Bafana Bafana captain Itumeleng Khune has vowed to do it for Madiba when the national football side face Nigeria in the Nelson Mandela Challenge at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium tomorrow.
Addressing a press conference at the Elangeni Hotel yesterday, Khune said the team was also determined to win Saturday’s Nelson Mandela Sports Day Cup at Soccer City in Joburg against Burkino Faso – an historic encounter, with the Springboks playing Argentina first.
“On behalf of all the players, all of us are taking the game on Wednesday seriously because it is honouring our former state president. We know that he is not in a good condition, but all we have to do is bring a smile to his face, and that’s by bringing back both cups to his hospital bed,” said the skipper.
“Last time we played in the Mandela Challenge, Zambia beat us at the FNB Stadium. We cannot allow that to happen… it is a nice challenge for us because they are number one in Africa,” said Khune, who is the PSL Footballer of the Year 2012-13.
“We expect the people of Durban to come out to fill the stadium,” he said.
Team spokesman Matlomola Morake, however, said that only 2 900 tickets had been sold for tomorrow night’s fixture.
The Mandela Football Invitational, which was held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Madiba’s birthday, saw Amazulu and English premier league side Manchester City play out to a disappointing crowd, with thousands of empty seats visible on television.
KZN Premier Zweli Mkhize urged fans to come to the party.
“This is a match being played in honour of Madiba and we must get behind the two teams,” he said.
The eThekwini municipality has organised a parade for today to drum up public interest. It will start at Mahatma Gandhi (Point) Road at 11am and end at Dr Pixley ka Seme (West) Street at about 2pm.
Tickets are available from Computicket at R50 and R100. - Daily News