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Miss World to spice up Confederations Cup draw

Former South Africa soccer captain Lucas Radebe, second left, plays with the official match ball for the FIFA 2009 Confederations Cup with Miss World contestants, from left, Miss Brazil Tamara Almeida Silva, Miss South Africa Tansey Coetzee, Miss Italy Claudia Russo, Miss USA Merica Lane and Miss Spain Patricia Alonjo on the pitch at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Thursday. The stadium is one of those to be used for the FIFA World Cup in 2010. PHOTO: EPA

Miss World contestants will bring charm and glamor as they assist during today’s draw for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in Johannesburg, organizers said in a statement yesterday.

“The eight Miss World candidates from the respective participating countries and continents — Brazil, Egypt, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, United States and reigning Miss World — will lend a helping hand during the draw to determine the two groups for the eight-team competition,” it said.

Miss World Zilin Zhang (張梓琳), who is from China, will represent Asian Champions Iraq at the draw, the statement said.

The eight beauty queens will assist FIFA secretary-general Je­rome Valcke during the draw, also to be witnessed by the body’s vice president Jack Warner and Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou, it said.

The 58th Miss World pageant will be held in Johannesburg on Dec. 13.

“Hosting as prestigious as event as the Miss World competition again underlines South Africa’s ability to stage major global events. And as for the beautiful contestants assisting me on Saturday, it is certainly a draw I will be looking forward to more than most,” Valcke said in the statement.

The Confederations Cup has traditionally been used to test a host country’s state of preparedness for the World Cup. The World Cup will be staged from June 11 to July 11, 2010. Its final draw will be held on Dec. 4 in Cape Town.

The June 14 to June 28 Confederations Cup, to be staged in four South African stadiums, will bring together continental soccer champions ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
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