ZURICH, Switzerland: Pele and Samuel Eto o headed the list of international stars Thursday when FIFA announced the lineups for a match to honor Nelson Mandela s 89th birthday.
More than 50 players have confirmed their participation in the 90 Minutes for Mandela match on July 18 at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. It will pit Africa against the rest of the world.
Led by Pele, the Rest of the World Team also includes 1987 European player of the year Ruud Gullit of the Netherlands and 1998 World Cup winner Christian Karembeu of France.
The Africa team will feature two members who have won the African player of the year three times – Eto o of Cameroon and Abedi Pele of Ghana – and 1995 world player of the year George Weah of Liberia.
The match also has winners of all of the major titles in world soccer, including the World Cup, the European Championship, the African Cup of Nations and the Champions League.
Roy Hodgson and Claude Le Roy will coach the Rest of the World side and will be opposed by Jean Manga and Jomo Sono.
Proceeds of the match will go to programs aimed at helping young South Africans and will be coordinated with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Fifa organized a similar all-star match in 1999 to honor Mandela when he stepped down as South African president.
