent 15 years imprisoned alongside Mandela on South Africa’s Robben Island, gave the keynote address at the opening dinner.
Sexwale acted as the general secretary of the Makana Football Association, formed on Robben Island, an association subsequently recognised by FIFA. He also went on to become a member of the FIFA World Cup 2010 Preparatory Committee and sat on the Board of Directors for the 2010 World Cup. Mandela was an instrumental figure in the winning of the World Cup for South Africa.
One of football’s most iconic moments was when Mandela, minutes after South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup in May 2004, made his way to the stage in Zurich, lifted the World Cup trophy and shed a tear with a broad smile on his face.
“Sport has the power to change the world,” said Sexwale in Cayman. He could have been talking about Mandela himself. “On Robben Island we defied every apartheid rule, law, legislation, regulation, we defied each one of those laws…But let me tell you Mr Blatter, we never defied a single FIFA statute…the rules were sacrosanct…in FIFA, in football, millions of people are controlled by a single whistle.”
FIFA President Sepp Blatter, said: “It is in deep mourning that I pay my respects to an extraordinary person, probably one of the greatest humanists of our time and a dear friend of mine.
“He and I shared an unwavering belief in the extraordinary power of football to unite people in peace and friendship, and to teach basic social and educational values as a school of life. When he was honoured and cheered by the crowd at Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium on 11 July 2010, it was as a man of the people, a man of their hearts, and it was one of the most moving moments I have ever experienced.
For him, the World Cup in South Africa truly was ‘a dream come true’. Nelson Mandela will stay in our hearts forever. The memories of his remarkable fight against oppression, his incredible charisma and his positive values will live on in us and with us.”
Nelson Mandela was convicted of sabotage for his role as an ANC activist against the former apartheid regime of South Africa. In 1962, at his trial, he made a remarkable 3-hour speech that ultimately resulted in him being jailed for 27 years.
He closed this speech to the judge, saying: “During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I amprepared to die.”
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