Durban: Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi would step on the same pitch for the first time since the 2006 World Cup final when they participate in a charity football match to celebrate former South African President Nelson Mandela's 89th birthday.
Organisers have invited the legendary French playmaker and Italian defender, who were involved in the infamous head-butt incident which marred Zidane's last game as a professional footballer.
The game, scheduled for July 18 in Cape Town, will also be used as a platform to promote FIFA's anti-racism policy.
"The idea to invite Zidane and Materazzi is to promote FIFA's 'No To Racism' campaign," South African businessman Tokyo Sexwale, who is one of the organisers, said on Thursday.
"Zidane and Materazzi will be joined by Brazilian legend, Pele, who retired 30 years ago," Sexwale added.
The Rest of the World's XI versus African XI match has been named "90 Minutes for Mandela" and the proceeds from the game will be donated to the Nelson Mandela Fund.
The match was initially scheduled to be played on Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, but has since been moved to the Newlands Stadium.
Sexwale said FIFA President Sepp Blatter would confer honorary membership status on the Makana Football Association, a group formed by former prison inmates on Robben Island.
"It would be important to take all those players on Robben Island so that we should have a ceremony in respect of the stalwarts who were in prison," he said.
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