Soccer stars to honour Mandela on his birthday

South Africa will celebrate Nelson Mandela's 89th birthday this month with an all-star soccer match to raise funds for HIV/AIDS, organisers said yesterday.

More than 50 past and present international players including Brazilian legend Pele and three-time African player of the year Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon will take part in the "90 Minutes for Mandela" match at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on July 18, the former president's birthday.

"Nelson Mandela is the first person in the world and in the history of football to have two FIFA games played in his honour, it has never happened before," said Danny Jordaan, the head of South Africa's official organising committee for the 2010 soccer World Cup.

The first Mandela FIFA match was held in August 1999 to mark the end of Mandela's presidency.

Mandela is a keen sports fan and played a key role in South Africa's bid to host the 2010 World Cup, the first time the competition will be held in Africa.

"We are honoured to once again be able to stage - after nearly a decade - a unique match to honour an extraordinary man who dedicated his lifetime to the promotion of human rights and democracy," said FIFA president Sepp Blatter in a statement.

Fine shape

Mandela has sharply cut back on personal appearances following his retirement, although aides say the man who led South Africa from apartheid to democracy in 1994 is still in fine shape for his age.

In recent years Mandela has marked his birthday quietly with family and friends.

Organisers say proceeds from the soccer match will be earmarked for social programmes including Mandela's 46664 global HIV/AIDS campaign - named after his inmate number in the apartheid-era Robben Island prison.