The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 262: Trip to South Africa

"Ferguson's visit to South Africa was not just for vacation or business development. There was a clear purpose for their trip, which was to pay a visit to South African President Nelson Mandela and pay tribute to this symbol of peace and great freedom fighter in Africa."

--Inscription

The Red Devils' tour to South Africa in the summer of 1993 was decided by the Red Devils board of directors and was strongly supported by Ferguson.

The Red Devils board of directors' trip to South Africa has a clear goal, which is to increase the club's visibility and expand the team's business territory by visiting the African continent. To this end, the club has also arranged a special itinerary, which is for the whole team to visit the South African presidential residence and pay a visit to the country's great leader Nelson Mandela. Of course, in order to prepare for the upcoming season, the Red Devils will also have some warm-up matches.

The English media believed that the Red Devils' long-distance trip was a big business development move. Southern Africa is not a wilderness for football, but the Red Devils' large-scale trip would certainly have a different effect. Before the club even set off, the media had already begun to calculate how much money the trip could make. "1000 million!" The media's information disclosure shocked everyone. No one thought that the Red Devils would be so popular and make so much money. Of course, the income here includes high appearance fees, generous sponsorships, and tickets that were sold out early.

The Red Devils are indeed very popular, and this is not just in the news. Far away in southern Africa, they have proved it with their actual actions. You know, more than three years ago, England was not without big clubs visiting here, but in the end, they didn't even earn the money for the air tickets. This is the difference between them and the Red Devils.

With the roar of the plane, the plane carrying the entire Red Devils team took off and flew to distant South Africa. In this way, Ferguson's first goodwill activity with the Red Devils team to South Africa began.

For Ferguson, the purpose of going to South Africa was to realize the dream in his heart, which was also a long-standing dream as a supporter of the Labour Party: to meet with South African President Mandela.

This is part of Ferguson's political dream.

Influenced by Ferguson, the entire Red Devils team was also very excited. They were full of anticipation and curiosity about meeting the leader of the South African democratic liberation movement. Cantona, who usually likes to read some miscellaneous books, began to explain Mandela's legendary story to Keane and other players. This made the entire team look forward to meeting Mandela as soon as possible and personally experience the attraction and influence of this great leader.

Mandela, a black leader in South Africa, Africa and even the world, a great leader who devoted his life to the peaceful liberation of South Africa and the elimination of racial hatred between blacks and whites, what kind of enlightenment will he bring to the Red Devils players? What kind of motivation will he give to Ferguson?

The reporters accompanying the team have been focusing on reporting the Red Devils' trip. They have opened a special topic to report on the team's life in South Africa. The visit to Mandela is the highlight of all the activities, and for Ferguson, he actually has a lot of ideas. Through this visit, he can fully and deeply understand this great leader who "solved the problem that human society cannot solve - the racial inequality problem caused by God's error", learn from him and understand history, learn his ability to solve racial discrimination and genocide, learn his ability to deal with complex problems, solve racial hatred, and eliminate conflicts between all parties. This is an extremely desirable idea for Ferguson.

What Ferguson wanted to learn the most was how Mandela faced difficulties and solved problems. Unlike what many people imagine, Ferguson is a person who is very enthusiastic and interested in politics, with a clear political stance. He is a member of the British Labour Party, sympathizes with the British proletariat and working groups, and is known as a lifelong follower of the British Labour Party. He donates a lot of money to the Labour Party every year to help with elections. He once pointed out in a conversation with his long-time friend, A-Campbell, Blair's chief of staff at the time, "If you score from 1 to 10, I think football is definitely 10 in my life. I am very interested in politics and pay close attention to it. I have very clear and firm political views. I think I'd give it a 7.5."

Ferguson said, "How did my political views form? It all starts with my family background and upbringing. I grew up in a typical working-class community in Glasgow, so I have always valued a sense of collectivism, with everyone and every family supporting each other. Growing up, I firmly believed that the Labour Party was a party that represented the working class, and I still believe in it now. This is my political stance." He also once defended himself as a high-income earner and wealthy. "Yes, I have made a lot of money over the years, but I have worked hard, paid taxes honestly, and given back to society in a lot of ways. I think I am worthy of my work and responsibilities."

Ferguson is a staunch anti-racist in the field of racial discrimination - in Britain or Europe and the United States, this is a topic related to whether it is politically correct. Ferguson has always been clearly against racial discrimination and racial inequality. From this we can understand why Ferguson was so eager to visit Mandela.

There is no doubt that Mandela is one of the greatest politicians of the 20th century in the world. The cause he devoted himself to was not only a great cause of liberation, but also a great cause of eliminating hatred and promoting harmonious development.

