SOUTH African Football Association (Safa) president Dr Danny Jordaan has paid tribute to the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Tutu was one of the key figures to see South Africa win the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The struggle icon died aged 90 on 26 December and was laid to rest in Cape Town at the weekend.
Tutu worked with Jordaan, who was the CEO of the Local Organising Committee, to see Mzansi win the hosting rights in 2004 to stage the World Cup six years later for the first time on African soil.
“South African football bade farewell to Archbishop Desmond Tutu this weekend, one of its biggest supporters and the self-deprecating ‘reserve Mandela’ who played a huge role in the country winning the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup,” said Jordaan in a statement.
“Archbishop Tutu always availed himself to fight for South Africa’s cause in hosting Africa’s first Fifa World Cup and was in Zurich in 2004 for South Africa’s final bid presentation to Fifa.
“After a slick, professional presentation, he jokingly said pointing to the heavens that ‘there must be something wrong upstairs’ if South Africa was not awarded the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
“When Nelson Mandela was unable to join the 2010 bid committee for a crucial trip to sway the Fifa Executive Committee members in the Caribbean, we called on Archbishop Tutu – who was in New York – to join us, and he accepted without hesitation.
“Archbishop Tutu joked that he was the ‘substitute for Madiba’ and we said yes in football we have substitutions and we’re happy to be able to call you up.”
