Mugabe to attend World Cup opener: official

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will be among around 20 African heads of state attending the opening match of the football World Cup, the South African government said on Thursday.

Mugabe is subject to a ban on travel to the European Union and United States but South Africa decided to invite him along with every other head of state from the continent for the start of the first World Cup on African soil.

"South Africa invited every African head of state to the opening to acknowledge our gratitude for their support and to underline the African nature of this event," Ayande Ntsaluba, the director general of the department of international relations and cooperation, told reporters in Pretoria.

"There may about three more who eventually respond to the invitations, but we have 20 confirmations at this point.

"Presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya will attend as heads of state."

Both Mugabe and Kibaki preside over uneasy national unity governments with their traditional rivals serving as prime minister. AFP