Hon Deputy Speaker, Fifa's exclusive financial services partner has showcased the 2010 Fifa World Cup winner's trophy in Johannesburg, at an event to celebrate the official launch of Fifa's 2010 World Cup South African marketing campaign.
Inevitably, the star of the show was the most-recognised sports prize in the world, the gold-plated replica of the 2010 Fifa World Cup winner's trophy, which will be retained by the winning team on 11 July 2010 after the 18-carat gold original is returned to the home of Fifa in Zurich, Switzerland. The trophy depicts two human figures holding up the world. The current trophy was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga and was first presented to West Germany's captain, Franz Beckenbauer, in 1974.
As soccer fever heightens in the build-up to the World Cup, and with the superb performance by the SA soccer team in the recent Fifa Confederations Cup, many South Africans are becoming increasingly hopeful that there is a chance that the Fifa World Cup trophy will remain in SA. I thank you.