The world's most popular football club, Manchester United, will tour South Africa in July, playing matches against Premier Soccer League clubs Amazula and Ajax Cape Town.

The 19-time English League champions enjoy huge support in South Africa; the Manchester United Supporters' Club of South Africa has been in existence since 1990.

Red Devils' chief executive David Gill said in a statement on Wednesday: "Everyone has fond memories of the visits there in 2006 and 2008 and, of course, of the exceptional organisation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

'A fantastic amount of support'

"We had a fantastic amount of support from our fans last time we played a game in South Africa," Gill said.

"We were overwhelmed by the passion and excitement generated by the fans who came out to support us, and we hope many more join us again this year."

Amazulu general manager Peter O'Connor said on the club's website: "We're delighted to be hosting Manchester United at [Durban's] Moses Mabhida Stadium. It's the perfect match to kick off our 80th anniversary year."

In Cape Town, the Red Devils will play at the Cape Town Stadium. The city is planning to re-open the Fan Walk as it did during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

United CEO Gill explained: "The training camp and matches in South Africa will be an important part of our preparations for the 2012/13 season and an excellent chance to renew our acquaintance with our loyal and enthusiastic fans in South Africa."

MTN Football Invitational

Telecommunications giant MTN will sponsor the matches, to be known as the MTN Football Invitational, to highlight the aims of Mandela Day, which are "to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good".

Mandela Day is on 18 July, which is when the Red Devils will face AmaZulu in Durban. They take on Ajax on 21 July.

Tickets will be available from Computicket outlets only.

Previous visits

In their last visit to South Africa in 2008, United played in the Vodacom Challenge against Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

They drew 1-1 with Chiefs in Cape Town, beat Pirates 1-0 in Durban and then crushed Chiefs 4-0 in the final of competition.

They had played the same teams two years earlier, in 2006, thumping Pirates 4-0 in their first match and edging Chiefs 1-0 in their second outing.

The Amakhosi extracted revenge in the final when they scored a 4-3 victory over the Red Devils from the penalty spot after the teams had played to a goalless draw.

Source: SouthAfrica.info
The all-in-one official guide
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