A 2010 World Cup fan club was formed yesterday and South African football supporter Freddy "Saddam" Maake described it as a positive step in bringing soccer supporters together.

A 2010 World Cup fan club was formed yesterday and South African football supporter Freddy "Saddam" Maake described it as a positive step in bringing soccer supporters together.

The fan club, a legacy project of the tournament in South Africa, is an initiative of the 32 countries that qualified for the Fifa World Cup that ends on July 11.

"Supporters of the 32 countries will also play a five-a-side tournament at Halfway House Primary School in Midrand on Wednesday," Maake said.

"We would like to thank Safa for endorsing this project, which is aimed at bringing the supporters under one umbrella."

The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund is also involved in this project, as is the Coalition of Supporters Unions of Africa.

Safa president Kirsten Nematandani said: "Through this historic event, South Africa will go into the record books as the first-ever World Cup host country to have staged an event of this stature.

"We trust that it will give the participants, particularly the visiting teams, a World Cup experience they have never had before."

Moipone Buda-Ramatlo, programme director of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, hailed the initiative as being in keeping with the campaign to let people enjoy the world's most loved game without forgetting the safety, protection and care of children during and beyond the tournament.