Over the years South African icon Nelson Mandela has inspired a clothing line, pricey artworks and countless cheap souvenirs, all of which have fuelled debate over the use of his image.

Now wine lovers can toast his name with the “House of Mandela” range launched by family members, a product that has raised fresh questions about the uses and abuses of the statesman’s legacy.

The label’s founders are adamant that the venture does not exploit him, however.

“This is not about Nelson Mandela, this is about the House of Mandela,” said Makaziwe Mandela, his oldest living child aged 59, who started the label with her daughter Tukwini.

“The driving force for us is not only to get into the wine as a commercial entity. This is about honouring all those who have gone before us.”

Marketed in the United States earlier this year, the label was started in 2010 with various winemakers selected in the country’s famed Cape vineyards.

The range’s premier collection consists of two reds and one white dubbed the “Royal Reserve”

The range’s premier collection consists of two reds and one white dubbed the “Royal Reserve”: A 2007 Syrah, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2008 Chardonnay 2009.

The two top drawer reds sell for R399, a hefty asking price in South Africa.

“The concept is very good, but I am not sure that the wines are that good, for such a price. That’s the reality. They are too expensive,” said a wine seller who wanted to remain anonymous.

Technically, Mandela’s brand is copy-righted and his foundation has shut down several brazen attempts over the years to cash in on his revered global status.

A court battle currently rages over the control of companies in his name.

Head of the Mandela Foundation’s memory programme, Verne Harris said that Mandela had wanted to avoid exploitation.

“The guidelines included things like ‘I don’t want my face on commercial products, I do not want to be associated with tobacco, alcohol’,” and so on,” he said.

Wine may be alcohol but the reality is that the Mandela surname is carried by the younger generations — who have taken to projects such as wine making and reality TV.

“The name Mandela doesn’t belong to Nelson Mandela. It belongs to a family,” said Harris.

And not everyone thinks the wines are distasteful.

The Cabernet Sauvignon was judged an “outstanding” 4.5 out of five by South Africa’s well-known Platter guide.

The other two got a four-point “excellent.”

“They are super premium wines, the quality matches the price, and we are not shy about that,” said Tukwini Mandela, 38, told AFP.

Makaziwe agrees, saying the wine aimed to tell the story of the Mandela family’s royal roots.

“There is a regalness about Africa. It is not that everything that comes from Africa is substandard. There is good quality,” she said.

A sparkling wine has been added to the range, along with six entry-level wines to make the product more accessible and a middle range.

Baptised the “Thembu Collection” after the Xhosa tribe the family stems from, the lower priced wines carry labels inspired by Mandela’s trademark colourful shirts.

The wines will be available in supermarkets, particularly in the United States giant Walmart, and at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

“It is your every day drinking wine,” said Heather Engelbrecht, a sales representative of distributor Vinimark.

“This is going to be big, probably in the next three years. If the quality of the wine is there, it is going to sell.”

In addition, a middle range called Vusani, made up of four reds, is mainly aimed at the Chinese market.

The family’s wine entrepeneurs, who plan to donate part of profits to charity, believe the wine venture is party of their heritage.

“My grandfather gave us a great gift and we feel honour bound to maintain his legacy,” said granddaughter Tukwini Mandela.

“We think that the wine project is a great project, it’s an honourable project and we’re not ashamed to use our name in any way. We fully embrace what we’re been given.”

The wine is meant to be shared while thinking about ways to contribute to a better world, said Makaziwe.

“We are proud of honouring our name, it is our legacy, it is our right,” she said.

“As long as you do it with responsibility…and integrity, we fully embrace our legacy, we are proud of it.”

For more http://www.sabc.co.za

The largest global football follower survey ever conducted has on Wednesday named Manchester United the world’s most popular club, with 659 million followers worldwide.

The survey was carried out by leading market research agency, Kantar, and gathered 54,000 respondents from 39 countries. The club that Forbes recently named the most valuable in world sport was identified as the favourite team of 659 million followers around the world.

Kantar found that football remains the world’s most popular sport, with 1.6 billion followers globally, reinforcing the results of a recent Fifa survey which produced a similar figure.

Richard Arnold, the Club’s Commercial Director, commented on the long-term strategy that has made Manchester United the number one club in the world’s number one sport:

“Manchester United has built on a tradition of iconic players, iconic teams and iconic achievements – Beckham, Busby, Benfica ’68. Now our games are broadcast to 1.15 billion households globally, to an audience of over four billion a year. Manchester United resonates with followers all over the world, and it’s their passion and support that means year after year we can continue doing what matters most to everyone at the Club: playing attacking football and competing for trophies.

“The growth in our followers since 2007 correlates with what we have seen as we have rolled out our new approach to reaching fans. From the increase in TV viewership from two to four billion last season, to the demand from millions of media subscribers in 72 countries through our media partnerships, to the way the footage of Wayne’s (Rooney) overhead kick echoed around the world on social media, we can see that the connections to the club are growing exponentially.”

FOLLOWER FACTS

Manchester United has 659 million followers worldwide:

*71 million in Americas

*90 million in Europe

*173 million in Middle East and Africa

*325 million in Asia Pacific

*108 million in China alone – almost half of all China’s football followers

* The number of Manchester United followers globally has grown by 98% since the previous survey in 2007

* Manchester United’s family of followers is larger than the combined population of the USA, Brazil and Mexico. – Sapa

Ajax Cape Town vs Manchester United – that’s a real possibility with negotiations currently underway. 

The 19-time English Premiership champions are set to play a once-off friendly with AmaZulu on July 18 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and KickOff.com can also confirm that the Red Devils may clash with the Urban Warriors three days later at the Cape Town Stadium.

“It has been talked about, but nothing is confirmed yet,” Ajax CEO George Comitis says. “They [Manchester United] are busy with the City [of Cape Town] and the match has been earmarked for July 21,” he adds.

Meanwhile, there was talk too of a Man United vs Mamelodi Sundowns friendly but the club’s PRO Kabelo Mosito says, “I don’t know anything about that”. 

kickoff.com

AmaZulu are closing in on a deal that could see them play English Premier League side Manchester United in Durban in July. 

Usuthu are set to battle the 19-time English Premiership champions at Moses Mabhida Stadium on July 18 in a once-off friendly, pending the negotiations.

According to Usuthu’s marketing and brand manager Lunga Sokhela the deal could be finalised in a matter of days.

The idea was triggered after a visit to the Moses Mabhida by the Manchester United support staff and it was initially meant to be a four-team tournament involving United, AmaZulu, Mamelodi Sundowns and Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko.

However, the promoter could not come up with the money and as it stands, Manchester United are negotiating directly with AmaZulu for the friendly.

http://www.kickoff.com