Issued by: Office of the President
The following message was handed over to the Tunisian President in Tunis on 2 February 1996:
Mr President
It is indeed a happy occasion to see our respective national football sides in the final of the 20th Tournament of the African Cup of Nations. South Africa has been honoured to host this great African sporting event which has captured the imagination of millions, both on our continent and beyond.
South Africa is proud of its national soccer team, which together with other national sports teams, has contributed so much towards nation building and reconciliation in our country over the past two years.
The African Cup of Nations is a spectacular celebration of Africa's undoubted human potential, and once again the sporting arena has provided us with the ideal opportunity to demonstrate this to the world.
Irrespective of who wins on Saturday, I am convinced that the bringing together of our football teams from the geographic extremes of our beloved continent will not only bring great joy to tens of millions of people around the globe, but it will also aid immensely in further promoting the already excellent relations which so happily exist between our two countries.
I wish you and your team well on Saturday.