To begin to believe that in just a couple of years time the Fifa World Cup will be played in South Africa one needed to be at the International Convention Centre in Durban on Sunday evening, when the whose who of international football made an appearance in the kingdom of the Zulu for the FIFA World Cup preliminary draw.

Guests at the event were treated to a number of performances by African and South African performers including South African Grammy award winning group freshly ground as well as piece from the Lebo M Lion king the musical production.

With the draw being carried out for four of the six FIFA Confederations the focus of the world was on Durban, and South Africa did not disappoint and carried out a glittering draw just as the previous ones in Frankfurt, Tokyo, Paris and New York were.

South African president Thabo Mbeki was seated side by side with FIFA president Sepp Blatter who praised the South African leader for his persistent and hard work which firstly saw South Africa get awarded the FIFA World Cup and thereafter the effort put into ensure that the country hosts a perfect world cup.

There was also a very strong Kaizer Chiefs feel to the draw with the Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung, conducting the draw for the CONCACAF region. With The Amakhosi supremo on the stage was USA international goalkeeper Kasey Keller who is currently nursing an injury which has kept him out of playing for his English Premier League Club Fullham.

Complicated draw

The Chiefs chairman was handed the most challenging and most complicated of all the continental draws, and managed to do his task with perfection. It was a fitting tribute for the Chiefs Chairman be given the task to out the CONCACAF draw. As a player he made a name for himself in that region as he played his club football during the 1960’s in the old North American Soccer League with Atlanta Chiefs and was once named as the rookie of the year.

Commenting after he had concluded the draw the Chiefs chairman commented “I am totally overwhelmed by being part of this occasion. The way this draw has been conducted confirms that South Africa as a country is ready to host the FIFA World Cup, right now words fail to explain the emotions I am feeling”.

Keller appreciation

Carrying out the draw with the Chiefs chairman’s on the stage was Kasey Keller a veteran of four FIFA World Cups with the USA national, who spoke to kaizerchiefs.com after the ceremony and said of the Chiefs chairman “he is a very nice man and I always enjoy getting together with former players as I find it interesting talking to them and learning from their experiences”.

Keller also shares a special friendship with Lucas Radebe the former Amakhosi defender who came up against Keller on numerous occasions in the English Premier League, as Keller added “I have strong Kaizer Chiefs connections apart from having a good understanding with the clubs chair man, Lucas Radebe and I are also quiet close generally and on occassion still meet up for social discussions.

Chiefs appearance

While the Chiefs chairman conducted the draw for CONCACAF region Lucas Radebe was part of the panel that included former FIFA World Cup winner Marcel Desailly and Jomo Sono, who did the draw for the African countries.

As Chiefs had two persons with links to the club on stage. marketing manager Jessica Motaung was part of the VIP’S in Durban, and Chiefs team manager Bobby Motaung was at the draw as a host city representative for Nelspruit.