Mumbai, June 3 (IANS) The soccer World Cup is uniting the country like never before, host nation South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma said here Thursday.

In an interview to NDTV’s Walk the Talk, Zuma said the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been bringing together South Africans of various hues and cultures.

‘Right now the World Cup is uniting the country as never seen before,’ he said.

Zuma will attend a special function in New Delhi Thursday to mark the World Cup that starts in eight days.

He will introduce the six Indian students who will bear the FIFA fair play flag during the match between Portugal and North Korea June 21.

Zuma is on a three-day visit to India, starting with Mumbai. He arrived Wednesday and attended a dinner hosted in his honour by two of India’s richest men, Mukesh Ambani and Naresh Goyal.

The mega bash was attended by top business leaders and members of the film fraternity. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan even tweeted about his attendance at the ‘lovely function’.