There was a heavy presence from Kaizer Chiefs as the nation celebrated the inaugural Nelson Mandela Sport and Culture Day hosted at FNB Stadium on Saturday, 17 August 2013.

People from all walks of life gathered at the iconic stadium to pay tribute to Madiba for the contribution he has made around the World.

Early on in the day South African Masters and Legends took on their counterparts from Italy. The fans were entertained with good football, Italy won 2-0.

The likes of Lucas ‘Roo’ Radebe, Doctor ‘16V’ Khumalo, Nelson ‘Teenage’ Dladla, Shane ‘Maketang’ McGregor, John ‘Shoes’ Mosheou and the Tovey brothers Mark and Neil, who all once played in gold and black thrilled the fans with their sporadic touches of brilliance.

“It was a special day for Mr. Mandela. It was also a special day for the players who had not seen each other for more than ten to fifteen years,” said Mark Tovey who played for the Glamour Boys in the late 80s.

The hosts on the day were former Kaizer Chiefs PRO and now Radio personality, Putco Mafani together with radio celebrity, Unathi Msengana.

In the other game as part of the event, coming back from a loss earlier in the week against Nigeria, Bafana Bafana took on Burkina Faso in a game that saw on-form Siphiwe ‘Shabba’ Tshabalala scoring the first goal of the match with Luyolo Nomandela scoring the second goal for Bafana Bafana to make it 2-0. Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Bernard Parker, and Captain Itumeleng Khune featured during the match while Tsepo Masilela, Eric Mathoho watched the proceedings from the bench.

“It was an honour once more to be part of such an historic occasion. We went out there and put smiles on every citizen in this country including uTata,” said Khune who at the end lifted the inaugural trophy.

Unity was personified when soccer and rugby supporters shared the stands on the day. The Springboks wrapped up the sport programme with a 73-13 hammering over Argentina.

Mafikizolo, Salif Keita and many other local and international artists added the cherry on top of what should go down as a memorable day to honour Madiba.