Nelson Mandela will attend World Cup final, says wife Graca Machel. Former South African president Nelson Mandela will attend tonight's World Cup final in Johannesburg but will not take up Fifa's offer to hand over the trophy, his wife has said.
Graca Machel said her husband was too old to be standing out in the cold for too long but was keen to be present at the conclusion of the host nation's proudest moment.
Much anticipated: Nelson Mandela's wife has said he will be present at the World Cup final tonight
Madiba, as he is affectionately known in South Africa, was due to attend the opening ceremony last month but pulled out last minute when his great-granddaughter Zenani was killed in a car accident.
The confirmation that he will attend this evening's World Cup final - which pits Holland against Spain - will be greeted with delight by South Africans who still revere the nonogenarian as the father of the nation.
Speaking after a summit of the 1GOAL charity - the World Cup's main legacy project which aims to provide education for the 72 million children worldwide who are not currently in school - Mrs Machel said: "Nelson Mandela will go to the final but he is not going to hand over the trophy. He is 92 years old, it's in the evening, it's very cold.
"He will be there but he will not hand over the trophy."
The confirmation by Mrs Machel, who became Mandela's third wife in 1998, comes after his grandson Mandla claimed Fifa had put "extreme pressure" on him to attend the final and accused the sport body of failing to "understand the family's traditions and customs".
"The family has really taken a step back from a lot of activities and we've been mourning the loss of Zenani," Mandla Mandela said. "So we've come under extreme pressure from FIFA requiring and wishing that my grandfather be at the final.
"But I think that decision will solemnly lie with him, how he wakes up today, how he feels, what his medical team says, but as well his family.
"Fifa said that Sepp Blatter wished that my grandfather comes out to the final.
"I think people ought to just understand the family's traditions and customs and understand we've had a loss in the family and we are in mourning and that for me would be enough reason to leave the family to be for now.
"Their focus is having this world icon in the stadium, yet not really paying attention to our customs and traditions as a people and as a family." ( telegraph.co.uk )
Graca Machel said her husband was too old to be standing out in the cold for too long but was keen to be present at the conclusion of the host nation's proudest moment.
Much anticipated: Nelson Mandela's wife has said he will be present at the World Cup final tonight
Madiba, as he is affectionately known in South Africa, was due to attend the opening ceremony last month but pulled out last minute when his great-granddaughter Zenani was killed in a car accident.
The confirmation that he will attend this evening's World Cup final - which pits Holland against Spain - will be greeted with delight by South Africans who still revere the nonogenarian as the father of the nation.
Speaking after a summit of the 1GOAL charity - the World Cup's main legacy project which aims to provide education for the 72 million children worldwide who are not currently in school - Mrs Machel said: "Nelson Mandela will go to the final but he is not going to hand over the trophy. He is 92 years old, it's in the evening, it's very cold.
"He will be there but he will not hand over the trophy."
The confirmation by Mrs Machel, who became Mandela's third wife in 1998, comes after his grandson Mandla claimed Fifa had put "extreme pressure" on him to attend the final and accused the sport body of failing to "understand the family's traditions and customs".
"The family has really taken a step back from a lot of activities and we've been mourning the loss of Zenani," Mandla Mandela said. "So we've come under extreme pressure from FIFA requiring and wishing that my grandfather be at the final.
"But I think that decision will solemnly lie with him, how he wakes up today, how he feels, what his medical team says, but as well his family.
"Fifa said that Sepp Blatter wished that my grandfather comes out to the final.
"I think people ought to just understand the family's traditions and customs and understand we've had a loss in the family and we are in mourning and that for me would be enough reason to leave the family to be for now.
"Their focus is having this world icon in the stadium, yet not really paying attention to our customs and traditions as a people and as a family." ( telegraph.co.uk )
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