Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

The South African actress Charlize Theron has landed a leading role at the draw for next year's World Cup finals in her home country.

Theron will be the joint host with FIFA's general secretary Jerome Valcke of the 90-minute show to be televised live to an estimated global audience of more than two hundred million people in 200 countries at 6 o'clock on Saturday morning.

Sporting celebrities taking part include Ethiopia's Olympic champion runner Haile Gebrselassie, David Beckham, cricketer Makhaya Ntini and the Sprinbgoks captain John Smit.

The extravaganza will be attended by South Africa's president Jacob Zuma along with Nobel Peace prize winners Frederik de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.