Mandela and Dalai Lama to attend Norway – South Africa

Photo: www.fotball.no.

Nelson Mandela and a clutch of other Nobel Peace Prize winners will attend a soccer match between South Africa and Norway in Johannesburg on March 28, The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) said on March 3.

Mandela is to be joined by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama; last year’s winner, Martti Ahtisaari; Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; and former president F W de Klerk.

The match at the refurbished 42 000-seat Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg will coincide with a peace conference in Johannesburg on March 27, led by the Norwegian-based Nobel Peace Committee.

The conference is an initiative of the local organising committee for the 2010 World Cup, and will focus on how soccer can help fight racism and xenophobia, organisers say.