Mandela was born into a South African chieftain family, but he was unwilling to "rule an oppressed tribe as a chieftain" and wanted to "dedicate himself to the cause of national liberation as a warrior." So he resolutely embarked on the path of pursuing national liberation. He successfully organized and led the "Movement to Contempt Unjust Laws" and won the respect of all black people. For national liberation and resistance to racial discrimination, Mandela not only led the strike movement, but also led the underground armed struggle. After being arrested and imprisoned, he insisted on continuing the struggle. He was in prison for 27 years and suffered persecution and torture, but he never changed his firm belief in opposing racism and building an equal and free new South Africa. In the end, Mandela was acquitted and led the ANC to win the general election in South Africa without racial distinction. He eventually became the first black president of South Africa and created a democratic and unified situation for the new South Africa. As a result, the ANC led by Mandela played an extremely important role in the struggle to end racism in South Africa. The birth of the new South Africa in April 1994 marked the successful completion of the political liberation task against apartheid on the African continent. Mandela and his cause of liberating South Africa have been recorded in the glorious history of the process of human history and civilization.

Mandela is a landmark figure in the political history of Africa and even the world. He shines the brightest light in the human society of the world. He not only upholds his beliefs, but also puts them into practice. He persists in the struggle and faith during the 27 years in prison. When he finally won, he, like the great politicians in history, did not covet power and took the initiative to give up his position, allowing democratic political values ​​and the correct system to play a positive constructive role. This kind of concept and persistence is the most precious.

Ferguson must remember that when Mandela was persecuted in prison, there was a movement to release Mandela in Britain and around the world. He also signed various petitions. No one was not conquered by Mandela's charisma. Ferguson was also a fan of Mandela to some extent.

This trip to South Africa is very important in Ferguson's plan.

After a long flight, the plane finally landed in Johannesburg, South Africa. After the Red Devils team arrived safely and took a short rest, Ferguson led the team to change into their best clothes and drove to the South African Presidential Palace to meet Mandela.

This meeting has been deeply engraved in Ferguson's heart, and he will never forget President Mandela's warm smile and friendly demeanor. Mandela welcomed the Red Devils at the Presidential Residence. He had a smile on his dark face, a calm and gentle expression, and looked directly at the guests in front of him with wise eyes. He took the initiative to extend his hand and shook hands with all the members of the Red Devils one by one.

All of this was so natural and so kind. Mandela had no arrogance at all, let alone the dignity of a president of a great country. He stood at the door of the presidential palace in traditional South African clothing, welcoming the arrival of the Red Devil like everyone else. This great leader, whose reputation resounded around the world and was respected by people all over the world, did not have the slightest indifference or arrogance.

After a simple and grand meeting ceremony, Mandela had a cordial talk with Ferguson and the players' representatives. The Red Devils gave Mandela gifts including the team's recent championship souvenirs, commemorative jerseys and some Dream Theatre models. Mandela warmly welcomed the visit of the Red Devils and introduced the situation of national liberation and racial reconciliation in South Africa to the Red Devils players, as well as the development of South African football.

Ferguson recalled, "We will never forget our first meeting with Mandela. It was a historic moment. We felt fortunate to be with such a great man who made history, and we were extremely proud. This is a precious memory that will be forever engraved in our memory. We were quickly attracted by President Mandela, who had achieved such great achievements, but was still so humble. We were extremely excited because we felt that we were with history and we met one of the greatest leaders of this era. Mandela's greatness lies in breaking through the shackles of racial discrimination, rebuilding the correct values ​​in a society that is almost ignorant and barbaric, and creating a new model of equal and free government. No one thought all this could happen. This is much more difficult than regaining our first league championship."

A long time later, Ferguson still hasn't forgotten this meeting. He said, "I have great respect for Mandela. I met him several times, and each time I was able to find him fascinating and deeply educated. But the first time I met him left the deepest impression on me, because you will feel that you are with history, and you will witness and create history for the first time. This is incredible. You will feel like you are living in a dream, because the greatest legend of our time is right in front of you, smiling at you. I felt my soul trembling, my heart was so excited, I couldn't even speak for a long time, I just felt my heart was beating wildly, everything was so shocking."

Ferguson said: "We came to South Africa again later and met with the President many times. I felt that every meeting was very meaningful, but the first one was irreplaceable and had extremely important pioneering significance. At that time, we had just regained the league championship, breaking the extremely difficult dark period in history, and weathered all kinds of storms, defeated countless challenges, and overcame countless difficulties before we were able to reach the top. But how can all this be compared with the President? Although our struggle is soaked with tears and sweat, it can never be compared with the history and process of South Africa. The President is the kind of person who is willing to sacrifice himself for peace and forgiveness, the kind of person who is willing to sacrifice himself for the happiness of the people and the unity of the country. The efforts we have made and the sweat we have paid are actually nothing."

"The second time was in Monte Carlo when we won the Team of the Year award. When Nelson Mandela gave his speech that night, my hair stood on end. It was a voice that went straight to my heart and soul. His speech has always inspired us to move forward."

After the Red Devils' first trip to South Africa was a success, they quickly made South Africa an important market for expansion. The team continued to arrange visits to South Africa, and even arranged training and warm-up matches here. Not only that, the Red Devils also made special arrangements to discover young players here, and began to introduce stars from South Africa. This included Fortune, who made great contributions to the Red Devils. He was the first South African to play for the Red Devils.

In terms of business expansion, the Red Devils and Beckham began to establish football schools in South Africa to attract more local players to sign up.

Ferguson and the Red Devils' trip to South Africa has come to an end. They brought respect, gained enlightenment and friendship, and also gained more and more fans and attention.