Giggs first met Mandela in 1993, when United played Chiefs in the United bank International Soccer Festival at FNB Stadium.
“He hadn’t long been out of prison and it was an amazing moment for me and the whole team. I was being rested for the match we were playing, which was lucky, because just before the game was about to begin we had had an invitation to Nelson Mandela’s box,” Giggs told Laureus.com, on the 20th anniversary of Mandela’s famous speech at first ever Laureus Award ceremony. .
“I spent the whole game with Nelson Mandela: Man United vs. Kaizer Chiefs. It was one of the most amazing moments of my career. An unbelievable experience. He was a genuine football fan, so he knew the majority of the United players. It happens quite a bit when you meet your heroes. You want to ask them questions, and then they’re firing questions at you!”
Giggs was also in the audience 20 years ago in Monaco when Mandela said: “Sport has the power to change the world, it has the It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else (can).”
