Fans to pay tribute to Mandela in FIFA competition in Morocco

Fans will be asked to applaud Nelson Mandela before kickoff at all eight Club World Cup matches in Morocco this month.

FIFA says spectators will be asked “to stand together in unity to applaud and re-transmit Mandela’s message of hope and love across the world.”

What FIFA is calling a “Madiba Moment” will begin when Raja Casablanca plays Auckland City to open the seven-team tournament on Wednesday in Agadir. The final is Dec. 21 in Marrakech.

The Club World Cup is being played in Africa for the first time.

Mandela helped South Africa become the continent’s first host of the World Cup in 2010.

The anti-apartheid leader and former South African president died last week at 95.