FIFA honour for Robben Island footballers

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) The soccer-playing former inmates of South Africa's notorious Robben Island prison will receive a special honour from FIFA, the sport's world governing body announced today.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter will grant honorary membership status to the Makana Football Association, which was formed by prisoners on the island during the apartheid era, as part of the festivities to mark the 89th birthday of Nelson Mandela, Robben Island's most famous captive, on July 18.

FIFA said in a statement it would hold a ceremony on the island, where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in captivity, a few hours before the kick-off of the ''90 Minutes for Mandela'' match between an Africa XI and a Rest of the World XI at Cape Town's Newlands Stadium.

Blatter described former South African president Mandela as ''the world's most powerful symbol of non-racialism''.

''While in confinement on the island, political prisoners played organised football matches as members of the Makana FA, adhering strictly to the FIFA Statutes,'' Blatter said.

''They are a strong symbol of FIFA's fight to eradicate racism and all forms of discrimination from football and sport, and it is only fitting that their efforts be recognised with this honorary membership.'' REUTERS PDS HS2059