SPEECH BY HELEN ZILLE, MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN
 
CONFEDERATION OF AFRICAN FOOTBALL 50TH ANNIVERSARY COCTAIL FUNCTION
NOON GUN RESTAURANT – BO KAAP – 6 SEPTEMBER 2007 – 18H30

Cllr Grant Haskin, Cape Town Mayoral Committee member for sport and recreation, Mr. Issa Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football, Mr Molefi Oliphant, CAF Vice president and SAFA president; Mustapha Fahmy General Secretary of CAF, members and honorary members of CAF and FIFA, soccer players and supporters, ladies and gentlemen.

I am honoured to host this cocktail reception, which is part of the celebration of CAF’s 50th anniversary. We have with us CAF members from cities all over Africa (Yaounde, Lome, Johannesburg, Bamako, Ndjemena, Lagos, Alger, Bujumbura, Seychelles, Cairo, Conackry, Kigali, Bangui, Tunis, Abidjan, Lusaka, Mauritius, Dar Es Salaam, Mogadishu, Gabarone).

Of all these cities, I am glad that CAF has chosen Cape Town to be one of the main venues to mark this occasion. Among the important meetings and events that will be held here, by far the most exciting is Sunday’s African Cup of Nations qualifier between Bafana Bafana and Zambia.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Zambian National Team to Cape Town and our own National team to Cape Town. I believe that both need to win to qualify for the final competition, and I wish them luck. I can understand how captain Mokoena feels right now – a bit like I do in the midst of the floor-crossing.

I would like to thank SAFA for organising this competition in Newlands. I must add, however, that this is Cape Town’s first National Team match since a friendly was held here against Jamaica in 2003. Before that, South Africa played here against Saudi Arabia in 1999. This means on average we only see one National Soccer match in Cape Town every four years. I hope that this will increase to at least one a year. As you can see, we are well on our way to building a new stadium especially for big soccer matches.

Of course, the people of Cape Town also need to come out in their numbers to support our team. Perhaps the fact that Benni McCarthy is back to play in front of his home town crowd will help. Metrorail is also offering a special of R10 per ticket to Newlands, which should provide further encouragement.

To the delegates and leadership of CAF, I hope that you will enjoy the rest of this week’s programme, especially your trip to the Winelands and to Cape Point. May you enjoy a welcome break from the lengthy committee meetings that you have been holding across the country.

I would like to end by taking a moment to remember the family, friends and colleagues of one of our promising Bafana Bafana players, Gift Leremi, who died tragically on Monday. Our soccer fraternity has suffered a great loss – in the four games that he has played for our national team, he has shown star potential. He was also a key player for Sundowns. For many, this Sunday’s game will not only mark CAF’s 50th anniversary, it will also be a tribute to his memory.

I thank you.