Line-up for Special Cup rather special in itself

SPECIAL GAME: Former All Whites captain Steve Sumner will be making a second trip to South Africa to play alongside some world football greats in the Special Olympics Unity Cup before the World Cup quarterfinal.

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Former All Whites captain Steve Sumner will be making a second trip to South Africa to play alongside some world football greats in the Special Olympics Unity Cup before the World Cup quarterfinal in Cape Town.

Sumner will receive world football's highest honour, the FIFA Order of Merit, in Johannesburg next week.

He will line up alongside former England stars Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan, Dutch master Clarence Seedorf, French World Cup winner Christian Karembeu, South Africa's Lucas Radebe, Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata and Ghanaian legend Abedi Pele and South African President Jacob Zuma.

Two squads comprising seven celebrity players and seven Special Olympic athletes will play a 20-minute game on July 3 on the same pitch as the World Cup quarterfinal.

"I should be able to last 20 minutes," Sumner quipped. He is already stepping up his training with two daily visits to the gym.

"It should be a lot of fun, but more importantly, its got to make a difference for the Special Olympics athletes. If it makes them really feel special and if they have fun, then it will be fun for us too."

North Harbour Special Olympics centre forward Mark Liggins, 36, will be representing New Zealand alongside Sumner. He began playing football at the age of 10 and has been playing seriously for the last five years.

"When we invited Steve to join Mark on the pitch, he accepted without hesitation," Special Olympics New Zealand national sports and coaching director Mike Ryan said. "He has such a fantastic attitude about it and didn't even blink when it meant he'd be hopping back on a flight to Cape Town two weeks after accepting his Order of Merit in Johannesburg."

Sumner said it was an honour to be asked to play in the game. "I'm humbled and extremely privileged to receive the FIFA Order of Merit (at the FIFA Congress on June 9 and 10) when I look at some of the great names who have received this honour in the past.

"But it is also a tremendous privilege to take part in the Unity Cup."

The 55-year-old said there would be at least two players – Keegan, 59, and former Peru star Teo Cubillas, 61, who were older than him "and President Zuma [68] as well".

- © Fairfax NZ News